Business Masters: Newcomers exemplify the spirit of entrepreneurship
IT takes a strong nerve and bags of confidence to launch a new business in the face of a severe recession but the true spirit of entrepreneurship was embodied in the finalists in this year’s West Midlands Business Masters.
Three distinct businesses were nominated and each was characterised by a fierce will to succeed against the odds.
These stories form part of our West Midlands Business Masters 2013 Winners supplement. To read more click here.
Eventual winner of the Newcomer category was Birmingham-based telecommunications supplier ROAR. The firm’s parent business, utility payment specialist Glide, was busy acquiring clients but very quickly the brains behind the firm – Anthony McCourt, Omar Budeiri and James Villarreal – realised that their customers were using ancient comms technology.
Like any true entrepreneur they spotted a gap in the market and set up an operation as a one-stop-shop provider of telecommunications services to businesses.
Omar Budeiri, ROAR’s Head of Client Services, ROAR said: “We have been pleased with the response since launch and we have decided that we will stay in the Midlands and target Midlands companies. We are confident the region will grow and we want to grow with it.”
That confidence also characterised finalist VoxPopMe, a Birmingham-based technology firm helping big brands laser in on customer trends.
Dave Carruthers, founder, VoxPopMe, said: “We have been really pleased with the response we have received and we are starting to build up a strong portfolio of clients. Our product enables these brands to laser target consumers and they have been very pleased with the results we have been able to achieve.”
Second finalist Grenade is a business operating in the sports nutrition market. It was launched in 2010 by Alan and Juliet Barratt and the Solihull company has succeeded so well in its growth ambitions that it now supplies into 100 countries around the world.
Mr Barratt explained how the brand was launched.
“One day, I bumped into a Royal Marine friend who told me he wanted to lose some body fat and improve fitness as he was attempting selection for the SAS. After months of research and testing we came up with a combination of ingredients that delivered the following results: suppressed appetite; metabolised body fat; controlled sustained energy release; increased alertness and focus with no jitters, cravings or crash,” he said.
“Our friend tried the formula and was the only man out of a selection of more than 200 applicants to successfully complete the arduous four week course. After he called to thank us, he told us the formula was so effective that he had friends in the military who also wanted to try this product….they’d nicknamed it ‘Grenade’ and the name stuck.”
It is now considered to be one of Europe’s fastest growing sports nutrition brands and is the first to sell into the crucial US market. It has marketed itself strongly, earning it awards both in the UK and overseas.
The Newcomer category was sponsored by Higgs & Sons.
