SCOTLAND's entrepreneurial dynamism will be celebrated at a dinner at the Glasgow City Hotel on 25 November when the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards are presented in front of around 500 guests.
Staged this year by Entrepreneurial Scotland in association with professional services firm Deloitte and media partner The Herald, the awards are Scotland's longest-standing annual awards for growth-oriented entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurial Scotland is an organisation for ambitious entrepreneurs, with 400 members, representing £17 billion of turnover and some 150,000 employees.
The awards fall into two categories: Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, and Entrepreneur of the Year. Among the judges this year is Mike Welch, founder of tyres firm Blackcircles.com, who won the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award last year.
Our preview of the short-listed candidates in each category begins with the three nominees for Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year.
Sandy Kennedy, chief executive of Entrepreneurial Scotland, said: “Our purpose is to inspire, develop and connect a growing and diverse community of people with an entrepreneurial mindset. Each of our shortlisted candidates is a fantastic example of that mindset in action, turning ideas, skills and sheer determination into success stories for Scotland.”
Jamie Coleman
Codebase
Edinburgh
With a background in life sciences, Jamie Coleman gained early exposure to Scottish tech start-ups. This inspired him to want to develop an ecosystem in Edinburgh that would foster more technology-based new businesses, attract investment north of the border and enable more home-grown firms to go global.
In 2011 Mr Coleman started the Turing Festival, an annual event that has grown to become the Scotland’s premier tech showcase.
The following year he launched TechCube, a technology incubator in Edinburgh housing a range of start-ups. When it became clear that the capacity of TechCube alone could not meet the demand from aspiring entrepreneurs he created a bigger facility at CodeBase in March 2014.
Codebase provides tech start-ups with access to modestly priced office space, mentoring from Mr Coleman and his team, teach-in sessions led by the local adviser community, exposure to potential investors and access to other like-minded entrepreneurs.
The facility has grown rapidly to become the largest technology incubator in the UK and one of the fastest growing in Europe. It houses 62 start-up companies, which employ more than 400 people in total.
Iain Hutchison
Merlin ERD
Perth
An oil and gas engineer by training, Iain Hutchison worked for multi-national companies before spotting an opportunity to use the experience he gained drilling wells at extreme angles and depths to develop a business that would help companies maximise recovery from deep water reservoirs.
Since founding Merlin ERD in 2007, Mr Hutchison has developed the firm into a successful consultancy which specialises in extended reach drilling complex and high angle wells. The company has delivered projects in Russia, Australasia, the Middle East, West Africa, the North Sea and the Americas.
While the current low oil price environment has led to less wells being drilled and some projects being delayed Merlin ERD has seen business pick up again in recent months and the company’s strong balance sheet has enabled it to withstand the slow start to the year.
Mr Hutchison is passionate about education and training, and runs training courses for in-house drilling engineers. Unfilled places on these courses are offered to unemployed engineers at cost.
He plans to open an office in Houston within the next 24 months and has aspirations to expand into the Middle East.
Julie Wilson and Amy Livingstone
Cheeky Chompers
Edinburgh
Amy Livingstone and Julie Wilson met at an antenatal class when they were eight months pregnant with their first children. As young mums, they spotted a gap in the market for a teething product that would stay attached to a baby’s body, and decided to develop their own.
They incorporated Cheeky Chompers in August 2012 with initial funding raised via family and friends (all now repaid) and the prize money from winning the Scottish EDGE competition. In February 2013 Cheeky Chompers officially launched with its innovative Neckerchew, “The world’s first chewable dribble bib for teething tots”.
The Neckerchew quickly won a following and is stocked by major retailers such as John Lewis and JoJo Maman Bebe in the UK. It is sold in over 30 countries.
Last year the duo launched the Comfortchew, a chewableable comforter that can be attached to a child or buggy.
In April this year they began producing Neckerchews in larger sizes in order to cater for children and adults with special needs.
Plans for new products are in the pipeline.
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