Responsible Business in a Changing World: Ideas Fest & Great British Entrepreneurs

In 2012, I launched The Great British Entrepreneur Awards, born out of a belief that entrepreneurs are as much about their story as they are their balance sheet. The aim was to create a platform that championed the entrepreneurs behind brilliant businesses.

Over the past nine years, we’ve been humbled and inspired by so many incredible stories of tenacity, determination and passion and we’ve gotten to know some of the most amazing people who are agents of change and disruption.?

Today, The Great British Entrepreneur Awards is far more than ‘just’ an awards programme. Instead it is a community in which we’ve seen investment deals done, collaborations ignited, friendships formed and honest unfiltered advice both given and taken. Most important of all,? the community has helped to encourage critical emotional support among peers because we all know that entrepreneurship can be a tough and lonely existence without communities like ours. Johnny Patterson, the founder of Dr PawPaw who won our national accolade in 2020 called the awards “a life changing experience” adding that as a result of involvement he received “investment opportunities & National media features”.

Many of our winners, while celebrated early on in their entrepreneurial journey, often go on to become household names. These include Steven Bartlett, Entrepreneur, BBC Dragon, and the host of one of Europe's biggest podcasts, 'The Diary of a CEO' who picked up a young entrepreneur award with The Great British Entrepreneur Awards in 2017 alongside his Social Chain co-founder Dom McGregor. On stage at last year's awards, Steven called The Great British Entrepreneur Awards “The Grammy’s of Entrepreneurship” and the “one that he and his business partner had wanted the most”.?

Steven Bartlett & Dominic McGregor, the co-founders of social media and marketing agency Social Chain at The Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2021 at The Grosvenor, London

Last year in 2021, the awards evening held at London’s prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel with over 1,200 entrepreneurs and their supporters in attendance was more special than ever given that the entrepreneurs’ stories were being celebrated against a backdrop of one of the most difficult business environments in history.?

One thing is for sure, being at the centre of a community like this makes you realise that entrepreneurs will be at the forefront of the major challenges facing the World over the next few years. With all of these challenges that we have, it won’t be governments or large businesses that will be making the difference but entrepreneurs from across the UK with their talent, creativity, innovation and sheer determination to make the world a better place.

We've a rich alumni of businesses tackling the world's problems and being led by entrepreneurs who we are exceptionally proud to have celebrated through the awards. Here are just a few of them.

Lucy & Yak, an independent fashion brand best known for dungarees won a Great British Entrepreneur Award in 2019. They have recently partnered with vintage fashion retailer Beyond Retro to launch a clothing recirculation system. Customers are encouraged to bring in their worn Lucy & Yak clothing to store in exchange for a voucher. Beyond Retro will sell items that are collected in good condition, carry out repairs or, where this is not possible, send the garment for recycling through Love Not Landfill.

“Purpose is important to us, because it’s what gets us out of bed in the morning and what makes us excited to go to work. We genuinely believe that you only get one life, so you have to do what you love! When we visit our suppliers in India it reminds us why we’re doing this, and why we started the brand in the first place. We both love traveling and love spending time with people, and you can only enjoy this if you’re kind to the people you work with, so it’s a no brainer for us, it was never a conscious decision, we just didn’t think we could do it any other way. It’s in our DNA! Winning at The Great British Entrepreneur Awards was amazing, it was great to get recognition for the work we’ve done, because as much as we love it, it’s hard work and takes over your life, we felt proud to have done something worthy of an award!” says Lucy Greenwood, co-founder of Lucy & Yak

Just Like Me Books led by Pamela Aculey who won an award with The Great British Entrepreneur Awards in 2020 are making changes when it comes to diversity and inclusion in children's literature. In 2017, their eldest son (age 4 at the time) was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). As parents they found it difficult to find diverse books where children like Walter could find themselves in the pages of books so Pamela and her husband Alex started to write a series of picture books called 'Just Like Me' where, at the heart of each story, diversity, inclusiveness, acceptance and kindness were explored and promoted. Just Like Me are the UK's first inclusive interactive picture books that utilizes Augmented Reality Technology to bring their stories to life. The business continues to go from strength to strength and they’ve recently had their books read online by Hollywood actor Will Poulter.

“Our purpose is to make classroom education extraordinary, interactive and inclusive. Creating and adapting books where all children regardless of their ethnicity, background or ability feel inspired, visible and supported through immersive learning.?

Winning an award and being part of the Great British Entrepreneur community is something I am incredibly proud of. They are so committed to you and the future success of your business and continue to support our mission in so many ways; collaboration opportunities, networking, health and business advice to name a few.

Social good is at the core of our business and with so much adversity in the world right now It's important to celebrate businesses that are working towards this. Celebrating, supporting and encouraging this creates a positive ripple effect and that's when real and purposeful change happens”. Pamela Aculey, Just Like Me Books

Alex Stephany, who picked up the ‘Entrepreneur for Good’ trophy at the 2019 Great British Entrepreneur Awards was inspired to build Beam after getting to know a homeless man at his local Tube station. The man had spent decades out of work. Alex would buy him cups of coffee and pairs of socks, but could see his condition going from very bad to even worse. Alex asked himself: “What could we do to make a real difference to that man’s life?” Beam crowdfund new career opportunities for homeless people. They provide them with a support network, from caseworkers to the kind strangers who fund their campaigns. They use technology to find scalable solutions to the toughest social problems – starting with homelessness.

“Beam is on a mission to create equality of opportunity at scale, by tapping into homeless people’s talents and potential, and matching them with forward-thinking employers who want to play their part. We believe that business can and must play a positive role in addressing society’s most urgent problems. As a social impact business, Beam is committed to building technology that is just as good as Spotify and Netflix, but for the most disadvantaged people in society. Through winning a Great British Entrepreneur Award, we hope to inspire others to use business as a force for good.” Alex Stephany, Beam

Dominic McGregor won a young entrepreneur award in 2017 and in 2021 was inducted into the Great British Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame, an initiative in association with UBS Wealth Management that recognises the individuals with a long-term record of combining their outstanding entrepreneurial achievements with a sustained commitment to supporting entrepreneurial talent. Having had staggering success as the co-founder of Social Chain with Steven Bartlett, Dominic is now not only a judge with the awards, but is supporting and investing in talented entrepreneurs who are making a positive impact in their sector.?

“Since I’ve got into business I’ve seen entrepreneurs change from mainly focussing on money, to actually making a difference in the world. The Great British Entrepreneur Awards have done an amazing job highlighting some great businesses over the years and thankfully we were included as one of the winners back in 2017 which was a great moment for us”.

Dominic McGregor, Founding Partner, Fearless Adventures

These entrepreneurs - and many more - aren’t just running a Corporate Social Responsibility programme to tick the boxes on “social good.” Instead they have integrated positive social change and real impact into the core of how they do business.?

Many of these shining examples will be joining us as speakers at our newly launched Ideas Fest, a festival for all disruptors, creatives, change-makers, decision-makers & the curious. Featuring comedy, music, Morning Rise (Yoga), a festival book club, digital funfair, Pitch & Present, Workshops, Demos & Incredible Food and Drink From The UK's Finest Independents, we’d love to see you there! (www.ideasfest.co.uk)?

SPECIAL OFFER 2-4-1 'BUDDY PASS'

BOOK YOUR IDEAS FEST PASS NOW AND BRING A COLLEAGUE, FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER ** LIMITED TIME OFFER **

Day passes are also available!

And if you’re running a business, or know someone inspiring who is, do point them in the direction of www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com as entries are open until June 4th.