Best new business in the South West is named
Bristol played host to the regional heat of a star-studded business competition, The Pitch South West, earlier this month as the South West’s top up and coming entrepreneurial talent pitched to established entrepreneurs and leading business minds.
The annual contest was keenly fought by the six contestants, but the prestigious title was won by Swindon entrepreneur David Wright and his business partner David Webb from Bath.
The two men have created Vibe Gum, www.vibegum.com, chewing gum infused with caffeine which gives consumers a burst of energy, up to four times quicker than an energy drink or coffee.
David Webb, co-founder of Vibe Gum, comments: “As a young company, the chance to win £50,000 worth of essential business support and the mentorship of Doug Richard is something that could really propel the business forward at this key stage.
"We’re extremely excited about the final, where we’ll be judged by Doug himself, as well as Tim Campbell, the winner of ‘The Apprentice’ season one and Deirdre Bounds from Channel 4’s ‘Millionaires’ Mission’.”
Vibe Gum will now compete in the www.thePitch2009.com final in November alongside the winners of the four remaining regional heats in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London.
The overall champion will win a recession-beating £50,000 worth of business support prizes and invaluable one-to-one mentorship from serial entrepreneur and ex-Dragons’ Den panellist Doug Richard.
Professional videos of the South West event, held at eOffice and in association with the Bristol Design Festival, will be available within weeks on BusinessZone.co.uk">BusinessZone.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.BusinessZone.co.uk, organiser of The Pitch 2009.
The event runners-up could still make it to the final as a wildcard entry by receiving the most votes from visitors to BusinessZone.co.uk.
Judges at the event, in association with platinum sponsor Yell, included hugely successful South West entrepreneurs Emma Summers of Juice Recruitment www.JuiceRecruitment.co.uk, Pat Wood of Truffle Shuffle www.TruffleShuffle.co.uk and Lois Cook of www.angelden.co.uk. Chris Wintle, marketing director of green energy company Ecotricity www.ecotricity.co.uk and Stephen Priscott, finance director of Sift www.sift.com made up the formidable judging panel.
Organised by Bristol-based Sift Media, publisher of BusinessZone.co.uk, the competition has been set up to help entrepreneurs achieve success and deal with the impact of the recession. Other UK judges taking part in the competition include serial entrepreneur and former Dragons’ Den panellist Doug Richard, Apprentice season one winner Tim Campbell and ethical travel business founder Deirdre Bounds, star of Channel 4’s Millionaires’ Mission.
Among the top prizes up for grabs are website consultancy, market research services and a three-month public relations campaign, as well as the tuition of Doug Richard.
The overall winner and each regional finalist, including the South West’s Vibe Gum will also get to upload their business plan to the website of Angels Den, www.angelsden.co.uk the online community which connects entrepreneurs with business angels, and get it seen by 2,000 investors.
Pat Wood, co-founder of Bristol-based Truffle Shuffle and one of The Pitch South West judges, adds: “All the shortlisted pitchers presented well and had a fantastic range of products and ideas.
“Vibe Gum pipped their opponents to the post with an innovative product, strong market knowledge and a very well presented business plan.”
The other contestants taking part in The Pitch South West were:
· Carolyn Newton, founder, Whale Bags www.whalebags.com (based in Bristol).
· Stuart Hibbert and Myles Hantler, co-founders, icomplete www.icomplete.com (based in Swindon).
· Norman Shaw, founder, ExactTrak www.exacttrak.com (based in Oxford).
· Julia Lowe, founder, Farm Toys Online www.farmtoysonline.co.uk (based in Illminster).
· Matthew Giles, founder, The Bath Pig Company www.thebathpig.com (based in Bath).
The next heat of the Government-backed competition takes place in Manchester on June 17th.
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