White Bull Summit announces Bully Awards finalists

Europe’s leading investment and innovation event announces 60 finalists for the Bully Awards, recognising excellence in European high-growth businesses

Finalists to present on the main stage at Pathways 2015 in October

London and Barcelona: The White Bull Summit, the team behind Europe’s leading investment and innovation events, has announced the 60 finalists for this year’s Bully Awards. The Bully Awards, which recognise excellence in European high-growth businesses, will be held at the While Bull Summit Pathways 2015 event, which takes place in Barcelona next month.

The 60 finalists from across the four categories – Yearling, Young Bull, Longhorn and Minotaur – will be invited to present on the Pathways 2015 main stage, to an audience of European venture capital investors, corporate venture investors, brands and fellow entrepreneurs. The judging panel – which includes Roxanna Varza of Microsoft; technology journalists Mike Butcher of TechCrunch and Robin Wauters of Tech.eu; and Isabella Schidrich of NASDAQ – will then choose 30 winners, based on their excellence in leadership and performance, market opportunity, growth, and growth potential. The full list of esteemed judges can be seen below. 

Now in its 6th year, While Bull Summit Pathways is the most intimate and prestigious summit in technology, showcasing the best and brightest of European innovation, connecting the top technology entrepreneurs with global investors, big brands, and ecosystem supporters. Programme highlights this year include a keynote from Tim Draper of DFJ Esprit, James Sperans of Morgan Stanley and Andrew Romans of Rubicon Venture Capital and author of The Entrepreneurial Bible to Venture Capital. Other programme features include the celebrated daylong BullPen workshop, presentations from the Bully Award finalists, and intimate fireside chats with icons from the European technology and investment ecosystem.

Elizabeth Perry, co-founder and creative director at White Bull, commented: “The reaction to this year’s Bully Awards was fantastic. We received and reviewed over 400 applications, and whittling it down to just 60 finalists was quite the challenge. We were particularly pleased to have so many applications for our new category – at a time when everyone in Europe is talking about unicorns, it was only right we had a White Bull version, so a special congratulations to this year’s Minotaur finalists!” 

The 30 Bully Award winners will be announced at the White Bull Summit Pathways 2015 finale, at the gala awards ceremony on October 7^th in Barcelona. Pathways 2015 is an invitation-only event – to request an invite please visit: http://whitebull.com/event/pathways-2015

Private equity funds managed by Blackstone announce the acquisition of Ideal Shopping Direct 

ISD operates live and pre-recorded channels across all the major UK TV platforms; Sky, Freeview, Virgin Media and Freesat as well as multiple internet sites. Its two principal divisions are Create & Craft and Ideal World.  ISD delivers a dynamic shopping experience selling specialty craft products to dedicated crafting hobbyists as well as home, leisure, health, beauty and fashion products. Create & Craft is the only dedicated channel to sell specialist craft products and operates 15 hours a day. 

Headquartered in Peterborough in the UK and with a growing operation in the US, the company has over 800 employees and, through its TV networks, reaches over 26 million homes. The experienced management team will continue to be led by Mike Hancox, Chief Executive since 2008. Gerry Murphy, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone and former CEO of both Kingfisher and Carlton Communications (ITV), will become Chairman.

The transaction is expected to close later this year and is subject to usual closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Clearwater International CEO Michael Reeves, partner Gareth Iley and associate Mark Gillingham advised the management of ISD on the transaction.

Gerry Murphy, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone, said: "ISD has succeeded by delivering a varied and exciting range of exclusive products and a great shopping experience to its loyal home shoppers through its websites and mobile platforms. We look forward to working with Mike and his team to capitalise on growth opportunities in omni-channel retailing in the UK and the US."

Mike Hancox, Chief Executive Officer, ISD added: “We see our future collaboration with Blackstone as a new development opportunity for ISD, from both a geographical and operational stand point. ISD will benefit from Blackstone’s international experience and expertise and from new investment as we enter this next phase of growth."

Michael Reeves, CEO, Clearwater International, commented: “ISD has a fantastic history of innovation and growth and the acquisition by Blackstone will allow this business to continue to develop. We look forward to watching its ongoing expansion both internationally and through new and emerging routes to market”

The Grad Factor launches 2015 UK bus tour

Intended to support University students looking to start a business, The Grad Factor will visit numerous locations nationwide starting in Cardiff and ending in Edinburgh, all throughout October. 

In exclusive partnership with RBS & NatWest, The Grad Factor is back this year bigger than ever as the UK’s only Government endorsed national business pitch contest for University students. Designed to showcase the best student entrepreneurs and start-ups nationwide, theenterprise campaign kicks off with a bang having announced it will go on tour using NatWest’s iconic 1966 Routemaster bus (normally the ‘NatWest Mobile Business School’) to meet with students and encourage them to enter.

Co-sponsored by Innovify and officially supported by StartUp Britain and Journolink, The Grad Factor team will visit a number of University locations across the UK hoping to engage with thousands of aspiring student entrepreneurs nationwide.

The Grad Factor is the brainchild of serial entrepreneur Keith Chaplin-Mabbutt, who says: “Apparently 1 in 4 students within Higher Education now want to start a business or have already done so. Knowing the importance that entrepreneurs have for economic growth, innovation and job creation we want to fully harness this fantastic potential and support budding entrepreneurs to provide them with the skills and resources they need to help build their ideas into successful and sustainable businesses. I’m looking forward to The Grad Factor showcasing the very best student entrepreneurs and start up talent across the UK.” 

This crucial support is further championed by The Grad Factor contest teaming up this year with value driven product management company, Innovify. 

Maulik Sailor, Founder & CEO at Innovify, said: "The high failure rate in the UK start-up scene is primarily due to the fundamental problem many founders face - finding the right technical co-founder, or chief technology officer to effectively create the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for launch. We want to make student entrepreneurs more aware of this problem and help them create the next multi-million pound company." 

Last year the competition was won by a duo from The University of Cambridge so standards are high, but now operated by a new parent company, StartUp Factor, an overhaul of the format sees four separate Awards up for grabs. 

Julie Baker, Head of Enterprise at official partners NatWest, said: "We are really pleased to be supporting The Grad Factor competition. We’re using the NatWest Business Bus to get out and help entrepreneurial talent and start-ups in universities across the UK. By collaborating with experts from The Grad Factor team, StartUp Britain, university enterprise societies and business incubators and accelerators, we hope together to provide a broader range of support to entrepreneurial students, help them realise their business ambitions, and support them to become investor-ready through The Grad Factor contest.” 

Starting at the University of South Wales on Tuesday 6 October, The Grad Factor bus tour will cover a number of major cities including Exeter, Bath, London, Birmingham and Manchester, before finishing at the University of Edinburgh on 30 October. Each event will run from 12 Noon to 4pm and provide University students the opportunity to speak directly with the organisers of the competition and refine their pitch prior to entering.

The Grad Factor competition opens for first round video entries from 9am Monday 28 September and closes at Midnight on Saturday 31 October. Students can enter for free via the official website, www.gradfactor.tv.  Successful entrants will be handpicked by a Judging panel to progress to the invitation-only Regional Finals.

Twelve of the very best student start-ups, three across each Awards category, will attend the Grand Final at RBS’ London HQ on 10 December to face a judging panel of industry experts who will ultimately choose the 4 category Award winners and announce those classed as the best UK Start-Ups with The Grad Factor.

To enter and find out more about the tour, dates and University locations, the Award categories, Eligibility criteria and the fantastic Prizes on offer visit the official website: www.gradfactor.tv.