The search is on to find ‘Kerry’s Best Entrepreneur’.
The ‘Kerry’s Best Entrepreneur’ campaign was recently launched with an allotment of €50,000 to be awarded to the three winners from the county.
The competition is run by ‘LEO Kerry’ and is the regional part of a larger national competition to find ‘Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur’.
This regional section is open all individuals aged from 18-30 with all entrants being judged under the auspices of three different categories:
• BEST BUSINESS IDEA (Pre-Trading)
• BEST START-UP BUSINESS (Up To 24 Months)
• BEST ESTABLISHED BUSINESS (Over 24 Months)
Up to 15 finalists will be selected based on their application and the competition starts with a business boot-camp held over 2-3 weekends, where the finalists will develop entrepreneurial skills through workshops, coaching and mentorship.
Each finalist will leave the boot camp being able to pitch their business with the support of a business plan. The finalists will then pitch their business to an external panel of judges, where the judges will pick a winner in each category and an overall winner.
The winner will then go on to regional finals of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur, and they will receive extra mentorship in preparation for the final.
“I entered the competition last year with nothing more than a rough idea, and the process really helped me define a strategy for the business. The prize fund really helped kickstart my business. I would recommend anyone 18-30 who has a business or even just an idea to enter; it’s free and the support is phenomenal” said Niall Harty, winner of ‘Best Business Idea’ 2014.
If you have an idea that you think might be worthy, you can enter the competition through the website here.
