Over 675,000 votes cast as nine businesses progress to the Finale of Virgin Media Business’ entrepreneur competition
After an extensive nationwide search, nine innovative and exciting new businesses have worked their way to the top of the leader board to reach the final stage of the Virgin Media Business Pitch to Rich competition, including Sendy, a revolutionary P2P parcel delivery app that lets you send any item to anywhere in the world quickly and cheaply.
The group of entrepreneurs and innovators will now pitch their business ideas to Sir Richard Branson and a panel of expert judges during a live finale on 26 June.
Voted into the final stage of the competition by the public, the nine cutting edge businesses – three from each competition category – will pitch for their chance to win a share of the £1m prize fund to grow their businesses.
Peter Kelly, Managing Director of Virgin Media Business, said: “We’ve seen some incredible people and business ideas throughout this competition and they should be very proud of what they have achieved.
“It’s a particularly exciting time for our finalists. The prize the winners will receive will give their businesses the chance to truly accelerate to the next level and become an established name. A huge congratulations to all of them, I’m really looking forward to hearing their final pitches.”
The Pitch to Rich finalists include some of Britain’s most talented business brains, from technology start-ups to entrepreneurs whose ideas aim to inspire and educate the next generation.
Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder, said: “We set out to find great business ideas with the potential to disrupt a market and judging by the calibre of the finalists, we have found the very best. The people that make a difference are the ones that have the courage to overcome obstacles in order to turn an idea into a successful business. The level of passion among the Virgin Media Business Pitch to Rich entrants has been inspiring, and the finale will be testament to that.”
The final nine businesses have been whittled down from over 2,500 competition entrants. The overall winners for each category will now be decided during the Finale, which will take place at Second Home, the Tech City start-up hub offering mentorship for new businesses and entrepreneurs.
Judging the pitches alongside Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Media Business Managing Director, Peter Kelly, will be business experts; Jo Malone, David Gandy, Justine Roberts and Jon Oringer.
Semi-Finalists that did not make the final are still in the running for the ‘People’s Choice’ award, with public voting open until the 22nd June.