22 June 2010
Harlow Renaissance is pleased to be sponsors of an exciting new Harlow competition to find budding entrepreneurs who have “the next big idea”. Launch Pad is open to anyone over the age of 16 living in Harlow or the surrounding district (including Epping, North Weald, Sawbridgeworth, Bishop’s Stortford and Stansted). The winner will receive dedicated mentoring, advice and guidance from a panel of expert judges to support them in successfully launching their business idea. The Harlow Star will be covering the whole competition including a feature on the winner and their idea. This support and publicity is worth in excess of £15,000, asum out of reach of most small business start-ups.
Launch Pad was the brainchild of Robert Ellice of Clarke Hillyer, a local entrepreneur who, having grown up and worked in the area, wanted to provide a platform for people from the district to showcase their business ideas and have the opportunity to develop and turn them into reality. The project was brought to life by colleague Bryan Hunt who, through his own experiences of working in the local area, understood the importance of providing new opportunities for people in and around Harlow.
Bryan has been working on the Launch Pad concept for many months and has brought together a number of local businesses and organisations to provide additional expertise, skills and support. Through their relationships with leading local business figures, Robert and Bryan have put together a panel of experts who will be able to provide local people with the chance to gain invaluable support and advice to help them develop and progress their business ideas.
The project also involves Harlow College, where students are providing media support and skills to take the business ideas online through video. Both Robert and Bryan are dedicated to supporting their local community and providing a commitment to the future development of the area. Launch Pad is about recognising the value of great ideas and enabling them the chance to become the next big thing by providing that first foot on the ladder of success.
The judges are ready to listen to a pitch for any kind of business, but they must be convinced that there is a place for it in the market and that it will be a success. The strongest pitches will demonstrate:
- A unique selling point or place in the market: an idea that serves a need like nothing else.
- Scalability: something that can be scaled up to make real money or benefit a growing number of people
- Route to market: a clear way the idea can be delivered and marketed
Application forms can be completed online or downloaded to print and post. Log on to the dedicated Launch Pad website at http://www.launchpad-harlow.org/ to apply and to check out full details of the terms and conditions.