THE region's rising entrepreneurs
are being assessed by some
of the best in the business as the
If We Can You Can challenge
searches for its finalists.
More than 120 people have entered
the search for the region's
most enterprising new business
figures, who will also become the
faces of North-East entrepreneurship
next year.
The entrants will be shortlisted
to 14 finalists - two from each
of the campaign's sub-regions -
who will be chosen by a panel of
judges.
The finalists will be announced
on Thursday and the
winners will be named on June 12
after a public vote.
The If We Can You Can Challenge,
run by the Entrepreneurs'
Forum and backed by The Northern
Echo, aims to nurture emerging
entrepreneurial talent and recapture
a spirit of enterprise in
the North-East.
The Northern Echo's judging
panel will include Entrepreneurs'
Forum director Sir Peter
Vardy, the newspaper's editor,
Peter Barron, and a leading figure
from business support organisation
Business Link North-
East.
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Sir Peter said he has been impressed
by entrepreneurs in the
region.
"The response to the challenge
has been excellent. I am encouraged
by the quantity, quality and
diversity of applicants," he said.
"It is a genuinely exciting mix
of new business ideas, successful
start-ups and emerging businesses
showcasing their success.
"I look forward to a challenging
judging process."
The entrepreneurs will be assessed
by judges on criteria including
vision, drive and profile.
The judging panels will consider
the experience of entrants
and their determination, challenges
and whether they can inspire
others.
Finalists will be invited to the
Entrepreneurs' Forum's fifth Annual
Conference on May 22,
which features a line-up of worldrenowned
speakers, including supermodel
and entrepreneur Elle
Macpherson.
The finalists will be profiled on
the campaign's website - ifwecanyoucan.
co.uk - and put forward
for a public vote.
The winners will become
"next year's faces of entrepreneurship"
and will receive a
monthly business surgery with
some of the region's leading entrepreneurs,
an iphone and a
£2,000 support package.
All of the entrants will continue
to be part of a growing online
community of business people
on the website, which stands at
more than 240.
The site provides a forum for
them to share their stories with
others who aspire to start or
grow a business.
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