West Midlands business shortlisted for regional StartUp Award

2024-04-18 03:08:38 Business

580

Dudley based startup Shoppers Discount Club has been named a finalist ahead of the Midland Final of the StartUp Awards.

The StartUp Awards has been launched to recognise the booming startup scene across the UK which has accelerated since the 2019 pandemic. Over 800,000 new businesses were founded in the UK since 2021, a 4.3% increase from the year before.

A record number of businesses applied to this year?s StartUp Awards, with 1,100 firms shortlisted across ten UK nations and regions. The contribution of these firms - all of which were started in the last three years - is significant, having created over 5,000 new jobs since they were established and generating annual sales of ?584 million.

The Shoppers Discount Club is a using AI Conversational Chatbots and QR codes to help bricks and mortar retailers offer live discounts to shopper via their mobile phones in real time, helping retailers attract more footfall into their businesses founded by Diane Shawe in 2022. The business has been nominated for the Mobile and Emerging Technology StartUp of the Year.

Diane Shawe, founder of Shoppers Discount Club, said: ?This is amazing. I have a business on the High Street and the idea came to me when I was trying to think of a way that us the retailers could compete with online discounts and offers in real time to attract more footfall. I focused on a solution using Artificial Intelligence Technology Chatbots and QR codes that could instantly engage passer-by in real time and entice them to claim their instant discount via their mobile phone and would not cost a fortune for retailers to use. Its been working for my business as customers are surprised that they can claim an instant discount on certain treatments. ?

Supported nationally by Starling Bank, British Business Bank, BT, Creative Ideaz, GS1 UK, Jeeves, Join Talent, ScoreApp and The Purposeful Project, the programme will celebrate the achievements of the amazing individuals who have turned an idea into an opportunity and taken the risk to launch a new product or service.

The cohort of finalists will be considered for the regional prizes by a panel of seasoned judges with experience founding or supporting entrepreneurial ventures.

Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, the creator of the StartUp Awards, said:

???Start-up businesses are the lifeblood of any economy, being responsible for new jobs, innovation and in supporting communities in every nation and region across the UK.

All of the finalists this year represent the best of those entrepreneurs who have spotted an opportunity and through their sheer hard work, talent and perseverance, have created an amazing new business that is creating real impact in its sector.?

The StartUp Awards was created in collaboration with the team behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, one of the most successful awards programmes in the UK. The StartUp Awards are running for the second year after launching in 2022.

This year?s StartUp Awards finalists can be found online at
https://www.freshbusinessthinking.com/national-startup-awards/finalists/2023-shortlist/the-midlands/mobile-and-emerging-technologies-startup

EDITOR NOTES

New company data compiled from - https://www.informdirect.co.uk/company-formations-2022/

StartUp Awards

The StartUp Awards is a collaboration between the founders of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards - an established programme nationally receiving thousands applications annually - and the Wales Start-Up Awards, the only regional awards currently celebrating new businesses in the UK.

The StartUp Awards will recognise the achievements of those amazing individuals who have had a great idea, spotted the opportunity and taken the risks to launch a new product or service.

Already established and thriving in Wales, the StartUp Awards is now taking the passion and drive to celebrate new business and extending across the whole of the United Kingdom.