Easyjet founder’s charity hands out £300k to three budding entrepreneurs

A new UK competition, set up by the founder of Easyjet, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has just awarded a total of £300k to three young entrepreneurs on a mission to contribute to growth and job creation.

The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, established by the Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur, held its inaugural Young Entrepreneurs Awards yesterday in one of the UK’s newest celebrations for ambitious young founders.

It comes at a time when small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) continue to face traditional funding challenges, with some seeking alternative ways to kick start or further their business growth.

Out of a total of 52 applicants, the three winners were Amelia Christie-Miller, who secured the first place cheque of £150k for her food business Bold Bean Co; Tom Ushakov in second with £100k for his business the London Pregnancy Clinic; and Charlotte Stavrov in third with £50k for her advertising firm SevenSix Agency.

Christie-Miller, who went from working as a private chef to making and selling “posh beans” in 2020, said the grant gives the team access to “blue-sky” thinking that would have been unachievable otherwise.

“This grant is game changing – in an economic context where brands are taught to think of survival as opposed to long term investments in brand and value – this is an absolute gift,” she said.

The criteria for the new awards competition is fairly simple: the founder must be 35 years or younger, have a start-up registered in the past five years, and be in current ownership of more than 50 per cent of the company.

Ushakov, who started his business in 2019, said he plans to use his new money to “leap into digital” as the London Pregnancy Clinic looks to bring its services to a more national scale.

As the UK looks for new and innovative ways to accelerate SME growth, Sir Stelios said the winners’ ambitions highlight the opportunity for job creation across the country — and the grants might just be what makes it achievable.

“I am really impressed with the three winners of these new awards which proves once again that in the UK of 2024 entrepreneurship is very much alive and kicking,” he said.

Stavrov, who launched SevenSix Agency in 2019, said the grant will be an “absolute game changer” during their focus on sustainable growth in the next year.

“The grant will contribute to stabilising our cash flow and investing in training and development for our team,” she said.