The Great British Entrepreneur Awards & Community

EVERYTHING WE DO IS ABOUT

2020 Winners

2019 winners

2018 winners

2017 winners

2016 winners

2015 winners

In 2012 we launched an awards programme to shine a light on Great British Entrepreneurs.

It’s now grown to so much more than that, and while we are home to the largest celebration of entrepreneurship via The Great British Entrepreneur Awards, we are also a community and eco-system of some 50,000 entrepreneurs and their supporters.

Take a look around to see what we’re doing, along with our impressive community and passionate supporters.

Proudly partnered with Starling Bank

"It’s particularly exciting for us to have such a committed partner with a real entrepreneurial success story behind it. Starling’s founder and CEO, Anne Boden MBE, is someone who saw so many problems with traditional banking and decided to do something about it, disrupting an entire industry in the process."
- Francesca James, Founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards & Community

Find out more

Starling Bank becomes first profitable digital bank

November 20, 2020

In a blog post on Starling’s website, founder Anne Boden wrote how the bank is breaking barriers and breaking even, becoming the UK’s first digital bank

New businesses increase 5% in Q3

October 20, 2020

The number of people launching businesses in the UK has risen by more than 5% since last year, despite the hugely challenging conditions facing firms,

Starling’s approach to responsible banking

October 20, 2020

We’re immensely proud to be working with Starling Bank to champion and celebrate the UK’s entrepreneurs. And we’re just as proud of the work it

A Helping Hand: Navigating the business and legal landscape during and post Covid-19

July 28, 2020

The Covid-19 emergency has highlighted just how much business owners need to be prepared to adapt to changing circumstances. That’s one reason our partners at

Shop independent This christmas

Special offers from Great British Entrepreneurs

Shop Today!

SHOP SMALL

Latest

latest Community News

Here’s what members of our community have been doing, making, announcing and disrupting.

DrivenMedia helps jobseeker with giant truck CV

We’ve all seen the stories of recent graduates taking to the streets in search of a job. They might be holding a sign or handing

Flawsome! launches in Whole Foods

We’re sending a big high five to the team over at Flawsome! who have announced a listing with Whole Foods. Flawsome! saves imperfect and surplus

Happy news: Lucy & Yak release podcast episode with Holly Tucker MBE

It’s easy to start feeling more than a little overwhelmed with the bad news right now which is why, with our partner Printed.com, we’re on a

Happy news: GBEA alumni collaborate to get a boost from the Moose

It’s easy to start feeling more than a little overwhelmed with the bad news right now which is why, with our partner Printed.com, we’re on a

Digital opportunities in consumer sectors

November 25, 2020

The importance of 21st century skills: Why we invest in founders, not just start-ups

November 23, 2020

Four ways entrepreneurs young and old can benefit from succession planning

November 18, 2020

#SmallBusinessStar campaign to help struggling charities

November 16, 2020

Setting a new course: Rethinking health and wealth in a post-COVID world

November 11, 2020

Did you know we have a magazine?

View the latest issue of the GB Entrepreneurs magazine. This magazine brings those incredible stories together in one place, helping to shine a spotlight on some of the best entrepreneurial stories and biggest issues facing entrepreneurs in the UK today.

Previous Issues

Nice things say about us

GBEA is a community that really does work to the benefit of everyone involved. Something you don’t realise, even being in business yourself, is just how many incredible British businesses there are and we should be sharing success stories and championing those getting out there and doing it more – and that’s exactly what GBEA does.

In truth, we didn’t really understand what was going on. When Steven (founder of Poundland) said he would do it, we thought he was joking. Even when we exchanged contact details we thought maybe he would change his mind. But Steven kept his promise and helped us exceed our target. When we saw he’d done it we were dancing around and screaming at each other down the phone.

GBEA is utterly brilliant at recognising the wonderful and diverse entrepreneurial talent we have in Great Britain. Winning the Young Entrepreneur and Great British Entrepreneur of the Year for the South West Region was literally mind-blowing and is now inspiring me to push myself harder than ever before!

Winning The Great British Entrepreneur of the year 2019 has been a very special experience for both myself and the Hey Girls team. Whilst only a few months in, the recognition and opportunities are coming thick and fast. As a start-up Social Enterprise this kind of accolade is invaluable to help us grow and evolve. Onwards and upwards!

I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life, and when I did stop to think about winning the award, it felt like such an honour and maybe it’s a little pat on the back to myself. All the hard work was finally being recognised, and Mr Lees was the catalyst for that. We have won lots of awards over the years, but this is the one that really meant a lot to me.

There’s so much amazing innovation and creativity in UK F&B brands right now, so this recognition was incredibly special, at a really pivotal time for Snaffling Pig. As an entrepreneur, you come up against so many unexpected highs and lows - being able to share that with other founders, within the GBEA community, has been incredibly rewarding and I’d recommend it to anyone thinking about going for it in 2020.

a community RECOGNISED BY GOVERNMENT:

What marks these awards out is the way they've fostered such an impressive, supportive community of people. And that's never been more important than right now.

Rishi Sunak, Chancellor

Upcoming

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

HOW MUCH SHOULD A SMALL BUSINESS BE SPENDING ON GOOGLE ADS?

In this free session, James Oakley, recognised as one of the world’s leading mobile marketers, will identify how much small businesses should be spending on Google Ads.

Scaling effectively: The art of letting go

In this free session, GBEA head of content Jonathan Davies will sit down with entrepreneur and start-up and scale-up adviser, Kate Methuen-Ley. As the leader of your business you need to give yourself space to have a clear vision and a clear route to your goal. Knowing when, what and how to outsource the tasks that aren’t the best use of your time can be daunting. Kate will talk through the things to consider and the benefits of not being the expert in everything in your business.

Becoming a B Corp

This free session will see GBEA founder Francesca James speak with a panel of B Corp business leaders including Pippa Murray of Pip & Nut, Jo-Anne Chidley of Beauty Kitchen and Gareth Jones of Town Square Spaces. Pippa, Jo-Anne and Gareth will share top tips and advice on becoming fully certified, the application process, advantages and benefits that being a B Corp can have, and how this can positively affect your business.

Supporting International Innovation

Working with Fortunis Capital, we're showcasing some of the most promising foreign entrepreneurs who have been endorsed under the new Home Office Start up & Innovator scheme and have relocated their business to the UK – creating new jobs and helping to strengthen the economy for an overall positive effect.

VIEW THIS YEARS SHORTLIST

The Great British Entrepreneurs

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UBS GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT

The Great British Entrepreneur Awards Hall of Fame recognises individuals with a long-term record of combining their outstanding entrepreneurial achievements with a sustained commitment to supporting entrepreneurial talent throughout the Great British Entrepreneur Awards and other partner programmes.

The first fourteen individuals were inducted into the Great British Entrepreneurs Champions Hall of Fame in 2019, with three new members being inducted at the 2020 virtual regional final.

Julie Deane OBE

John Stapleton

Oli Barrett MBE

Will King

Steven Smith

James Caan CBE

Holly Tucker MBE

Kanya King CBE

Ajaz Ahmed

Peter Roberts

Dr Stephen Fear

Mel Young MBE

Paul Lees

Matt Smith

Hugh Chappell

Hayley Parsons OBE

See more from UBS Global Wealth Management:

A year of renewal: the decade of transformation

In a “Year of Renewal” we will see a world that is steadily returning to normal, despite continued uncertainty, while also rapidly accelerating into a transformed future.

Download the report

Digital opportunities in consumer sectors

November 25, 2020

Consumer behaviour is changing. Greater smartphone penetration has dissolved boundaries of time and place, transforming how consumers interact with consumer companies. Read the full report

Four ways entrepreneurs young and old can benefit from succession planning

November 18, 2020

Exiting a business can be a moment of truth for an entrepreneur. A solid succession plan can make the difference between success and failure. Read

Setting a new course: Rethinking health and wealth in a post-COVID world

November 11, 2020

Amid the confinement of the pandemic— and facing threats to their lives and livelihoods—investors looked inward. Most rediscovered the joy of family, the importance of

Reset for the recovery: Investing in a world after COVID-19

November 4, 2020

Fears about the economic impact of coronavirus-induced lock-downs sparked a record-breaking sell-off in March. But global financial markets have since staged a record-breaking recovery, driven

Doing Business in Europe: The four opportunities for entrepreneurs

October 29, 2020

In this report—part of the Doing Business in Europe series – our partner UBS Global Wealth Management consider opportunities for entrepreneurs outside of Europe who

Entrepreneur ROund tables

As a community, we regularly bring together thought leaders and industry experts for roundtable discussions that allow us to ‘test the temperature’ and highlight industry concerns and/or trends.

Short video is ‘charging a revolution’ in brand advertising

The short video which is often produced using a smartphone and TikTok for a low budget is transforming traditional advertising and PR, suggest media experts

Can UK tech start-ups change us for the good?

At a recent GBEA and haysmacintyre roundtable event tech for good was the focus of discussion. Can UK tech startups change us for the good?

HealthTech entrepreneurs say Covid-19 ‘changing HealthTech forever’

Covid-19 is changing UK HealthTech forever, according to founders of UK healthcare start-ups at a recent online round table organised by the Great British Entrepreneur Awards and haysmacintyre. “Who

Sustainable fashion needs to foster trust and transparency with a good dollop of collaboration thrown-in

For it to flourish sooner rather than later, sustainable fashion needs engagement with the consumer which in turns requires trust and transparency with collaboration. At

Reaching for the Starlings

Along with our partners Starling Bank, the Great British Entrepreneur Awards prides itself on supporting exciting entrepreneurs making waves in the UK.