BT Business
Essence of the Entrepreneur 2007

The search is on for the UK’s most talented entrepreneurs

The BT Business Essence of the Entrepreneur competition celebrates the achievements of small businesses that have demonstrated exceptional dedication and have found new directions to succeed in business with the help of technology.

Now in its second year the competition will culminate in an exhibition of photographs, of the winners, taken by renowned photographer Perou.

A panel of judges, including successful entrepreneurs and industry experts, will select the UK's 20 top entrepreneurs. In addition the judges will be looking for the best female entrepreneur, the best male entrepreneur, the young entrepreneur of the year and the most original business concept.

To visualise the success of these entrepreneurs, celebrated photographer Perou will capture the essence of their business in a series of photographs.

The series of 20 photographs will then feature in a high-profile exhibition in November at gallery@oxo, on London’s South Bank.

Last year over 200 businesses entered the competition and the winners came from a diverse range of industries from garden design to a diet delivery service and even a sausage manufacturing company. View the gallery of photos from 2006.

BT Business is dedicated to delivering expert IT and communications services designed exclusively to meet business requirements, so that SMEs can be free to focus on what they do best. BT's commitment to UK businesses is further marked out through its unique new services such as Tradespace, a dynamic online service that bring the power of social media to businesses through an online trading community uniting businesses and customers; and Ideas Lab, which sees BT working with entrepreneurs and developers to incubate and bring to market their software and services ideas. BT Business is at the heart of the SME community and can help turn a powerful idea into a booming business.

Growing Business magazine is supporting the BT Business Essence of the Entrepreneur initiative.

The magazine provides independent, practical, hands-on advice to the owners and managers of the UK's fastest growing companies. Covering issues as diverse as pitching for growth finance, preparing for an IPO or importing from China, Growing Business aims to demystify the key obstacles to expansion and help its readers become better-informed decision makers.

Each issue is packed with inspirational profiles of both emerging and established entrepreneurs, revealing the strategies they've applied to plot commercial success. Growing Business is the most requested magazine for entrepreneurs because it talks to its readers and answers the questions they're asking.