Finalists set to battle it out in business award

THESE are our two finalists in the hunt to find the business leaders of tomorrow.

Emma Reilly, 27, and Craig Smith, 29, have been selected by a team of judges to battle it out for the If We Can, You Can competition.

More than 100 people entered the Chronicle-backed competition and were whittled down to a final six last week.

Now Emma and Craig will go head-to-head for the title – and it is up to our readers to decide who wins.

Emma, from Chapel House, Newcastle, has launched her fledgling firm iYosh, which allows users to record their online purchasing history to share with friends.

While Craig Smith, from Killingworth, Newcastle, runs The Printed Bag Shop, selling and printing environmentally friendly bags.

The pair were selected by a panel of business experts.

Chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum which is driving the competition, Carole Beverley, said: “The panel sessions were an overwhelming success and the feedback from all the entrants on their experience was extremely positive.

“Being able to tap into the experience of others who have been there and done it is what the campaign is all about.

“It will be an exciting month ahead when the readers’ votes start coming in and we look forward to welcoming all the finalists to the Entrepreneurs Forum’s annual conference.

“The chosen finalists will no doubt be a source of inspiration to anyone in the region considering taking the leap and going it alone.”

More than 100 entrepreneurs entered the challenge, sharing their enterprising story and joining the ever-growing online community of like-minded entrepreneurs at www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk

Carole added: “The overall standard of entrants for the challenge has surpassed all expectations, making the panelists’ job of picking the finalists a challenge in itself.

“It’s not just the number of entrants that has been pleasing but also their passion and drive to succeed.”

Readers can cast their vote by texting ‘chron’ followed by a space and the full name of the selected finalists to 07624 803 199 or by e-mailing Evening Chronicle to voting@ entrepreneursforum.net with the full name of their chosen winner.

The public vote will then be combined with the judges’ scores to determine the overall winner.

Date Written: Fri, May 1st 2009

More News and Articles