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Warwick Entrepreneurs: Be Your Own Boss

Be Your Own Boss logoThe Be Your Own Boss competition organised by Warwick Entrepreneurs returns to campus on 18 February 2010.

Be Your Own Boss is Warwick's answer to the television programme Dragons' Den and is sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Accenture, Warwick Business School Enterprise Hub and the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE). There is £2000 prize money up for grabs for the most innovative business ideas submitted to a team of expert judges.

The final will take place in Ramphal Lecture Theatre at 7pm on 18 February and all are welcome to attend. There are eight finalists: Christie Sarri, Alex Chamberlain, Verity Scott, Jean Malissard, Dobromira Boyadjieva, Theo Inglis, Jonathan Ross, and Charles-Henry Dessagne.

Students are invited to enter the competition in two categories: business category or idea category by submitting a 250-300 words entry followed by a business proposal if they progress to the next stage. The most innovative entries will be short-listed to compete at a live-final held on 18th February 2010. Here, they will pitch to a panel of experienced judges and a live-audience to win £1,000 and business support. The judges include:

  • Experienced entrepreneurs
  • Business angel investors
  • Entrepreneurship professors
  • Representatives from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Accenture

Last year's competition was featured in The Independent Newspaper and The Coventry Telegraph. It was won by Stephen Leguillon, Steve Barnes and Velin Djidjev, three 20 year old directors who were all third year BSc management students from Warwick Business School when they won the competition in November 2008 with their business e-resistible.co.uk. Steve Barnes says the competition has been a vital experience, "even as a confidence boost and to see where we are with the business it was invaluable," he says. "It was the first time we'd pitched to an investor who was going to cast a serious critical eye over the business, and the judges really didn't mince their words; they really went for it sometimes."

Launched in May 2007, E-resistible allows customers to order takeaways over the internet. Set up by three 20-year old directors, all BSc Management students from Warwick Business School, who chose to forego important banking internships to build the business. They now run e-resistible full time, operate a call centre and employ 3 people full time. They have over 400 restaurants on their books and are set to sell over 3/4 of a million pounds of takeaway food this year.

About Warwick Entrepreneurs

Warwick Entrepreneurs is a student society at the University of Warwick which aims to provide a platform to inspire and develop the future generation of entrepreneurs at Warwick. The society is sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Accenture while also supported by the Warwick Students Union, Warwick Business School Enterprise Hub and the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE). In November 2009, the society ran Global Entrepreneurship Week at Warwick and The Oripprentice competition with Oriflame UK.

If you are interested in working with Warwick Entrepreneurs visit www.warwickentrepreneurs.com or contact Kostas Mavroulakis (Chairman, Warwick Entrepreneurs) k.mavroulakis@warwick.ac.uk