The prestigious Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010 competition is now open for entries. Could it be you?

What is it?

• £10,000 cash injection to the business
• Raises profile and generates vital publicity for the winner and regional finalists
• The 2009 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Robert Matthams (Shiply.com), benefited from coverage in the Financial Times and The Independent as well as broadcast media such as BBC Radio 5 Live and Working Lunch. Articles and features on his business reached a combined audience of over 7 million readers and listeners

Who is it for?

• The most outstanding entrepreneurial young business person in the UK!
• UK-residents aged 16-30 (on the 6th September 2010)
• Anyone who has been trading for between 3 and 18 months (on the 6th September 2010)
   

Applications from across the UK are now invited online at:

www.shell-livewire.org/awards
(deadline 5pm on Monday 6th September 2010)

Previous winners include:

• Jamie Murray-Wells (Glasses Direct) - the largest online retailer of prescription glasses in the world who now employs 70 staff and has a turnover of £40million
• Michael Welch (Blackcircles.com) - the UK’s largest online tyre retailer
• Jenniver Irvine (The Pure Package) - a gourmet food home delivery service which has revolutionised dieting and healthy eating. She now has 20 staff and a turnover of over £1m
• Most recently, our 2009 winner Robert Matthams (Shiply.com) has since gone on to win a whole host of awards and accolades, attracting over 10,000 companies to his eBay-style reverse auction site for moving goods (see www.shell-livewire.org/news/award2009/ for details).

*Watch our short promo video of former LiveWIRE winners since 1982 here!

Above: Robert Matthams with James Smith, Chairman Shell UK and the coveted
Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 trophy.

The Award Final / Shell LiveWIRE LIVE!

This year, eight regional winners will be shortlisted and sent to London to present to our UK final judging panel comprising;

• Duncan Bannatyne OBE (more >)
• Simon Dolan (SJD Accountancy / 'The Twitter investor') (more >)
• Emma Jones (Enterprise Nation) (more >)
• Tim Campbell (Bright Ideas Trust) (more >)
• Professor Sara Carter (Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship) (more >)
• Josie Emberton (UnLtd / Live UnLtd) (more >)
• Robert Matthams (Shiply.com) (more >)
• Hermione Way (Newspepper / Techfluff.TV) (more >)
• Alex Mitchell (Institute of Directors) (more >)
• Melanie Lane (General Manager UK Retail, Shell) (more >)
   

The overall winner will then be announced at our Shell LiveWIRE LIVE! event in London on 13th October where a host of young entrepreneurs, movers and shakers will come together for a series of top business speakers, workshops and networking sessions throughout the day and early evening.

If you are interested in attending this event, register your early interest now by emailing your name and full contact details to: rsvplive@shell-livewire.org
 

Until then, please help us to promote this exciting competition far and wide, sharing this information with anyone you think might be interested in applying.

On Twitter?

To talk about the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010 competition in the build up to (and during) the award final on Twitter, please reference it from now on by using the following hashtag;

Twitter: #slw10

Thanks and good luck!

Paul Lancaster
Web Development Executive
www.shell-livewire.org

About Shell LiveWIRE UK

Shell LiveWIRE is a Shell Social Investment Programme which began in Strathclyde in 1982 to address high levels of youth unemployment. Since then over £5million has been given to young entrepreneurs in the UK alone.

Shell now runs Shell LiveWIRE in over 20 countries around the world to nurture the spirit of enterprise in young people. For the full list of countries please go to www.shell-livewire.com/home/findprogramme/

If you'd like to know more about Shell LiveWIRE, you can now watch a video of me giving an overview and demo of the Shell LiveWIRE website at the Business Startup Show 2010 at ExCel London on Thursday 20th May 2010.
 

Covering the key areas of the Shell LiveWIRE website, I also;

• talk about the history of the LiveWIRE programme
• demonstrate some of the business tools and resources available online
• show how to use the Discussion Forum and Social Network to get answers to your questions, connect with others and give your SEO a boost
• explain the monthly £1,000 and annual £10,000 award award funding available for young entrepreneurs aged 16-30
• answer questions from members of the audience at the end of the session

To watch this video please go to:

http://www.startuptv.co.uk/directory/business-support/shell-livewire.html