Women entrepreneurs offered an £18,000 business boost with Virgin StartUp and Fiverr

Female founders looking to scale their businesses will have the chance to win £18,000 in business support as part of a competition where they pitch to an experienced all-female investor panel, including Holly Branson, in front of a live audience.

The competition for female founders

is a collaboration between freelance marketplace Fiverr and non-profit Virgin startup. Any female founder from the UK can enter and four finalists will be paired with a top female business mentor for six weeks and receive £3,000 in Fiverr credits to build their business ideas. This year’s mentors include Julie Waddell, the founder of Moorish dips; Elsie Rutterford, founder of vegan skincare brand, BYBI Beauty; Raissa de Haas, co-founder of Double Dutch premium mixers and Sarah Welsch, co-founder of the sex wellness brand, Hanx.

The final four will then present their business growth plan to an all-female judging panel in London on November 13, where one winner will receive an additional £15,000 in Fiverr credits and a year’s free membership to Virgin StartUp’s new digital community – an online home for entrepreneurs who want to connect with like-minded founders and access personal guidance, courses and more.

Holly Branson, Chief Purpose and Vision Officer, Virgin Group said: “I am thrilled to be involved in the competition as a judge this year. Supporting female founders is something we are passionate about at Virgin StartUp and this competition is a fantastic opportunity for female founders to connect, access valuable mentorship and receive financial support to take their business to the next level. can reach that level. I can’t wait to meet the finalists and hear more about their journeys so far and their dreams of building successful businesses that will fuel the UK entrepreneurial economy for years to come!”

Last year, more than 700 female founders entered the competition, which was won by Anna Moynihan, the co-founder of TaskRean online booking platform for tradespeople including plumbers, electricians and heating and gas engineers. Anna founded the company in 2021 with her husband Paul after noticing first-hand the gender bias in the trading sector while working on their home.

About how the Competition for female founders supported her business, Anna says: “It has been an exciting year for TaskHer. The competition prize has proven invaluable in growing our business, giving us the opportunity to do things like experiment with AI, redesign our website, up our SEO game, improve the user experience of our products, and build a library of creating content for our paid social media. Being able to hand projects over to freelancers with specialist skills has freed up a huge amount of time, allowing us to focus on other areas of our business. We are now raising seed capital for TaskHer’s next phase of growth and we know we can rely on freelancers to support us in both our fundraising and our growth.”

Gali Arnon, Chief Business Officer, Fiverr said: “After the success of last year’s The Female Founders Competition, we are thrilled to be partnering with Virgin StartUp again and couldn’t be more proud to help shine a light on some of Britain’s most innovative companies. and progressive women entrepreneurs. By giving them access to some of the best freelance talent available, this year’s winner can take their offering to the next level. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the finalists’ journey and what they plan to do with the financial boost if they are successful.”