£1,000 Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards
Aged 16-30 and need funding to get your new business idea or project off the ground? If so, the Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards offer up to to 4 x £1,000 prizes each month to the most innovative or unusual ideas submitted by new businesses in their first 12 months of trading.

To enter the awards:
EXISTING MEMBERS - SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE TO APPLY!
NON-MEMBERS - CLICK HERE FIRST TO REGISTER FOR YOUR FREE ACCOUNT.

To see which businesses have already been awarded funding this way, take a look at their elevator pitch videos in our Video Lounge or click on the Google Map image to the right.

"Completing the material to enter the Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards is a great exercise in looking at your business anew, there’s fantastic exposure if you’re shortlisted, and a financial boost if you win!" Amanda Jones, Red Button Design

"Winning the Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Award really helped my business at a tricky time. It boosted my spirits and confidence to win an award and I know that winning helped me to go on and win other competitions, PR and of course the money to develop my business." Daniel Sutherland, Milkistar

"Since winning a Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Award and being recognised as a young entrepreneur I've enjoyed a lot of publicity for my business - from local newspaper features, to appearing on the BBC England homepage seen by millions!" Kerri Parker, The Kerri Parker Academy

£10,000 Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

The Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award of £10,000 recognises and celebrates the achievements of the UK's finest young entrepreneurs.

25-year-old Robert Matthams was named Shell LiveWIRE UK Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009, walking away with the prestigious title and a £10,000 cash injection for his business, a carbon-friendly transport site, similar to eBay. Shiply.com provides an online marketplace where people list items they need to move and then receive bids in a reverse auction format from over 5,000 rated transport companies going there anyway. By making use of spare capacity in lorries, customers can save up to 75% on their deliveries. The business has been going for just over a year and has already saved over 1.6million kg of CO2 by making use of spare capacities. The business has over 40,000 customers and has saved them over £3million in reduced transportation bills.

On winning the award Robert said: “I’m thrilled to have won such a prestigious award. Some people might say it’s mad to set up a business in a recession but I always had confidence in the strength of my business idea. The last twelve months have been amongst the most exciting of my life and I can’t wait to take my business to the next level on the back of this award. This country is full of entrepreneurial talent and support networks like Shell LiveWIRE are a great way to share ideas and get inspiration from people, just like me, determined to make a success of their businesses."

As a result of winning the award he featured on BBC Five Live and was interviewed on BBC Working Lunch. Shiply also received valuable coverage in the press including the Evening Standard.

To find out more about Robert’s business visit www.shell-livewire.org/news/award2009

The Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010 will open again for entries in the summer and the award final will be held in October.