7 minute read
Foundation
Entrepreneurs are vital to business; individuals who have a vision, can inspire others to join them on their journey and drive the success of our local and national economy. Hertfordshire Chamber recognises this need and through the Entrepreneur Foundation is identifying entrepreneurs who are passionate about their ideas and about turning their concepts into reality.
The Entrepreneur Foundation was launched in 2021 to nurture and grow a new network of enterprising individuals; offering a two-year initiative of guidance, training and support, supplied by Founder members, by Supporters and, of course, by the Chamber itself. For 2022, we are delighted to welcome DUA Accountancy and Business Consultancy, Croft Communications and Strand PR on board as Supporters for the initiative.
Founder Members Supporters
Croft Communications
“Having grown from a small telecommunications company to a nationwide communications and managed service provider, we understand the common issues faced by all SMEs - the need for growth / budget constraints - whilst recognising that every company is different, with its own particular challenges. Using this experience and expertise across our team, we look forward to being able to help support businesses within the programme, focusing on the use of new technologies and automation tools to better communicate with audiences and assist growth.” The award-winning PR, communications and marketing agency supports businesses to communicate key messages to their target audience in the right way and is keen to use its experience to support the Chamber’s programme. Laura Pearce, Strand Founder, said: “As an organisation that has spent the past two years championing businesses as they negotiate a pandemic, we have seen first-hand the complexities of taking an idea from whiteboard to board room. “This year we want to help those people with great ideas, bring those ideas to fruition.”
Strand PR will host a number of Chamber-backed workshops throughout the programme’s life cycle with sessions including strategic planning, digital marketing and public relations. These will build on events and resources already provided by the Chamber to benefit budding entrepreneurs. Laura said: “We look forward to celebrating the success of those taking part in the programme.”
Strand PR
Strand PR will be helping passionate business innovators take their ideas from concept to reality after signing up for the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur Foundation.
Our expertise in supporting start-up and high growth businesses has made the Entrepreneur Foundation a perfect initiative to nurture businesses and business owners for a better tomorrow. As entrepreneurs, life “at the top” can be lonely. The importance of sensible, trusted advice is paramount
DUA Accountancy & Business Consultancy
When Rakesh and Barry launched DUA nearly 30 years ago, the mission was simple: put the client at the centre of every decision and service provided. We were a start-up once, we’ve travelled your road and that ethos of helping small businesses prosper will always be at our core.
to a business’s success and this is why DUA do what we do. We aim to provide collaborative support for mutual growth! The team at DUA not only get the basics right – we go above and beyond to give our clients’ businesses every chance of succeeding with our bespoke commercial advice. If entrepreneurs are achieving their personal and business goals, we’re achieving ours! By working to understand clients’ individual requirements, our support can free up entrepreneurs’ time to focus on doing the work they’re passionate about. Our knowledge is your power.
Now in their second year of the Entrepreneur Foundation, HOWND and The Alcohol Free Brewing Company (UNLTD.) are reaping the benefits gained from being a part of this initiative.
HOWND: Client testimonial
Miss Zsa Zsa is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel rescued in 2020 from a puppy farm.
She had several health issues including severe allergies which caused her legs to become sore, inflamed, bleed and crack. She was clearly very distressed by these ailments. Reluctant to have to continually use steroid creams we started to investigate other options to treat the condition.
We came across a veterinary trained animal nutritionist who recommended trying a plant-based diet to address her allergies. At first we were hesitant, dogs need meat in their diets surely? However, her condition was getting worse and something had to be done, it was worth a try. We consulted with our own vet, read academic published papers by leading experts in veterinary nutrition and wrote to all the plant dog food manufacturers in the UK and Europe with a list of questions. We learnt that like any diet, it is nutritional value that really counts. Not all plant-based dog food is equal and we carried out our own research to find the ‘pawfect’ food that included all the essential ingredients. We started Miss Zsa Zsa on HOWND, and were amazed at how quickly her skin improved; within a matter of days the sores on her legs cleared up! Miss Zsa Zsa has been on a plant-based diet ever since, her allergies have never come back, her coat is shiny, thick and glossy. She has so much energy, which is amazing for a dog that lived in a crate for 6 years. She runs for hours on the beach, loves to swim and is the happiest dog ever. Besides the health benefits to Miss Zsa Zsa, a plant-based diet is less harmful to the planet and causes no suffering to other animals.
Mark Hirschel, Commercial
Director at HOWND says, “We are thrilled to hear about Miss Zsa Zsa’s success from using our plant-based Superfood. The health of animals is our number one priority and to see such a big improvement regarding her conditions is both incredible and heart-warming. It’s why we do what we do.”
2022/23 Entrepreneur Member, Martin Gladdish, The Watered Meadow said:
“I was delighted to be accepted into the Entrepreneur Foundation for 2022. Three months in and am already reaping the benefits! In my one-to-one with Jeremy and Colin, both experienced businessmen and entrepreneurs, the attention, observations and advice shared was exactly what I needed to hear (and with perfect timing). I have been trying to find my groove in this business for 17 years and the last two or three have finally revealed what that might look like. One of the things I teach my author clients is the art of being reassuringly familiar. This is where the reader already has a clouded sense of the answer or sees that the status quo is shaky and then a credible expert puts what they were thinking in a golden nutshell.” “That is what our conversation did for me, providing clarity, confidence, insight and belief in what I need to do next.”
The Alcohol Free Brewing
Company successfully raise nearly half a million in investment
Non-alcoholic craft beer brand UNLTD. has recently secured a successful round of crowdfunding via Seedrs, which saw the company secure 87 investors and raise just over £400,000 within 1.5 hours of it going live to the public.
The brand includes a non-alcoholic Lager and IPA within its range, tapping into the booming ‘better for you’ market with both products being low calorie, vegan-friendly, gluten-free, sustainably brewed and packed with vitamin b12.
The beers appeal to the increasing number of health-conscious consumers, many who have reduced their alcohol intake accelerated by the lockdown caused by the pandemic. Despite launching in the middle of a global pandemic, and with the hospitality sector completely shut down, UNLTD. still managed to secure listings across both on-trade and off-trade, with 100+ pubs, restaurants and shops now stocking its beer. The company has also made strong strides with direct-to-consumer sales, gaining a listing with Amazon and has a rate of 55% returning customers to the online shop via the UNLTD. web hop.
The company announced that the funds raised via Seedrs will be divided between recruitment (50%), marketing (40%) and production (10%). With the brand proving to be popular with the trade, there is high interest in securing more listings in the sector across a variety of pubs, restaurant and bottle shops to offer consumers a quality alternative drinking experience. The funds allocated will be used to recruit salespeople and a sales manager to focus on accelerating even more growth within the on-trade and off-trade. The direct-to-consumer webshop has been so successful since launch that customers completely cleared out stock after initially going live. The webshop sees repeat purchasers demonstrating the regular thirst for nutritious alcohol-free offerings. The Seedrs funds will be used to expand on this by increasing presence for UNLTD. across, PR and marketing, social media and pay per click marketing.
The final 10% set aside for production will be used to accommodate the increase in sales, with expectations that an increase in trade listings and additional marketing plans will pay dividends and there will be a need to ramp up production and meet the increasing demand of consumers and customers.
