Member Article

KPI Pitch Fest

In today’s digital society the barriers to becoming an entrepreneur have reduced a great deal. Government funding has increased, success stories are shared on social media and business mentors continue to champion a new generation of small businesses in their mission to scale up, penetrate new markets, and become leaders within their industry. From what I have witnessed, the Key Person of Influence (KPI) programme is doing just that- opening the doors for people from a wide variety of backgrounds to turn their passion into products, their ambition into enterprise and their dreams into reality.

PitchFest is hosted by Darshana Ubl, CEO of Entrevo UK. Darshana is an entrepreneur, investor and keynote speaker who enjoys working with small business owners, leaders, entrepreneurs and those she likes to call ‘rainmakers’ in a company. For those that aren’t familiar with the concept, PitchFest showcases on stage 10 businesses that have been through the Key Person of Influence Programme and mastered pitching for their business with the help of award-winning angel investor and government advisor, Dale Murray CBE.

Darshana was also joined by the PitchFest judging panel including Dale Murray CBE, Entrevo co-founders Daniel Priestly and Marcus Ubl as well as a specialist selection of some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs such as Guy Rigby, head of entrepreneurial services at Smith and Williamson and Ash Lawrence, Business Psychologist and owner of ABC Networks.

As a person with great admiration of people with the courage and determination needed to start a business from scratch, it was not only refreshing but also inspiring to see a room full of likeminded entrepreneurs and small business owners come together as a community to be part of the ultimate celebration of both creativity and energy - the pitch!

Whether it is dealing with customers, prospects, investors, or journalists, the ability to communicate value in your proposition and pitch your ideas to different audiences plays a huge role in building a sustainable business model.

Throughout the night we heard from entrepreneurs from a variety of different business sectors such as finance, healthcare, vetinary, and midwifery. It was highly evident that in each case there was a clear focus on presenting a solution to a well-known or not so well known problem.

Ruth Robertson, a Doctor turned Business Psychologist impressed the judges with her business model training for medical professionals. A programme built on the themes of leadership and management. She claims the mounting pressure on NHS doctors today is impacting greatly on staff engagement and patient care. “With financial cuts and media scrutiny, improving leadership in healthcare is a top priority as we look to improve patient care, support their families and develop our communities.”

Other impressive PitchFest finalists included Heather Katsonga who had already built up a network of 40,000 event subscribers via social media for a funky line of hair products aimed at women with afro hair. A former financial advisor at Goldman Sachs, Heather wowed the audience and judges with her latest venture ‘The Money Spot’ which aims to help likeminded entrepreneurs with their own personal brand, turn their passions into products.

However it was German midwifery entrepreneur Julta Wohlab who took home the coveted Pitch Fest title. Her combination of clarity, assuredness, and humour built a strong business case for her vision to bring birthing advice, information and education products to the market to support woman going through pregnancy without the appropriate advice they need. The vision to build a global venture that tackles real issues in society was complimented by a sharp, entertaining delivery that was highly impressive and the judges agreed, giving Julta a score of 46/50.

If you’re looking to become the next big innovator in your industry, and want to learn from some of the best business minds in the world, I’d recommend checking out some of the upcoming events.

I hope to see you there!

Alex

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alex Hinds, Freelance Writer and Content Marketer .