business matters leadership and entrepreneurs
December/January august/september december/january june/july 2020-21 2019 2018 business edge
Young Start-Up Talent South East – This year’s awards to hold their nerve in front of a film crew, as their pitches were recorded and shown prior to the Showcase event via YouTube. During the showcase, the final five pitched ‘virtually’ live to an audience of business professionals and heads of education via Zoom. After an audience and judges final vote and a tense wait, the announcement of the winner was revealed as Anthony Mellor of White2Label Manufacturing. The business specialises in both white label and bespoke product services for sportswear brands. Utilising extensive supply chain management, the business is able to offer a comprehensive bespoke service for businesses looking to produce custom garments for their brand as well as offering fast turnaround times through a white label tailored service.
Following lots of hard work, business workshops and presentations, Young Start-up Talent (YST), an entrepreneurial initiative aimed at 16 to 25 years old, was proud to host a virtual Showcase event for the South East’s finest young entrepreneurs 2020. It was announced that Anthony Mellor of White2Label Manufacturing, who specialises in both white label and bespoke product services for sportswear brands, was voted the overall and lucky winner of the 2020 business prize fund of products and services. Following the announcement, Anthony commented, “I am absolutely thrilled to have won this year, especially as the other finalists were such strong contenders - I wish them all the best for the future. This award is a great achievement and I look forward to working further with the YST team to progress the business further.” Anthony now plans to continue moving forward with his business, solidifying his relationships and getting to know the business community, allowing him to strengthen White2Label Manufacturing’s offer further. Ana Christie, CEO of the Sussex Chamber of Commerce, stated; “This has been a tough year for all businesses and particularly for young entrepreneurs just starting out. It has been brilliant to see how the candidates have continued to develop over the last six months during a very difficult and challenging time and good to see how they have taken on board all our advice moving forward.” A fellow judge, John Redfern, Director of Corporate and Commercial South East
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The other four finalists who took part in the virtual event and impressed the judges with their professional pitches, included:
Anthony Mellor Region - NatWest, also commented; “Anthony is a very worthy winner, all of the finalists were of very high standard. It was tough to pick a winner this year!” The YST team worked hard to find the very best young entrepreneurs living across the South East region during the year. The successful applicants were then invited to a business workshop before they faced a selection of local business professionals in a 1-2-1 styled speed-networking, where they gained invaluable advice on how to develop both themselves and their business. From there, the candidates were whittled down to just five finalists. The finalists pitched their refined business plans to a panel of five judges at the offices of Thales UK. On top of this, the finalists had
www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk
Logan Leckie - Topia Ayush Sanghavi - Veggie Alternatives Zak Lloyd - DelivrMe Carmel Kalani - Spice up your Life Dave Kickham, Deputy VP Industrial Operations, Thales UK, added; “It was great to continue our support for the initiative and to engage with these talented young entrepreneurs.” The Young Start-up Talent team would like to thank all the judges, sponsors and young entrepreneurs who took part this year and have helped make the YST 2020 initiative to be a brilliant success. www.youngstartuptalent.co.uk
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