Way back in January, I entered King of Shaves & I in the prestigious Ernst & Young 'Entrepreneur of the Year' award. Following a selection interviews in February, and again in May, last night, along with many other talented entrepreneurs, I learned if King of Shaves would win through to the National Finals, to be held in London, October 2009.
And, to my great pleasure, I did. Now, although I 'won' the award, this was very much a team effort - after all, where is the Entrepreneur without his team, all of whom played a substantial part in our success.
I was particularly delighted with how many people came up to me and said "I had the King of Shaves this morning - GREAT brand" and the interest people showed in our story thus far - how from a shaving oil that sold just £300 in year one - we are now increasing market share in the UK, and internationally, each month - with my vision of becoming a genuine Challenger brand to 'Wilkinette' within the next few years.
Will we win at the National Finals - who knows - it's a while between now and October, but given what we have planned for KoS, and the fact that by the time the finals come around, my book on how we've grown King of Shaves will be out - everything is possible. But, I've got strong competition - Dale Vince, the founder of renewables energy company, Ecotricity won the 'overall regional' prize - maybe he'll blow us away in the finals.
But, I haven't got our business to where it is today without having something up my sleeve, so - watch this space!
