Pictured: inaugural Bath Dragons Winner, Ben Franks, Co-Founder of Canned Wine Group
Following a rigorous selection process, the Canned Wine Group was named the winner of the inaugural Bath Dragons competition in a tense live final held at The Apex Hotel last week.
The event – a joint initiative by Richardson Swift, Mogers Drewett, South West Business Finance, and The Business Exchange – saw four finalists battling for the grand prize of a business support package worth over £20k.
The finalists were the founders of four local businesses: Jim Hughes of Untamed, Ross Austen of Hanora Health, Michael Kerstein of Easyphones and of course Ben Franks from Canned Wine Group. Each had just four minutes to pitch their ideas to the Dragons in front of a packed audience.
The Dragons – Debbie Boulton, Managing Director, Richardson Swift; Tom Webb, Corporate and Commercial Partner at Moger Drewett; Dan Webb, Co-Founder of South West Business Finance; and Anita Jaynes, Founder of The Business Exchange – then had the tough job of grilling the business owners on their strategies and finances.
In a tight fought culmination to the competition, which was launched in February, the audience joined the voting process via a live poll to help decide the ultimate winner.
The Canned Wine Group pipped the post with an entry that focused on plans to diversify from its current offering of supplying a range of wines in cans to the retail and hospitality industry, to develop its ‘Copper Crew’ range of wine in kegs.
During his pitch, Ben Franks shared the Group’s ambition is to roll-out wine on tap into venues across the UK, becoming the single serve house wine nationwide.
Ben explained that the Copper Crew project would ensure customers could get quality wine by the glass as well as cutting down on the huge amount of wine wasted by the hospitality industry each year.
Ben was modest about the win, he said, “It’s fantastic to be in a room with so many other great Bath businesses. There’s a lot that goes on in the South West. So many look to London for startups. Canned Wine Group co-founder Simon Rollings and I love the city, and we wouldn’t go anywhere else. The more you can get out and support Bath businesses the better, so here’s to Bath!”
The other finalists were chosen from dozens of entries. Michael Kerstein is the managing director and founder, Easyphones, a company which supplies phones with software designed to be used by older people and those who struggle with complicated smartphone technology.
Jim Hughes, Founder of Untamed, pitched his Untamed Off Grid project, which offers a subscription-based off-grid space where executives and their teams can connect and work in an inspirational environment. Ross Austen, pitched plans to expand his kombucha business, Hanora Health.
The competition, which is due to become a regular event for the Bath business community, was also supported by business leaders and enterprise specialists from Invest In B&nes, Bath BID, and Bath Spa University Business School, Bath University School of Management and the West of England Combined Authority, among others.
To find out more about the first ever Bath Dragons winners, visit their website at cannedwine.group and read our interview with the co-founders here
To learn more about the other finalists, visit: easyphones.co.uk, becomeuntamed.com and hanorahealth.co.uk
bathdragons.com
mogersdrewett.com | richardsonswift.co.uk | swbf.co.uk | tbebathandsomerset.co.uk