Ryan and his wife, Emma, started their e-commerce business selling safety boots for tradespeople during furlough. A year on, and their business is booming
Get ready to be inspired…
Earlier this year we set out to find brilliant businesses who had shone during the pandemic and were blown away by the entries to our Small Business Blast Off Competition.
Based on criteria including innovation, agility and community spirit, our judging panels had a tough job on their hands, but we can now share our final line up of wonderful winners.
Get ready to be inspired by how some amazing businesses turned adversity into breath-taking positivity!
A big shout out and thank you to all the businesses that entered and made this competition such a success.
Congratulations to our winner of £10,000 + Gumtree and partner business blast-off packages/prizes
Congratulations to our joint runner up and the winner of £5,000 + Gumtree and partner business blast-off packages/prizes
Joint 2nd Place Winner
Mirka Bridal Couture
As a small business, last year was tough for this bridal boutique. Mirka, an award-winning designer and dressmaker, had to make many adjustments to day-to-day operations.
Not only did she adapt her own business to survive, Mirka of Mirka Bridal Couture also helped to lead the national effort to make scrubs for NHS workers. With her daughter Maja on board, a Facebook group called ‘NHS Scotland For the love of scrubs’ helped recruit 400 volunteers who came together to create 15,000 sets of scrubs which were sent out to hospitals all over Scotland.
This giving business also helped provide patterned and colourful face masks for children and their parents on the oncology ward at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
In 3rd place – our ten runners up and winners of Gumtree and partner blast-off packages (scroll on to read their stories)
Creating this fabulous fully-equipped mobile hair salon meant Laura could visit her clients at home, offering her services in a safe and relaxed environment.
This adventure essentials business converted its shop for drop-offs/ pick-ups for food donations for the homeless and a food market for the local community.
Helping the NHS in Southampton and Hampshire to store beds, equipment and PPE, this removals company went above and beyond.
When faced with closing their business, this family-run caravan park in Somerset became a safe haven and home-from-home for keyworkers.
This enterprising company kept people going during lockdown, from students needing laptops and cameras to complete projects, to personal trainers who needed outdoor wireless speakers.
Hats off to this fab nursery who kept children having fun remotely and safely outside in the woodlands and uplifted the elderly with cards, letters and teas.
Martin established Proud Cleaning in lockdown for the local LGBTQ+ community and allies realising how important a clean home and companionship was at such a solitary time.
Wendy’s business pivoted from selling naturally-made household products to providing WHO formulation sanitiser to local businesses and sports clubs.
This lovely company started when Nicki cheered up her Salon staff with little boxes of treats. Word spread on social media, and orders for pamper boxes followed.
A very big thank you to our panel of judges
Clare Dunn,
Head of Partnerships at CIMSPA
Richard Burton,
Editor at SME Magazine
Philip Salter,
Founder, Entrepreneurs’ Network
Hannah Rouch,
Chief Marketing Officer at Gumtree
Kate Mulligan-Brown,
Director of SMB Marketing, O2
Richard Lambert,
Chief Executive, National Hair and Beauty Federation
Craig Beaumont,
Chief of External Affairs, Federation of Small Businesses
Vincent Le Bars,
Head of Legal at Gumtree
