13th May 2010 - Final 14 Go To Public Vote

The 14 finalists of the If we can, you can Challenge 2010 have been revealed.

After a competitive entry period with over 100 aspiring and established entrepreneurs from across the North East vying to be crowned the region’s ‘Face of Entrepreneurship’, the If we can, you can Challenge is now in its final stages.

To reach this stage, five shortlisted entrants from seven media regions gained the opportunity to tap into the minds of an experienced panel of business minds during a twenty minute judging session. The panels consisted of many Entrepreneurs’ Forum members who individually scored their vision, concept and drive as well as offering each entrant first hand business advice.

After the judging process, five became two, and you can now see the 14 finalists from each media region by visiting www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge where you can read more about the finalists and visit their personal online profile and blogs which will provide a unique insight into their lives and businesses.

We are now encouraging the North East public to vote for their entrepreneurial winner over the next four weeks. You cast your vote by texting ‘Vote’ followed by the name of your chosen finalist to 07624 803199. Alternatively you can email your vote by putting ‘Vote’ and the name of your chosen finalist in the subject heading to Stephen@entrepreneursforum.net. The public vote will then be combined with the judges’ scores to determine the overall winner. Further information on how to vote can be found at www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk/challenge and all votes must be received by midnight on the 13th of June 2010.

As well as becoming the ‘Face of Entrepreneurship for the North East,’ the winner will claim a unique prize including a ‘money can’t buy’ package of business mentoring, guidance and connections tailored for their individual business needs and one year’s membership to the Entrepreneurs’ Forum. All finalists will become entrepreneurial ambassadors for the region and they will be attending the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s Seventh Annual Conference on the 20th May.

So good luck everyone! And please tell your friends, family and colleagues about these 14 inspirational entrepreneurs – let’s make this as viral as possible and make sure as many people as possible in the region and beyond (we’ve had votes from all over the world) know about the great things that are happening in the North East.