Double success for Exeter start-ups

Exeter businesses are celebrating double success in the National Santander Entrepreneurship Awards, after local businesses Bird Sunglasses and sustainable clothing company Sancho's Dress beat over 2000 entries to each come 2nd in the pre and post revenue categories respectively.

The awards, which are one of the UK’s largest student and graduate business competitions, support and encourage university students and recent graduates to pursue their business ideas by rewarding the best with cash prizes, mentoring and start-up support. Since the awards were launched, Santander Universities has provided more than £340,000 in support for budding student entrepreneurs, and given universities the chance to showcase entrepreneurial talent from across the UK. Bird Sunglasses entered with the support of Plymouth University, where co-founder Paul Bird studied, and Sancho's Dress Founder Kalkidan Legesse entered with the support of Exeter University.

Bird Sunglasses is a pioneering eyewear company with a difference. They sell beautiful, handcrafted sunglasses using sustainable materials, and for every pair sold they distribute a solar light to remote communities in Africa through their Share Your Sun partnership with SolarAid.

Founder Ed Bird said "We're so excited to have done so well in this competition, its given us a huge boost as we look to expand our business in the next year. It's great that the judges recognised the strength of the brand and our potential to make a difference.

Sancho's Dress is a fairtrade clothing and gifts boutique located in Exeter. They provide a carefully selected collection of leading and emerging ethical brands as well as a collection of local artisan products.

Founder Kalkidan Legesse said 'We are so thrilled to have won the award for runners-up in the post revenue category. This whole competition has been hugely inspiring, and through it we've come to see the potential of our own business and we are so grateful!'

The winning entries were selected from a shortlist of 12 entrepreneurial projects, who pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges consisting of successful entrepreneurs, business leaders and senior members of Santander UK and academia, as well as a live audience. These 12 businesses were selected from over 2000 entries who, over the course of the year, took part in a series of regional heats ahead of reaching the final.

Eleanor Browne, Formation Zone Programme Manager at Plymouth University commented, “It was an exciting journey supporting Bird Sunglasses through this national competition process to the high-profile grand final pitch. They are a fantastic example of graduate entrepreneurship, and inspirational to others in our Formation Zone business incubator at Plymouth University”

Matt Hutnell, Director of Santander Universities UK commented: “We cannot underestimate the importance of the nation’s budding entrepreneurs in our communities and at Santander we want to ensure we reward and encourage students to invest, innovate, create and be entrepreneurial."