Start-ups that apply before the September 1 deadline will be assessed by judges including new Dragons’ Den star Piers Linney, founder of Outsourcery, Holly Tucker MBE, founder of notonthehighstreet.com and enterprise editor of the Mail on Sunday, Helen Loveless.
The awards are not only a fantastic opportunity for a great small business to win up to £10,000 cash but also a fantastic accolade that’s recognised by customers, press and the UK’s top investors.
After being named as a Smarta 100 together with O2 winner, businesses have gone on to achieve impressive growth and attract life changing investment. Our alumni includes a sprinkling of the hottest up and coming brands of the last few years, including Naked Wines, Huddle, Funding Circle, Graze, Zoopla, Crowdcube and SuperJam.
Last year’s winner Tom Cohn, founder of Kigu believes the awards has helped to further his business: “Winning the Smarta 100 has given us credibility. Since, we’ve successfully launched our Kigu Kids range on-line and it’s about to go into John Lewis.”
This year is set to be even bigger with the winning companies divided into 10 categories. The public will then vote for the winner of each category who’ll win £1,000 each, before our judges choose the overall Smarta 100 together with O2 business of the year and winner of the £10,000 main prize.
Urging businesses to judge Dragons’ Den star Piers Linney said: “Small businesses and the entrepreneurs behind them underpin the entire economy and they account for almost 50 per cent of UK employment. I look forward to working with the Smarta 100 and O2 to identify small businesses that are shining brightly – make sure you enter before the deadline!”
Founder of Smarta, Shaa Wasmund added: “Don’t miss out on this brilliant opportunity to get your business in front of hundreds of thousands of people, including of course, our esteemed judging panel and the new dragon!”
The Smarta 100 together with O2 closes for entries on Sunday 1st September. Businesses can apply at [ilink url=”www.smarta.com/smarta100″]www.smarta.com/smarta100[/ilink]
This year’s winning Smarta 100 together with O2 businesses will be announced October 1st. The voting and judging stages will then commence to determine the category winners and overall Smarta 100 Business of the Year, to be announced at an awards ceremony in mid-November.
