Edinburgh entrepreneurs share £24,000 to spark growth

A clutch of Edinburgh's most promising start-ups have shared £24,000 in prize money to fuel further growth at their firms.

The Entrepreneurial Spark awards recognised the achievements of Edinburgh's brightest start-ups. Picture: John Devlin

The Entrepreneuring Awards, hosted last night by business accelerator Entrepreneurial Spark in partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), KPMG, Dell EMC and Harper Macleod, saw six fledgling businesses win accolades.

Kristian Tapaninaho, founder of outdoor wood-fired pizza oven company Uuni, won £7.000 as Entrepreneur of the Moment. The business saw turnover grow by 300 per cent last year to reach £2.5 million.

Julie Shaw-Binns, founder of marketing firm Brand Oath, and Ian Brown, founder of touring cinema business Film Mobile Scotland, each won £4,000 under the Acceler8 award.

Jamie Douglas-Hamilton, founder of drinks firm Actiph Water, and Matt and Helen Davies, co-founders of software business Agency Core, each won £3,000 under the #GoDo category.

The Chiclet’s Choice award, nominated by fellow entrepreneurs, went to Philip Mowat of Tie Club who received £1,000.

Malcolm Buchanan, chairman of RBS’s Scottish board, said: “These awards highlight the strength, talent and diversity of business ideas and young start-ups that exist in Scotland and every winner should be justifiably proud of their achievement.

“As a country, it is important that we foster a can-do culture and help business start-ups take the next step. Entrepreneurial Spark can help make that happen.”

The prize money awarded to Edinburgh entrepreneurs was part of a £280,000 pot shared between businesses at Entrepreneuring Awards events throughout the UK.

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