The creator of an ingenious way to deal with burst pipes
took to the dancefloor with four other entrepreneurs and
emerged victorious in Britain's biggest business pitching
contest.
Ross Dickinson, founder of Kibosh, secured £50,000 worth of
business support following the grand final of The Pitch 2011,
organised by BusinessZone.co.uk in
association with print and digital services company Yell.
Dickinson, who won the Scottish heat of the competition
during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, pitched
alongside contestants from England, Wales and Northern
Ireland, as well as a wildcard picked by the public, at
London's legendary Pacha nightclub.
Delivering a killer pitch while stood on a dancer's podium
under the nightclub spotlight, the entrepreneur, whose
invention is a device which can be clamped around damaged
pipe work to provide a temporary repair solution in an
emergency, also won the most votes from attendees in the
People's Choice Award sponsored by XLN Telecom.
The contestants were judged by a panel of seasoned business
brains; Karen Darby, a serial social entrepreneur; Carl
Hopkins, marketing expert and star of Channel 4's The
Secret Millionaire and Darren Fell, founder of online
accounting company Crunch.
The £50,000 worth of prizes won by Dickinson, who has been
a plumber for 10 years, include marketing and advertising
solutions from Yell, 12 months mentoring from Karen Darby,
a year's membership of the Forum of Private Business, PR
coaching from Do Your Own PR and 12 months membership of
Adam Street private members club.
The event, also sponsored by Business Environment, Powwownow, Realex Payments and
Crunch, was also the
official UK closing party for Global Entrepreneurship
Week.
Richard Hanscott, chief executive officer for Yell in the
UK, comments: "The Pitch is a wonderful showcase of the
depth of entrepreneurial talent and it's clear from the
quality of the finalists that this is flourishing in local
businesses across the UK.
"Ross and his innovative plumbing product are an
outstanding illustration of the drive and passion that are
essential in setting up and running your own business. As a
champion of local business, we are delighted to be able to
help Ross."
Carl Hopkins, The Pitch 2011 judge and founder of kloog,
adds: "True innovation comes from solving a problem,
and Ross has done just that. Borne of his first hand
experience he has come up with a truly innovative and
simple solution.
"His product is easy to understand, easy to use and
memorable. Kibosh ticks all the boxes for both consumers
and for investors. I am confident we will see them on the
shelves of retailers, the tool boxes of plumbers and in our
homes in the future."
Dan Martin, editor of BusinessZone.co.uk, comments: "Our
grand final usually takes place during the day but this
year, we decided to do something different and make the
competition an evening event at one of London's biggest
nightclubs. It was a huge success!
"Having the entrepreneurs pitching on podiums meant the
audience could get up, close and personal to some of
Britain's brightest business talent.
"All the pitchers did well but Ross Dickison emerged
victorious both in the judges and the public's minds. We
wish Kibosh the very best of luck for the future and know
that the amazing prize package will help him on the next
step in his business journey."
The other finalists in the final were:
- England: Cara Sayer, Snoozeshade (a product to help children sleep while in a pushchair)
- Wales: Helen McAvoy and Naomi Kibble, Rocktails (pre-packaged frozen cocktails)
- Wildcard: Gill Ellis and Nicola Morgan, Behaviour stop (creators of Good Choice Teddy, a cuddly toy which helps children improve their behaviour
Editor's Notes
For more information about The Pitch 2011 and to arrange interviews, please contact Meg Pope on meg.pope@siftmedia.co.uk or 0117 915 9615.
Full details about The Pitch 2011 are at www.thepitch2011.com.
The Pitch 2011 is an initiative by Sift Media, in association with Yell.
About Sift Media
Sift Media is a leading business-to-business publisher specialising in online professional communities and face-to-face business events.
With a range of services including websites, email publications, industry awards and exhibitions, Sift Media delivers original, branded content to over half a million professionals every month, across small business, finance, accounting, HR and training, IT, marketing, customer management and knowledge management.
About BusinessZone.co.uk
BusinessZone.co.uk is Sift Media's online publication for entrepreneurs providing free, practical and no-nonsense advice on how to start and grow a successful business.
About Yell
Yell Group is a leading provider of digital services within the emerging local eMarketplace for consumers and SMEs across its operations in the UK, US, Spain and some countries in Latin America.
Building on its strong presence in the local market through its current digital and print portfolio, Yell is developing a broad range of digital services tailored to the converging needs of SMEs and consumers.
These address both the SME need to grow, transact and be efficient in the digital world, and the consumers' need to connect locally to the goods and services they want, in a way which saves them time and money, and moves their lives forward.
In the year ended 31 March 2011, Yell Group had 1.3 million SME customers.