Entrepreneurs pitch to Sir Richard Branson for support

The finalists for the Start Up award — which is in partnership with Virgin Start Ups, a not for profit organisation supporting fledgling businesses — are Boxhug, PecoPoncho and Audiowings.

Boxhug, founded by Igor Ruberts , 36, offers collection, storage and first class return of personal and household items. PecoPoncho is a line of biodegradable disposable rain ponchos designed for the festivals market, while Carl Thomas of Audiowings will be presenting his cordless headphones that connect via Wi-Fi and 3G to platforms such as Spotify, and store music.

These businesses are in the R&D phase and need tutoring and funding to take the next steps to market. Audiowings have letters of intent from retailers but are currently searching for a local manufacturer. “I’ve heard some horror stories about companies outsourcing entirely to China from the start,” Mr Thomas said. “To win this award would not only give us invaluable investment and advice but validation that we have a compelling product.”

There are also three finalists competing for the Innovation award, that will go to a successfully trading, small, technology businesses. The winner will be offered free enrolment to the Accelerator Academy – a 12-week, high-growth training and mentoring programme for digital entrepreneurs.

The judges include Nick Jenkins, founder of personalised greetings card website, Moonpig, Holly Tucker, originator of Not on the High Street, and Peter Williams, leader of Jack Wills. As well as fashion Youtube pioneer, Dina Toki-O and Sir Richard himself.

The public can vote for the winners and the event will be live streamed today at Virgin.com.

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