Here’s something you don’t hear every day – how would you like a £1,000 business grant to help set up your company? Just by submitting your business idea to this year’s Entrepreneur Award, you could win our £1,000 business grant along with a wealth of professional guidance and mentorship to get you started.

Entrepreneurship in the UK is at an all-time high – according to government figures as many as 80 new companies are being registered every hour. Competition is tough out there, but with new challenges, technologies and trends emerging all the time, there are real opportunities to come up with something groundbreaking in the UK today.

The honest truth is that setting up a business isn’t easy, much less starting one that will last. Sometimes you just need a little boost to get things started – and that’s what The Formations Company Entrepreneur Award is all about.

What is it?

The Entrepreneur Award is a business grant created to encourage the brightest new minds in any industry. The success of the UK startup scene is something we at The Formations Company bank on, and it’s the individuals behind the organisations who really inspire us.

To show our support, we’re on the hunt for an entrepreneur with a business idea that stands out from the crowd. The winning submission will be awarded the following:

  • A limited company set up with us, free of charge, including all the documentation you’ll need
  • a £1,000 business grant.
  • To help you get set up, you’ll also receive a small business mentorship package from Barclays, which includes the following resources to help you out over the longer term:
  • SmartBusiness insights – a new tool to help manage and run your business smoothly
  • Maker Space
  • Barclays Local Insights
  • The opportunity to speak with a Local Business Manager
  • An invitation to a Cyber-Security Workshop, which looks at the impact and scale of cybercrime and how to stay safe with online banking.

So, think you’ve got what it takes? Just click here to apply by answering a few questions for us. We’re interested in finding out three things:

1.       What your business idea involves, in no more than 200 words

2.       How you’d spend the £1,000 business grant

3.       What being an entrepreneur means to you.

2016 Young Entrepreneur Award

Last year our Entrepreneur Award was strictly open to students in higher education. We had high quality applicants from universities across the UK, including the University of Warwick and London School of Economics. Our winners were:

Business Grant Winner: Fergus Kennedy

2nd Place: Babatunde Onabajo

3rd Place: Iretiolu David

2016 Young Entrepreneur Award winner Fergus Kennedy

Fergus’s business idea, ParaPatch, caught our panel’s eye because it was unique, bold, and ambitious – not to mention the fact that it could save lives. The 21-year old Cambridge University student came up with a social enterprise concept in which immunisations can be transported to remote, hard-to-reach communities using drone technology. He is using the prize money to explore new types of technology and to develop an initial prototype.

Fergus said “I’m thrilled to have won – support from The Formations Company will enable me to continue exploring the newest and most exciting technologies”.

Our other finalists submitted their ideas across a range of industries, from beauty, to recruitment, to film and gaming concepts. The two runners-up in the competition both received a free company formation along with any advice they need to get their business ideas up and running.

How can I win the business grant?

Think you’ve got the winning idea? Just fill in the form telling us a little about yourself and explaining your business idea in under 200 words. The competition closes on 30th June 2017, so get cracking now to be in with a chance.

Keep checking in for updates on the Entrepreneur Award by following us on Twitter, and be sure to learn all about what it takes run a company first by having a browse of our help centre or checking out our comprehensive company formation guides.

To find out about our 2017 Entrepreneur Award winners, check out our latest winner announcement.

Published Friday March 31, 2017