Startups Awards 2017 celebrates best of new British business

Last night, the 14th annual Startups Awards celebrated the best in new British business, showcasing an array of exciting start-ups from up and down the country, all of which were launched in the last four years.

Judges of the Startups Awards 2017 included wellbeing entrepreneur Liz Earle MBE, Dragons’ Den investor Touker Suleyman and Paul Lindley, founder of Ella’s Kitchen.

The Startups Awards 2017 winners

The overall winner was Bulb, which landed The Start Up Loans Start-Up of the Year award.

The renewable energy company promises the cheapest 100% renewable energy on the market. According to Bulb, its average member saves 1.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere – the equivalent of every member taking 1.3 cars off the road.

Other notable wins come from the Women in Business category, which saw 65 year-old Tricia Cusden, founder of Look Fabulous Forever, a beauty and cosmetics site aimed at older women, named as winner.

Franchisee of the Year went to Hannah Drury, of Caremark, Sutton – a domestic homecare business. Drury took over as franchisee in 2015 after the tragic death of her stepfather. Two years on and Drury has demonstrated her business acumen with profits up 74% in that time supported by contracts with the local authority and privately-funded clients.

Sex toy company MysteryVibe took home Export Business of the Year; the judges were  its smart vibrators are shipped to 55 countries worldwide.

The People’s Champion 2017 went to Cornerstone; founded by Oliver Bridge, Cornerstone is a mail order razor company with an ethical focus. This is the third time Cornerstone has won the People’s Champion title – a record 40,000 votes from the public were cast this year.

The Startups Awards 2017 winners in full:

• The Start Up Loans Start-up of the Year: Bulb
• People’s Champion: Cornerstone
• App of the Year: Bloom & Wild
• Crowdfunded Business of the Year: Mous
• Export Business of the Year: MysteryVibe
• Franchisee of the Year: Hannah Drury, Caremark (Sutton)
• Innovative Business of the Year: Flight Club
• Product Business of the Year: Pip & Nut
• Retail Business of the Year: Bloom & Wild
• Service Business of the Year: Ventro Group
• Tech Business of the Year: Decibel Insight
• The Founders Pledge Social Impact Award: Bulb
• The Start Up Loans Inspiring Entrepreneur of the Year: Infinity Trampoline Park
• Venture-funded Business of the Year: Trouva
• Women in Business Award: Tricia Cusden, Look Fabulous Forever
• Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Pip Muray, Pip & Nut

About the Startups Awards 2017

Established in 2004 by Startups.co.uk, the Startups Awards is the UK’s longest-running awards to celebrate and champion the country’s most exciting, innovative and game-changing new businesses launched in the last 4 years.

This year, we’re proud to have The Start Up Loans Company as headline sponsor of the Startups Awards 2017, joined by sponsors haysmacintyre, AXA Business Insurance, GoDaddy, Payzone, Oracle & Netsuite, and All Response Media.

The Startups Awards has an industry-wide reputation for discovering and identifying start-ups that will evolve to become huge brands, market leaders, and, often, household names.

Past Startups Awards winners include Ella’s Kitchen, The Cambridge Satchel Company, Naked Wines, Made.com, Secret Escapes, Home Instead Senior Care, Notonthehighstreet.com, PROPERCORN, Purplebricks and Onfido, to name but a few.

Ian Wallis, editorial director at Startups.co.uk,  comments: “There are three things that really stand out among our winner:

“The pace at which some start-ups scale is phenomenal. Renewable energy supplier Bulb, as The Start Up Loans Start-up of the Year, has doubled its customers to a staggering 200,000 in just three months.

“Second, age is no barrier. The founders of Bulb are in their early 30s while our Women in Business award winner Tricia Cusden started Look Fabulous Forever at the age of 65.

“And the third point we see every year. Funded or not, big or smaller, London-based or not, there seems no end to the deep well of brilliantly innovative, determined, and passionate entrepreneurs in the UK.

“We’re in awe of what our finalists and entrants have achieved.”

View the Startups Awards 2017 profiles in full here, and share your support for the Startups Awards using the hashtag #StartupsAwards.