Member Article

Budding entrepreneurs show off their online talents

Ten budding entrepreneurs have been awarded £2,000 to start their own online business. The winners were chosen from dozens of entries to the YouTrade competition, which was launched last November to encourage online entrepreneurship in North East England.

Among the successful pitches to the One NorthEast and North East Regional Portal Dragon’s Den-style panel were business plans for jewellery and accessories, fitness equipment sales and antiques companies. The winners have now started trading their business online through eBay.

Andy Walton, eBusiness Manager at One NorthEast, said: “YouTrade is a unique region-wide competition aimed at inspiring people to be enterprising and to turn their ideas into something real. The ten lucky winners were chosen because of their impressive business plans and successful pitch, and they have now received their £2,000 prize and have started trading through eBay. “It really is an exciting project and I’m delighted One NorthEast has been able to support it financially.”

The ten finalists will now attend a series of boot camps, which will cover issues pertinent to running a business generally, and also heading up internet businesses.

Norma Foster, chief executive of the North East Regional Portal, said: “Enterprising people in the North East are an inspiration and an example to us all of how a great idea coupled with creativity and enterprising spirit can become something big. “The ten winners chosen by the panel now have a fantastic opportunity to make their business an online success. We’ll be supporting them all the way and you never know, amongst the finalists, there could well be a business star of the future.”

In addition to One NorthEast and the North East Regional Portal, partners of the YouTrade competition are Sage (UK) Ltd, eBay, The bgroup, Platform One, BT and Business Link North East. More information about the competition, and a full list of the ten winners, can be found at www.n-e-life.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .