The winner of February’s £5,000 Small Business Grants competition is Cypher, an educational company that teaches children between the age of 4 and 14 how to code during the school holidays.
Small Business Grants now is closed for March and our inhouse team will narrow down the applicants to a shortlist, which will be sent off to our judges for consideration.
If you run a small business at least one year old with a turnover between £50,000 and £500,000, you can apply for free here for our April competition.
Cypher’s camps run for a full week and incorporate real world themes such as fashion, architecture, digital art, music and nature, into its camp days to show children how technology can be used creatively in any way they can imagine. CEO Elizabeth Tweedale says the company strives to provide a fun, energetic, enriched and comprehensive education for all of its young students.
Launched in June 2016, Cypher has grown from one camp with 12 students to seven camps across London with over 100 students attending the camps each holiday. The also hold after school coding clubs in schools and venues teaching another 120 students to code each week. In August 2017 the company won a position in the Entrepreneurial Spark Scale programme, which Tweedale says helped her focus on the company’s growth plans and set the scalable business model into action.
Over the last eight months, the company has grown from the founder to having three staff members and four teachers in September 2017 to now having seven staff members and 30 teachers, with a turnover in excess of £10,000 a month.
Tweedale says, ‘Cypher’s vision is to create a world where children will have an unlimited appetite for curiosity which will enable them to move forward, open new doors, tackle whatever the future brings and become successful and valuable members of their communities.’
‘Inspired’
Our judges commended Cypher on addressing key market requirements. Rennie Schafer, CEO of the Self Storage Association says, ‘This is a business aiming to educate todays children on the technology they will take for granted tomorrow.
‘I think the idea of adding drones into their educational programme is inspired and will not only provide interest and entertainment for the children but will educate them on a tool that will have mainstream use by the time they join the workforce.’
March competition open
Our February competition attracted a record number of entries. The March competition is now open so apply now for your chance to win £5,000 to invest in your company’s growth. The deadline is close of play on March 31st.
Our in-house team at SmallBusiness.co.uk will now produce a shortlist of the leading six companies for our judges to consider, and February’s winner will be revealed later in the month.
If you run a small business at least one year old with a turnover between £50,000 and £500,000, you can apply for free here for our March competition.
At the end of each month our in-house editorial team narrows the applicants into a shortlist of six companies. The shortlist is then sent to our panel of independent judges, made up of prominent entrepreneurs and industry authorities. A decision is made on the winner shortly afterwards. For more information on the process, please visit our FAQ page in the link above.
The winner of December/January’s £5,000 Small Business Grants competition is Perlego, a SaaS platform offering unlimited access to academic e-books on a subscription basis.
Billed as the ‘Spotify for textbooks’, Perlego claims to be the first and only SaaS platform offering unlimited access to academic e-books on a subscription basis.
Officially launched in December 2016, Perlego has already partnered with over 1,350 publishers, including most of the market leaders such as Wiley, Pearson, Elseiver, Palgrave MacMillan, Springer and Taylor and Francis, to offer over 320,000 academic e-books.
‘According to the Financial Times, textbook prices have increased by 847 per cent since 1982 or three times the rate of inflation,’ says co-founder Gauthier Van Malderen. ‘We are on a mission to make academic content more affordable.’
Our judges commended Perlego on bringing new ideas to the market and its strong partnerships.
Andrew Clough, founder of The Brew says, ‘Perlego is an obvious win for all hard-up students, and an impressive range of publishers are onboard. Marketing is going to be key to user growth, so they will need to concentrate on building partnership across the academic spectrum to channel students into the portal.
‘The more features introduced as part of the portal the better for user retention.’
Rennie Schafer, CEO of the Self Storage Association adds, ‘As more users are turning to the sharing economy it makes complete sense to have an online subscription-based service for access to academic text books.
‘The cost for physical copies of these books is considerable and their lifespan limited, an ideal market for a subscription service. The idea of users then using collaborative learning and sharing reading lists makes this a complete experience for students, far superior then buying or borrowing a physical textbook.’
Shortlist for December/January
After a long and difficult process, December/January’s Small Business Grants entrants have been narrowed down to six leading companies by our team at SmallBusiness.co.uk.
The selection procedure took into account turnover performance/growth, innovation, partnerships forged/projects completed, and the extent to which we believed a £5,000 cash boost would help the company.
December/January’s Small Business Grants shortlist is as follows:
Composites Evolution
Composites Evolution is a privately-owned business that manufactures value-added materials for the fast-growing composites industry.
www.Merlinsoft.co.uk
Since 2013, Merlin has provided and supported retailers and attractions with EPOS solutions.
Perlego
Billed as the ‘Spotify for textbooks’, Perlego is a SaaS platform offering unlimited access to academic e-books on a subscription basis.
Rockit
Rockit is a portable baby rocker that fits to any pushchair or pram.
Sense Media Group
Sense Media Group was established in 2015 as a conference and training company serving the automotive sector.
Zero Carbon Food
Zero Carbon Food, trading as Growing Underground, is a Controlled Environment Agriculture business established in 2012.
This shortlist will now be sent off to our panel of independent judges, who will make a decision on the winner in the coming days based on our criteria above.
Congratulations to our shortlisted companies for December/January!
Our December/January Small Business Grants competition for £5,000 is now closed, but the February competition is open for entries!
At the end of each month our in-house editorial team narrows the applicants into a shortlist of six companies. The shortlist is then sent to our panel of independent judges, made up of prominent entrepreneurs and industry authorities. A decision is made on the winner shortly afterwards. For more information on the process, please visit our FAQ page in the link above.
If you run a small business at least one year old with a turnover between £50,000 and £500,000, you can apply for free here for our February competition.
All we ask is that you fill in a single form talking about your business. Please note: companies may only apply for this competition every three months.
Previous grant winners
The winner of November’s £5,000 Small Business Grants competition iwas Synap, an educational learning platform for students, professionals and hobbyists.
Using memory science and artificial intelligence, Synap lets people engage with short, multiple-choice quizzes, and uses the data generated to create a personalised learning plan for each user, based on their own strengths and weaknesses.
Originally created in 2014 by James Gupta and Omair Vaiyani as a way to help with their own exams, the system is now used by tens of thousands of students and professionals, across a range of fields, to improve job and exam performance.
Going full time
Having just graduated from Leeds University, Gupta and Vaiyana are now running the business full time, and consider themselves to be in a better position to approach educational institutions, as well as corporates, to offer training solutions for their students and employees.
Gupta says the plan is to spend £2,000 of the grant money on marketing materials (design/events/stand equipment, brochures, flyers), £2,000 on digital marketing (PPC/social ads), and allocate £1,000 for miscellaneous expenses.
‘The £5,000 comes at a perfect time when we were looking for a way to scale up our sales/marketing pipeline and start bringing in new clients across a range of industries,’ he adds.
‘Innovative and scalable’
Our judges commended Synap on its advanced technology, exciting expansion plans and key partnerships forged.
Sarah Turner, CEO of Angel Academe says, ‘Synap is an innovative and scalable proposition. The technology is achieving impressive results for students and the business is set to grow through excellent partnerships.’
Patrick Margetson-Rushmore, founder of Luxaviation adds, ‘Synap’s partnership with the Oxford University Press is very impressive, but it is the dramatically increased pass rate experienced by mytaxi in its Small Vehicles Licensing Exam that really stands out.
‘Synap exhibits the ability to appeal to various types of businesses and, therefore, a wide customer base. It is this scalability that makes it the most impressive company on November’s shortlist and deserving of the £5,000 grant.’
November shortlist
November’s Small Business Grants competition was narrowed down to six companies by our team at SmallBusiness.co.uk. Here is the shortlist:
Cake Bag
Cake Bag is a subscription box service for cake decorating tools and equipment, launched in 2016 by Rachel Sanders.
Cuffs & Co
Cuffs & Co has been in business for just over 14 years, founded from a passion in unusual cufflinks by its managing director and founder Phil Pinder.
Grafik Language
Grafik Language was founded in September 2016, creating copy for cross-channel content.
Kiwi Gray
Founder Adam Graham’s aim is to offer ‘no-nonsense business growth’ for advertising and marketing agencies.
Synap
Synap is an online education platform that uses memory science and AI in an effort to help people learn more in less time.
Tidy Books
Tidy Books is a kid’s bookcase company, began in Geraldine Grandidier’s violin workshop in 2004.
Congratulations to our shortlisted companies for November!
October’s winner
The winner of October’s £5,000 competition was Sent into Space.
Sent into Space
On December 17th 2010, University of Sheffield students Alex Baker and Chris Rose used a helium balloon to film the Earth from the edge of space on a shoestring budget.
The project would inspire Sent into Space, a company offering marketing, research and education with a focus on near space.
Dr Baker and Dr Rose have grown the company to a turnover of circa £300,000 and are looking to expand into providing services for developers of high-altitude equipment such as near-space satellites.
The company has also launched a service that scatters the ashes of the deceased from space.
The £5,000 grant will be instrumental for investment in key equipment to streamline processes.
Alex Keen, who looks after projects and innovation at the company says, ‘Winning this grant is a wonderful achievement for Sent Into Space. This money will allow us to buy a brand new CNC machine, which means we can expand the range of materials we use to build our near-space payloads and greatly improve our turnaround time for new projects.
‘What’s more, it’s very rewarding to be recognised as an innovation leader in our field by the UK small business community. Thanks!’
The pick of the judges
The Small Business Grants judges were impressed by the innovation shown by the company, as well as the partnerships forged and the degree to which the grant can take the business forward.
Rennie Schafer, CEO of the Self Storage Association says, ‘Sent into Space is a business facing the challenges of being a real innovator and having to create much of their equipment bespoke. I like the way the company is thinking creatively about uses for the service and not just focusing on traditional uses. The funeral idea is inspired.’
Rupert Lee-Browne, founder of Caxton FX feels that the company has made its service accessible and easy to buy which is reflected in its growth. ‘The grant will go towards a piece of kit that will make a significant difference to the business,’ he adds.
Andrew Clough, founder of The Brew says, ‘I love the multi-stream nature of the business in terms of how it appeals to education, research and the home enthusiast. And it’s impressive that this approach is underpinned by corporate sales.
‘On top of that, the upcoming partnerships with international space agencies and the use of the latest prototyping technology is why Sent into Space gets my No.1 vote this month.’
September’s winner
The winner of September’s inaugural Small Business Grants competition was Techsixtyfour, collecting £5,000 to invest in the company’s development.
Launched in 2015, Techsixtyfour’s flagship product, The Gator Watch, is a wearable mobile phone and tracker for children which can be used almost anywhere in the world.
After getting her product stocked in John Lewis, founder Colleen Wong saw sales take off and is now preparing to launch the Gator Watch into Europe.
‘I’m so happy to have won the Small Business Grant,’ Wong says. ‘We are currently expanding to Germany, France, Italy and Spain, and this money will really help out with marketing for these efforts.
‘As a mum of two toddlers, now aged two and three, I know just how hard it is to balance work and family. I have now hired 14 flexible working staff who all work on contract (so not employees) and 12 of them are mums of very young children.
‘I’m going to treat my staff to a nice Christmas meal – they work so hard for the company.’
A close contest
In a close competition, our judges were impressed by the innovation and scale potential of the Gator Watch product.
Ian Cass, managing director of the Forum of Private Business says, ‘This is a company currently with a small turnover but huge scalability, showing unique technology and boasting impressive stockists already.’
Rupert Lee-Browne, founder of Caxton FX adds, ‘Techsixtyfour’s offering is great. The product is innovative and gives parents real peace of mind. The distribution points that have been highlighted to achieve the sales are on the money.’
Rob Moore, founder of Progressive Property and host of The Disruptive Entrepreneur podcast gave praise to all of the candidates. ‘The depth and breadth of the shortlist demonstrates incredible creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. With so many innovative entries from small businesses being delivered, it was hard to choose the winner.
‘The entries show remarkable progression year on year and great expertise in their field. All these individuals and small businesses deserve be be recognised, respected and connected. We should celebrate their work in building growing businesses, creating jobs, and innovating.’
The Competition
If you run a small business at least one year old with a turnover between £50,000 and £500,000, you can apply here. All we ask is that you fill in a single form talking about your business. Please note: companies may only apply for this competition every three months.
Our Small Business Grants scheme is sponsored by Worldpay, Travelers, Funding Options, Sage, Salesforce, Opus Energy and Yell Business. These selected partners are specialists in the small business sector and are focused on offering products and services tailored for SMEs. For more information about what they can offer your business, please visit our sponsors page here.
We would also like to thank our partners, SaveTheHighStreet.org, the Business Show 2017, No Brainer, the Forum of Private Business, London Chamber of Commerce, Angel Academe, Luxaviation UK, Caxton, Progressive Property, The Self Storage Association and The Brew.
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