e-Factor

Monday, 11 May 2009 12:47

Former Dragon Rachel Elnaugh hot on the trail of entrepreneurs at Enterprise Expo

One of the country's highest profile entrepreneurs and former BBC Dragons Den star, Rachel Elnaugh was the guest of honour at the regions highly anticipated e-factor enterprise expo at Grimsby Auditorium.

As well as revealing her secrets of business success, Rachel shared and inspiring tale of her humble beginnings as an office junior to creating and running renowned experiences brand Red Letter Days which generated £100 million in turnover under her name.

The e-factor enterprise expo was a unique event encompassing a wide variety of exhibitors offering help and guidance to all members of the public in every aspect of starting and growing a business. Exhibitors ranged from accountants, marketing consultants, business networking groups, web designers and enterprise advisors whom also ran specialist seminars from ‘communicating to your customers', to ‘handy tax tips for the self employed' and ‘making your website work'.

Rachel said:

"Today has been brilliant, it's a fantastic concept, and so nice to see so much support and encouragement for enterprise. When I was starting out there was not the support available like there is now, it's fantastic to be able to come to this event and help people start out on their business journey."

Rachel also judged the ‘enter the den' competition which saw four lucky members of the public pitch their business ideas to both Rachel and a select panel. The competition was tight, but it was entrepreneur Paul Vivian of Truth Fabrics, who produce a range of biblical heroes children's wear and bedding that clinched the top spot, taking home £1000 and a place on one of Rachel's London-based entrepreneurial workshops.

Paul said:

"I was really shocked and surprised to win. It's wonderful, the success of the company really is a lot to do with e-factor who have been a brilliant help."

The expo also received added interest from the BBC with two members of the Dragons' Den production team in attendance listening to ideas from members of the public looking to pitch on the next season of the cult TV show.

Professor Daniel Khan OBE, Principal and Chief Executive at the Institute and Chair of e-factor said:

"The e-factor expo was a fantastic opportunity for individuals in North East Lincolnshire with an interest in enterprise, to find out what support there is to help them develop and grow their business and business ideas. The encouragement of enterprise is vital for the economic stability and strength of the region and it is important that this agenda is emphasised particularly in the current financial climate. We were delighted that someone with the entrepreneurial experience of Rachel Elnaugh agreed to take such an active part in the expo, it was a phenomenal success and helped to bring these positive messages to the forefront in the region."

To watch a round-up of the day's events, please visit our Information Centre