Female founders hail boost from Chamber pitch competition

Two female entrepreneurs have hailed the boost their businesses received from entering Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition.

The programme designed to showcase the region’s best women-led SMEs and start-ups is returning for a second year, with the Chamber once again partnering with NatWest and the British Business Bank.

Wolverhampton-headquartered biotech firm SymbioTex Ltd came out on top in last year’s competition following a successful pitch from founder and CEO Olivia Simpson.

Ahead of the 30 September application deadline to enter the 2024 edition, Olivia and fellow finalist Christina French, from ethical manufacturer Essench Cosmetics, are encouraging more female entrepreneurs to follow their lead.

Olivia, whose firm developed a sustainable material designed to revolutionise the production of medical devices, felt compelled to enter the competition after being tagged in a LinkedIn post by West Midlands Enterprise Champion Debbie Assinder.

She went on to be named as the ‘one to watch’, with judges praising her “clear and well delivered pitch” and her company’s “amazing area of action”.

Nearly a year on from the triumph, Olivia says she has benefited hugely from the exposure and new connections.

“It was a really good competition to enter into because there was lots of exposure,” she said.

“Obviously, with people from NatWest, the GBCC and everybody else involved re-sharing posts (about the event), there was a lot of exposure for myself and the other finalists.  

“If I'm being completely honest, we normally don't enter competitions like this unless there is a monetary prize, because when pitching you have to put in a lot of time going through the different rounds, travelling and doing the pitch.

“However, with the contacts and connections, who the judges were, who the people behind it were and the exposure that you could gain  – it definitely outweighed the fact that there was no monetary value.

“The fact that it is women-only is fantastic but it is also great that it’s West Midlands-focused.

“A lot of competitions are national and I think it's very important that we're seeing more opportunities like this in the West Midlands - it also means that the connections you make are a more valuable as well because you’re from the same region.”

For fellow finalist Christina, whose firm Essench Cosmestics provides an ethical manufacturing service for the cosmetics sector, the competition helped her conquer a fear of pitching.

She admits: “I'd only ever done a 60-second pitch - I didn't even have a pitch deck because it was just something that kept getting pushed to the side while I was busy working on the business. 

“I must admit, when I got to the event and saw all the people, I had a bit of a meltdown – I phoned my partner and said: ‘I can’t do this, I’m not ready for it’.

“But after I’d pitched, the anxiety and doubt all went away. I was bouncing with energy and pride that I’d made it through in one piece without messing my pitch up!

“It gave me the skills and the confidence to push forward. I had amazing feedback and it helped bring awareness to the business.

“So, it has given me the foundations to push forward.”

Christina said the competition has also made her feel part of a vibrant female entrepreneur network.

As a result of her participation, she now collaborates with another finalist, Magdalena Karlikowska, from Cytecom, the developer of a specialist bacteria detection technology.

She added: “What the competition did was bring together founders as well. It has built a network.

“I’ve done work with Magdalena as a result – she started sending clients over to me and we’ve bounced off each other.”

Olivia, meanwhile, adds the whole process from entry to pitch makes the experience enjoyable for female entrepreneurs.

“The application process was very easy,” she said. “On the day there was a lot of support from the Chamber team. 

“The judges were also incredibly friendly and there were great opportunities for networking – the event itself was a lot of fun.”

Find out more information about the 2024 Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition.

Pictured: Christina French and Olivia Simpson