Award Winners are Ex Colbea Clients

Five finalists and two winners of Newsquest’s brand new Super-Start Competition were clients of the Colchester Business Enterprise Agency (Colbea).

 

The competition, which was sponsored by Larking Gowen, Fisher Jones Greenwood and Barclays Commercial, took the form of a ‘Dragons Den’ interview. The finalists, each of whom had to put together a business plan, had to present that plan to a panel of judges who grilled the contestants about their work on the business and their plans for the future. 

 

From the five finalists, four are previous clients of the Colchester Business Enterprise Agency (Colbea) and one of those four is an existing tenant in the Colchester Business Centre. The two winners, who each got a financial prize and the opportunity to meet potential investors, were Mr Brad Seaborn of Violent Delights, an online fashion retailer, and Ms Amanda Ruiz, who also trades online selling Peruvian knitwear for children and adults. Two of the remaining three finalists received advice from Colbea in the early stages of their businesses; they were Ms Sandi Moon, who has started a ‘green’ business called EasyMaps, and Miss Wendy Irwin from ‘GODS’ (Girls on Doors), a security business. Miss Irwin is also a tenant at one of the 34 business units in the Colchester Business Centre managed by Colbea. 

Bob Baggalley, Chief Executive of Colbea and the Colchester Business Centre, said: “This isn’t the first time we’ve seen ex-clients of Colbea win business awards. It’s very satisfying for our business advisers in particular, who spend a great deal of time and effort in helping these entrepreneurs put their ideas to work in a commercial environment.”