Buckinghamshire Rising Star: Local entrepreneur recognised as county's 'Rising Talent'

A local entrepreneur has been heralded as a 'rising star' after sweeping the competition aside to win a county wide competition for entrepreneurs.

Mavesh Malik, has been named as the 'rising star' entrepreneur of Buckinghamshire after winning £2,500 following an intense council-funded programme of enterprise support.

The business owner who recently launched Hope Naturals as a thriving side-hustle was delighted to take home the £2,500 grant whilst encouraging households to live a zero-waste future.

Mavesh worked through an event with LaunchIt who hosted an event last month at Patch Community and Events Centre in High Wycombe where six lucky finalists pitched for grants to support them in their next steps growing a business.

All participants were given a trusted personal mentor to support them as they applied their learnings to their early-stage ideas.

The businesses competing for the grants included an app designed to help elderly people simply manage medications, a design-to order embroidered clothing business and a Christian stationery brand.

Other novel ideas included a no-plastic cleansing products for pets, a business running social events for international students at UK universities and a haircare targeting a gap in the hair growth industry with natural heritage products.

The graduates from the 12-week start-up bootcamp, delivered by the UK's leading small business support provider Enterprise Nation and enterprise charity, LaunchIt, studied everything from coming up with an idea for a business, to how to sell, and use of digital tools.

A panel of experts judged the pitches including Councillor Steven Broadbent, Deputy Leader of Buckinghamshire Council, Mary Otumahana - the award-winning founder of Record Shop, a recording studio for young artists.

Other award-winning entrepreneurs lended their experience to help with the judging process including Fran Borg-Wheeler, who founded Heart Centred Leaders and Sarah Mills, who's known for being a mentor for young business people.

The judging panel was chaired by Pat Shelley, the CEO of Launch It and Sarah also gave a keynote speech on building belief in yourself to help build your business.

Mavesh said:

"I could not be prouder of myself to win my very first business pitch competition. I've een busy with a side passion project - my start-up, Hope Naturals.

"We're due to launch eco-friendly soaps and lotion bars for a sustainable future, crafted with luxurious natural ingredients. Winning the grant has given me such a boost and will enable me to accelerate my progress.

"The practical training provided to me was invaluable and the energy from the mentors was instrumental in motivating me to keep going on my entrepreneurial journey."

The start-up bootcamp and a StartUp Saturday event that took place on the same day for more than 30 aspiring entrepreneurs are part of a broad range of overlapping support funded by money from the government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The events have been delivered by Enterprise Nation with the mission to power up a new generation of talented Buckinghamshire-based self-starters bursting with enterprising ideas.

Steven Broadbent, Deputy Leader of Buckinghamshire Council said: "Buckinghamshire is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and the council works hard to create the right environment locally for start-ups to grow and thrive.

"We also work to encourage them to stay in the area, creating long term jobs and boosting the future economy of Buckinghamshire.

"That's why we're proud to be backing these future entrepreneurs with a targeted programme of support - and by working with experts like Enterprise Nation and Launch It, we can make sure the next generation of start-ups get the best start, by unlocking their potential."

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About Enterprise Nation

Enterprise Nation is a business support platform and provider delivering support to more than 800,000 small businesses every year. Its aim is to help people turn their good ideas into great businesses, through expert advice, events, acceleration support and networking.

Enterprise Nation was founded in 2005 by British entrepreneur Emma Jones CBE, also co-founder of national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain. She is author of best-selling business books and is a frequently called-on and regular media commentator on a range of issues which affect the UK's growing number of SMEs.

About the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus