52,000 reasons to start your own business - 5 are left
- By Richard Branson -
- Mar 01, 2013
We gave you 52,000 reasons to start your own business when launching the Big Kick Off competition. Now just five companies are left in the running to win. Voting is open for one of the shortlisted businesses to win Virgin Money’s sponsorship of the Newcastle United vs Liverpool Premier League football match.
When we launched the Big Kick Off last November we were looking for young entrepreneurs in the North East who wanted to start their own business or needed to help make it grow.
We wanted to find ambitious young people who were willing to try something new and to change the way things are normally done, or who simply wanted to take control of their lives. Well we lay down a challenge and the North East delivered.
We've got five fantastic businesses who've all received Start Up Loans in the North East who could end up being the sponsor of the NUFC vs LFC game towards the end of the season. You can watch a video about each of them to find out more – here they are:
- ‘Choclateas’ – run by Jodi and Stella Kean - make natural and organic chocolate teas, with flavoured extracts such as chilli, vanilla and much more.
- ‘Montagu DIY & Hardware’ – run by Andrew Emmerson - a new DIY and Hardware store in Montagu, Newcastle, focusing on selling items for general repairs in the home.
- ‘Bloom Studio’ – run by Martin Davies – produces bespoke, high quality and engaging animated films for any medium or platform.
- ‘R-House’ – run by Stewart Platt – a music promotion company specialising in the marketing and promotion of events.
- ‘AIM Dance Group’ – run by Jessica Henron and Galina Hewitt – a dance company that caters for all sorts of styles and individual abilities, for all ages.
Our five finalists represent just some of the great talent coming out of this part of the country. So please take a moment to watch the films about each of the businesses and you will discover their stories and find out what makes them tick.
Then we ask you to vote for your favourite to put them in with a chance of winning our sponsorship of Newcastle United. And then if you are feeling inspired, read on to find out how a Start Up Loan could help you get your own business off the ground. Thanks very much and good luck!
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
