Member Article

Intuit launches Love Our Local Business, with £15,000 of funding for small businesses

Intuit UK, together with StartUp Britain, has launched “Love Our Local Business”, a national competition with £15,000 worth of funding for cash-strapped British start-ups and business owners. Winners will be selected through a combination of online votes and a judging panel with representatives from Intuit and StartUp Britain.

There are ten £1,000 cash awards and one £5,000 prize for the business that qualifies as the winner of the six week campaign. Submissions open on 30th October, with the winner of the first £1,000 award to be handed out on 5th November 2013. The overall, £5,000 winner will be announced on 11th December 2013.

To qualify businesses need to enter a ‘wish’ on www.loveourlocalbusiness.com outlining why they believe they should qualify for funding, and then use social channels (using the hashtag #SupportSmallBizUK) to drum up support from their customers and supporters to vote for them.

Mike Williams, head of Intuit UK Business, said: “Intuit is committed to helping entrepreneurs, small businesses and accountants. We know that businesses often struggle to secure funding, especially in their early stages and we hope that by offering this cash award, we will not only provide a much-needed windfall, but we’ll also be able to identify and showcase some of the most innovative British businesses.”

British entrepreneurs are on track to start more than 500,000 new businesses in 2013, according to StartUp Britain’s own StartUp Tracker. With early stage funding still limited, the £15,000 cash awards will give eleven home-grown start-ups and small businesses a financial boost ahead of Christmas.

Start-Up Britain co-founder Emma Jones said: “We’re increasingly seeing early stage start-ups developing their business ideas on a modest budget before bringing in finance, so they are not only cash poor but they are time poor as well. I like this award because it’s quick and simple to apply for and offers not just cash but national exposure. It’s a great initiative.”

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