Things have felt pretty bleak for many business owners recently but there is a lot to be celebrated, not least the entrepreneurial spirit that has come to the fore in response to the Covid-19 crisis. Barclays has opened its annual Entrepreneur Awards to recognise and celebrate the UK’s most successful home-grown ventures, and we think there are plenty of those in Sheffield. Read on for details about the categories and how to enter.

Barclays Entrepreneur Awards – now in their fifth year – are designed to highlight and recognise entrepreneurs who are changing their industries, the economy and society in unique, original and positive ways.

Winning an award will give you access to a community of business leaders, experts and other entrepreneurs and will help you to increase the profile of your business.

Nominations are open now until Friday 3 July and you can nominate yourself or an entrepreneur that you think is worthy of an award. Winners will be selected from eight regions across the UK. Here are the five main categories with some details about the criteria provided to us by Barclays:

Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year

New business: The nominee has started a new business or venture, which has the potential to grow rapidly exploiting a gap in the market.

Innovative solution: The start-up business or venture has been created through the identification and exploitation of a market opportunity, developing an innovative solution or approach.

Propensity for scale: The start-up business has a clear scalable model, it is built for significant replication across the UK and / or internationally.

Founder owned: The business is substantially founder owned (i.e. the majority shareholder is not a corporate or VC).

Scale-up Entrepreneur of the Year

Fast Growth: The company is experiencing rapid growth of at least 20% year on year for three consecutive years in revenue and employees.

Established Business: The founder has led the business through rapid growth periods, through building a strong management team, business and revenue model, and establishing the business as a disrupter / differentiator in the market.

Ownership: The business may have received external investment from a third party or it may have grown organically.

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

Transformative social change: The nominee has founded their business in order to address a societal need. The business is delivering a positive transformative social or environmental impact on society as a whole in the UK or abroad.

Direct positive impact: The nominee has founded, developed and implemented the initiative directly, with the sustainable benefits of this clearly measured and documented.

The business model: The founder has built a business that is commercially viable, sustainable and scalable.

Timescale: The business has made significant or particular progress, or has overcome challenges in the past year to make this a pivotal point in the business; growing impact and reach, becoming financially sustainable and growing client base.

Icon of the Year

Entrepreneurial icon: The nominee has successfully scaled one or more businesses, demonstrating tangible examples of turning business visions into realities, achieved through building teams and forming key strategic alliances.

‘Scale up’ growth and sustained success: The candidate has led their business or businesses through significant growth. Success can be evidenced through their history in scaling businesses, raising investment and successful exits.

Support, Mentorship and Role Model: The nominee has demonstrated active support and mentorship for other entrepreneurs, whilst also recognised as a role model for current and future entrepreneurs.

International Expansion of the Year

The International Expansion of the Year award recognises businesses that have been able to establish a trading footprint and market growth in international markets over the last three years. Judges will consider export sales growth / consistency and reach outside of the UK.

There are also three Partnership Awards:

• Eagle Labs Innovation Award – for lab residents making an impact through digital innovation.
• Rise FinTech Award – for businesses building the future of financial services.
• Barclaycard Next Level Award – for entrepreneurs and businesses that have overcome a significant challenge or grabbed their big business growth moment.

All regional winners will be invited to attend the National Awards Dinner which, as it stands, is due to take place in London in October.

You can read more about the Barclays Entrepreneur Awards and make your nomination on the website.

Good luck to anyone entering, let us know how you get on!