Business

Brighton entrepreneur named as finalist in national competition

Published 7 June 2010

University employee Stephen Britt has been named as a regional finalist in the Barclays Business 'Take One Small Step' competition. The competition aims to reward the ten freshest business ideas up and down the country with a prize of £50,000 to put towards making their dream a reality.

Stephen, and his business – Fast Forward - is one of three shortlisted in the south east from more than 3,600 entrants across the country. Fast Forward will now need the public to vote for the company to stand a chance of winning £50,000 in cash to develop the business.

The business develops, markets and manufactures low cost, environmentally friendly power assistance kits for cycling. Last year Stephen won the University of Brighton's student and graduate innovation award for his patent pending technology which offers cyclists a lightweight, user-friendly power assistance kit that can be fitted in less than 15 minutes.

Stephen said: "I have always thought that cycling proves an easier and less stressful way of reaching a given destination. My business venture focuses on adding greater speed to your journey with our pedal power systems.

"Government spending shows an emphasis on encouraging more people to choose a bicycle over a car when planning their route; therefore we hope to be pioneers in this process. Winning this competition would allow us to develop this concept further, and take it far and wide within the UK and then globally – giving everyone the option of adding power systems to their bike in a hope to reduce carbon emissions."

Steve Cooper, Managing Director of Barclays Business, said: "The budding entrepreneurs in the south east need the public's votes – we'll only be able to award the cash to the most popular idea in each region so it’s all up to them.

"We know how important it is to champion local businesses so we can’t wait to see which idea comes out on top. We'll be helping not only with prize money but also by giving the benefit of our business experience through sound advice."

For more information on the entries, to vote for a business idea and for full terms and conditions go to www.takeonesmallstep.co.uk.