The Pitch 2011, Britain's biggest small business competition, is still on-going, and will end November 18 with a final that will feature the winners of each heat plus a wildcard contestant delivering their final pitches to expert judges and an audience of hundreds. The winner of the competition will walk away with £50,000 of business support including 12 months free mentoring from Karen Darby, advertising solutions from Yell and free membership of employers’ organisation the Forum of Private Business.
Today, the finalists of the Welsh heat have been announced: Helen McAvoy and Naomi Kibble of Cardiff-based MK Rock Ltd. The two presented a new product, Rocktails pre-packaged cocktails. The judges, serial entrepreneur and founder of Simply Switch, Karen Darby; star of The Secret Millionaire and MD of Kloog, Carl Hopkins; and Adam Price, founder of Life on Show TV, selected Rocktails as the winner following an afternoon of pitches from five heat finalists. The other contestants were:
- Marcus Hacker of Kitchen Pro, who promoted a new brand in kitchenware combining utility and aesthetics that appeal in today’s design conscience culture.
- David Millership of Multilog Ltd demonstrated good health and safety with his personal horizontal safety line, which he said prevents impacts from a height of 2.4m and allows for “total unobtrusive freedom of movement” for users.
- Jarrad Morris of Uni'd Clothing presented his one-stop-shop for university branded clothing, which he is currently running concurrently with completing a degree at Cardiff University.
- Gill Ellis & Nicola Morgan of Behaviour Stop Ltd introduced the Good Choice Teddy to the panel, which promotes good behaviour in 3-7 year old children with its behavioural processes.
