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budding new business makes awards shortlist:
Virtuoso Legal is named as finalist in ‘Team of the Year’
Thriving new business Virtuoso Legal has been unveiled as one of four finalists at the Startups Awards 2008 in the ‘Team of the Year’ category, handing it the chance to win the £5,000 top prize.
The shortlisting judges were impressed by Virtuoso Legal’s concept and potential, placing the business among a handful of lucky finalists plucked from hundreds of entries.
Virtuoso Legal is a niche legal firm specialising in all forms of legal advice connected to Intellectual Property (IP). The firm which started trading in May 2007 was founded by Principal Elizabeth Ward, who has been reccomended by the Legal 500 for the past 6 years for her IP work. She recieved a plaudit in the 2006 Legal 500 which praised her for her ‘unbeatable, first-class advice’.
The Startups Awards 2008, organised by Crimson Business’ Startups.co.uk, in conjunction with Barclays, comprises of 17 categories, each showcasing the best new businesses in the UK. The overall winner will walk away with a £5,000 cheque.
The winners will be unveiled at a prestigious awards ceremony and three-course luncheon to be held at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington on Thursday 30 October.
Elizabeth Ward, Principal of Virtuoso Legal comments: “We are thrilled to be a finalist in the ‘Team of the Year’ category and very much look forward to the event in October. It’s great that all our dedication and hard work has been recognised by Startups.co.uk, and we’re delighted to be in with a chance of not only winning the category but also the much-coveted ‘Barclays Startups Business of the Year’ prize.”
Startups.co.uk is the UK’s largest independent online resource for budding entrepreneurs and the Startups Awards is one of the leading events on the small business calendar.
To be eligible to enter the Startups Awards 2008, businesses must have been trading for less than three years, be privately owned, and employ fewer than 60 people.
This year’s judging panel consists of some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs, including
- Chrissie Rucker, founder, The White Company;
- Alan Giles, chairman, Fat Face and
- Simon Calver, chief executive, LOVEFiLM International.
The judges look at a wide range of criteria; in particular, business success either by increase in sales and unit volume, market research and identification of customer focus, organisational and team building effectiveness, strategic planning, overcoming obstacles and barriers to success, visionary leadership and social and community responsibility.
