Former Royal Marines shortlisted for NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Award

It has just been announced that two Plymouth based former Royal Marines have been shortlisted for the 2018 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards in the Entrepreneur Spirit of the Year award.

Imployable beat off some tough competition in order to make the shortlist, with a record number of businesses entering the awards nationally across the wide range of categories.

Now in its sixth year, the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards has celebrated some amazing entrepreneurs over the years, many of whom are now household names. Past winners include David Buttress of Just Eat, Julie Deane OBE of The Cambridge Satchel Company, James Watt of BrewDog and most recently, Hannah and Sophie Pycroft of Spectrum Collections.

Peter Kelly and Kieron Yeoman came up with the app idea after Peter Kelly left the Royal Marines and quickly become unemployed.

“I spent 9 months unemployed after leaving the Royal Marines due to a lack of experience, I was highly qualified and unemployable, it was a tough time for me as I quickly spiralled in to debt and a state of poor mental health.”

“After 9 months it took another former Serviceman, Army Captain Oliver Lippiett to see my worth and take me on as a project manager in his app development business. Once employed I had time to reflect on what went wrong and just how broken the system is, I had an underlying passion to change it and that’s what we aim to do with the imployable app”

Imployable is an employment app that allows users to identify, map and track their way in to a new career, the app has drawn a lot of attention, the company has partnered with Google and has been picked up for trials with the JobCentre, Ministry of Justice and Military resettlement charities before a full scale launch after the summer.

Creator of the Awards, Francesca James, said: “We have been inundated with some incredible entries this year, and all shortlisted applicants should be extremely proud of themselves! This year has yet again seen a record number of entrants and we’ve been absolutely blown away by the strength and diversity of applications.”

“We cannot wait to celebrate entrepreneurship across Great Britain with them, and put a spotlight on the incredible talent within the British entrepreneur ecosystem.”

Gordon Merrylees, Head of Entrepreneurship at NatWest said: "Following another record-breaking year, I want to thank all of the entrepreneurs who entered and congratulate those who have been shortlisted, I look forward to seeing them at the regional finals.”

“Entrepreneurial spirit is still clearly alive and well, and NatWest is thrilled to be able to continue to support these awards to celebrate success with the businesses that are the lifeblood of the UK Economy as they start, scale and succeed.”

The NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards will celebrate entrepreneurship across a number of categories at 5 gala finals across the UK, including; Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester & London. You can find more information about the awards and the ceremonies here: www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com.


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