Five disabled entrepreneurs reach easyJet founder’s competition finals in a bid to win £30,000
An inventor, a Paralympian and a beautician are amongst five disabled entrepreneurs shortlisted for the prestigious Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs and in the running to win valuable start-up funding.
A joint initiative by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation and Leonard Cheshire to recognise the achievements of disabled entrepreneurs in the UK, this year’s Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs saw a record number of applicants.
Up 10 percent from previous years, 88 applicants from a wide variety of unique businesses including instagram influencers, fashionistas and bakers entered this year’s competition, vying for start-up funding from Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of easyJet.
Reaching the finals, the five shortlisted entrepreneurs are competing for a share of the largest pot of money yet offered by Sir Stelios: a total of £100,000 in prizes.
Each entrepreneur has won £10,000 for reaching the finals and are now in with a chance of securing the top prize of £30,000. The four runners up will also receive £5,000.
Last year’s winner was Josh Wintersgill, a Bristol-based inventor who created the easyTravelseat, a sling to help air passengers with wheelchairs transfer while flying.
In April 2019, Josh announced that he had entered into a partnership with easyJet, with the easyTravelseat joining Sir Stelios’ family of brands and being rolled out across the major airline.
Later in the year, Gel Ovations Europe started a new collaboration with easyTravelseat, incorporating Gel Ovations’ specialist gel pads into the seating & sling solution to improve user comfort and enhance pressure care.
Hoping to repeat the success of last year’s winner, this year’s five shortlisted finalists are:
Sarah Griffiths, whose Mastery in Motion business offers coaching and empowerment lessons for disabled people to help them create a life that lights them up. Sarah offers online courses and published a book while building her business: https://wheeliemomma.co.uk/
Steve Holyer and ADI Access, who created RoomMate as an aid to audio-describe environments for blind and visually-impaired people. RoomMate has already been adopted at numerous international airports and railway stations. It was inspired by Steve Holyer’s experiences. https://www.adiaccess.co.uk/
Mike Wood MBE, a former Paralympian, whose Dinghies for Disabled business aims to help up to 60,000 disabled people get into sailing. www.disabledsailing.org
Sophia Wyatt, who founded a cosmetic business for people with pigmentation conditions and scarring, Sophia Wyatt Aesthetics, from her garage, taking inspiration from her own experiences: www.sophiawyatt.co.uk
Victoria Nelson, who created the first online counselling service for (D)deaf people, and offers fully-signed mental health workshops in-person and online: https://www.deaf4deaf.com/
https://thiis.co.uk/five-disabled-entrepreneurs-reach-easyjet-founders-competition-finals-to-win-30000/https://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Stelios-award-Mike-Wood-MBE.jpghttps://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Stelios-award-Mike-Wood-MBE-150x150.jpgAwards & AchievementsNewsroomADI Access,bakers,easyjet,easyTravelseat,entrepreneur,fashionistas,Gel Ovations Europe,instagram influencers,inventor,Josh Wintersgill,Leonard Cheshire,Mastery in Motion,Mike Wood MBE,Paralympian,Sarah Griffiths,Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou,Sophia Wyatt,start-up funding,Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs,Stelios Philanthropic Foundation,Steve Hoyler,Victoria NelsonAn inventor, a Paralympian and a beautician are amongst five disabled entrepreneurs shortlisted for the prestigious Stelios Awards for Disabled Entrepreneurs and in the running to win valuable start-up funding. A joint initiative by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation and Leonard Cheshire to recognise the achievements of disabled entrepreneurs in the...Calvin BarnettCalvin Barnettcalvin.barnett@bhta.comAuthorTHIIS Magazine