Any useful Tips for Grand Idea Awards

[anthony13]

Hey Entrepreneurs,

Our following website helps new businesses to setup landline numbers and divert these calls to their mobiles. It's value for money and helps you to project a more professional image. These can be used on business cards and other marketing materials.

We use it ourselves and it works really well.

Just use the form on the website to sign up and we will sort you out a number to divert.

www.BusinesstoMobile.co.uk

All the best,


Anthony

[Pinkspiration]

Pinkspiration is unique enterprise that will help inspire women, men and young people who would like to go into business or set up an innovative project in their community.

Pinkspiration is a unique marketing enterprise that will work to develop business and will have professionals and young people working with us every step of the way. The aim is to inspire young people who would like to move into business and learn new skills or set up an innovative community project. The aim is to Start Up Britain and up skill young people enabling them to become competitive and stand out in today's modern business world through an educational reality TV programme called Design Factor.

We have just been shortlisted for a Grand Ideas Award, please get behind us and cast your vote. Thanks Everyone. If you are thinking about applying for an award, just give a go, I completed mine last minute and it is fantastic to be short listed. Make it Happen!

[Robyn_Dattch.com]

Hey everyone!

Dattch has been shortlisted for the Grand Ideas award so Im shamelessly plugging to try and get votes!! Bottom row, second from left. Please vote!!!

My tips for the grand ideas? Be direct, think about the most important things that will get the judge's attention and that really communicate what you stand for.
In the video - be passionate about your business - you're the person that will make this business succeed or fail so let people know why you're going to make it work!
And my last tip - ask for feedback and keep applying! This was our second entry and we had great feedback when we didn't get in first time around to help us understand how to be clear in our entry about what the judges need to know.

[lordlancaster]

Yours is a really good video Robyn. You present well and like you say come across really passionate about the business. Very cool to see a lady pitching a tech start-up that doesn't come across as geeky and an online dating service that doesn't sound creepy (which it could do if it was a guy doing it! Good luck

[Lucille89Hall]

The video is another problem - at no more than one minute it can be as restrictive as the word counter. Conversely, the video can be quite good as people are more inclined to learn about your business if you can explain everthing you do, what you'd do with the money and how you'll grow as a result in one minute.

I don't think it appropriate that there be some guide to submitting the ideal entry as all businesses are scored on their own merits. Perhaps this would work if all the entrants were within one industry, but we're not, we're a diverse bunch. At the end of the day, if you have a good idea, and you can convey clearly and concisely what it is you do, how you do it, what you'd do with the prize money and how that would help your business grow I think you're somewhere towards winning it.

[Adviya]

Hi Guys!

My idea has been shortlisted for this month! The quality is not amazingly great as I think when it converts onto the shell livewire website, it lost a bit of its sharpness but hopefully it is still clear.

If you agree with the concept, please vote for me, it would mean a lot!

A bit about the idea:

I am working on launching a fashion label that caters towards clothing that is not available on the high street, and that is slightly more modest. All this means, is that clothing will be non-see through, and for example skirts may be a bit longer, or tops a bit more high necked, and will not have the need to layer, whilst also being high end fashion. Believe it or not, there is a huge market for this, with the modest fashion market worth millions, and with more women looking more alternative, and more practical clothing to wear.

However thats not all, I have a vision to get more women from underrepresented communities more involved, in equipping them with skills they will need to get their ventures of the ground and inspired, whilst also always supporting a charitable cause.

I hope you can all take the time out to vote if you can, its the 3rd video on the top

http://www.shell-livewire.org/awards...ideas-awards#3


Thanks in advance!!!

Adviya

[NeilBrabbs]

Hi All,

I would like to thank everyone above who gave advice - I followed it in submitting my entry and have been shortlisted!

Thank you Everyone!

Please keep a look out for ARC Window Films - we specialise in Safety and Energy Saving Enhancements for glazing, working within the local community (schools and homes) and the wider business community as a whole.

Now to work on this video......!

[jonunitasterdays]

Hi all -

I have been shortlisted this month, for my new business: www.unitasterdays.com

My advice to anyone applying is to imagine you are communicating with someone who knows nothing about the business, the sector etc, and therefore keep things simple. These awards are fantastic, and I imagine judges get lots of applications. By all means communicate the benefits even if they are complicated, but don't confuse and waffle - as 200 words will not let you do so! They will need to understand the basics of what you do first and then read on to find out the technicalities.

Added to that, make sure you check spelling and grammar - as there is nothing worse I am imagine then judges seeing spelling errors which may show you have not taken the applictaion seriously. Disclaimer here... I am sending this from abroad, so excuse any s&g errors in this message!

My final advice if you are shortlisted is to use this to generate press interest - I have been really fortunate to have a friend in the press industry who has been really helping me - and a national award shortlisting is fantastic pr!

I am not posting to generate votes.. but if anyone does want to know more about unitasterdays, please feel free to contact me using jon@unitasterdays.com

Unfortunately my video was a little rushed, as I am now on holiday for my wife's sisters wedding so I only had one evening to get it ready - including getting to know video software - but hope you can see where I am going with UniTasterDays.com and you can begin to share the confidence I have in it.

If you need any help with nominations etc, I would welcome an email.

Good luck!
Jon Cheek @ UniTasterDays.com

[NeilBrabbs]

Originally Posted by lordlancaster

Not true - the video votes only influence the outcome, as the scores returned by our panel of independent judges are the most important aspect.

We actually changed our scoring system this year to ensure that the winners aren't just those with the highest votes.

We've done this by introducing a ranking system which means that if 10 people are shortlisted, the video with the highest online votes will get '+10' added to their judges scores and so on down to '+1' for the video with the least online votes. This way, even if someone got tons more video votes than everyone else but their judges scores were the least, they wouldn't automatically win a prize. This is the fairest system we could come up with.

The video is still important though, and it's a good experience for those doing it. Plus, all the videos we receive remain in our Video Lounge for other LiveWIRE users to see and be inspired by. They might even be lucky enough to have an investor watching too...!

I'm so happy about this because I was really concerned before.

I'm new to Shell Livewire, and the forums, so was concerned about the vote request stage.

I'm absolutely delighted to hear that it is primarily based on the business concept as the business can really make a difference to peoples lives, and I hope this comes across in the video! Although we are a small company (there is just me!) we have big ambitions and want to cut CO2 - one window at a time.

I'm not happy about how fat I look on camera but hopefully with all the images people will focus on the business, and not the biscuits I have clearly been eating.....


Please check out the ARC Window Films video (2nd video in) on the Grand Ideas Awards, and if you agree that we can make a difference please vote for us.


Thank you,

Neil

ARC Window Films - Save lives : Save Energy
www.arcwindowfilms.com

[Michael Daniel Hughes]

Originally Posted by lordlancaster

There is, but we prefer to say there's a time limit of 1 MINUTE MAX.

(The absolute file size limit is 100MB)

So in theory you could do a extremely bad quality video for an hour?

[lordlancaster]

Originally Posted by Michael Daniel Hughes

So in theory you could do a extremely bad quality video for an hour?

No, the video still has to be 1 minute max in length. Any longer and we'd just cut the video at the 1 minute point.

[charliejardine_91@hotmail.com]

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well. If you have the chance to vote for me in this months Shell LiveWIRE comp, I would hugely appreciate it!
My business is Rusty Can Ltd, and we make bödybags.
A Bödybag is an all-in-one waterproof suit that can be tightly packed away into a bum bag, perfect for music festivals. They combine current and forecasted fashion trends with innovative, functional and practical designs.

I would love to have the opportunity to talk to you all in a bit more detail about what we do... Thank you

[Ashj77]

Hi guys, I'm afraid I have the opposite problem and am too succinct so no long winded answers from me! I've managed to get shortlisted to hopefully will get through, I'd appreciate any votes for Petite Maman!! http://www.shell-livewire.org/awards/grand-ideas-awards. Thanks ....

[sneakerly]

Hey everyone,

My name's David, this is my first post and my startup, Sneakerly, has just ben shortlisted for an October Award.

The advice I would give is to ask for feedback and to keep applying and keep improving your application.

I had to apply three times before I was shortlisted, the feedback I received each time was invaluable in allowing me to understand exactly what my application was missing.

Best of luck to everyone shortlisted in this months award - but wishing slightly more luck to me

David

[Fiona@packed_munches]

Hi guys,

I've been a long-time follower of this thread and finally made an application at the end of October. We have been shortlisted this month thanks to the brilliant tips you all have given and our video is up (thanks in particular to Richard for the video advice!).

I'd appreciate it if you could take the time to have a look and vote packed munches, we're really passionate about our idea and hope you will be too.

Thanks in advance,

Fiona - #Votepackedmunches