2009/10 flare winners

flare 2009/10 saw five out of the ten finalists walk away with a total prize fund worth over £30,000 which included flare cash grants, cash sponsorships from Deloitte and Exemplas, office accommodation, laptops, business network memberships and consultancy with Julie Meyer (one of the leading champions for entrepreneurship in Europe and 'Dragon' in BBC's online Dragons' Den) and Martin Carr, Senior Financial Services Manager at Exemplas.

flare Entrepreneur 2010

Gary Schoeman - SG Career

Gary was awarded the first prize - flare entrepreneur 2010, with a prize fund that included cash, a laptop and one year's membership to the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

Gary is currently running his successful online based business recruitment company SG Career, which is dedicated to helping students find summer jobs in the USA.

Gary recently completed a degree in BA (Hons) in Marketing at the University of Hertfordshire.

Gary was also winner of flare 'most innovative idea' category in 2008 and 2009.

Best Business Plan

Alexander Miller and Guy Miller - Miller Brothers Ltd

The Miller Brothers were awarded a prize fund that included cash, a laptop, and one year membership to the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

The Miller Brothers' unique business idea was to create a range of practical and aesthetic products aimed at the bicycle lock industry.

Alexander recently completed a combined sports science and business degree at the University of Hertfordshire.

Most Innovative Idea

Matthias Hillner and Ruddy Vincent - Virtual Typography Ltd

Virtual Typography Ltd were awarded a prize fund that included cash and one year membership to the Herts Chamber of Commerce.

Matthias' unique business idea is a new input device that will reduce crime rates during financial transactions.

Matthias teaches graphic design and illustration at the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire.

Best Pitch

Hajre Hyseni and Labinot Zeqiri - TechVibe

TechVibe Ltd were awarded a prize fund that consisted of one year's free office space and furniture at the University of Hertfordshire's Incubation Centre and one year's membership to the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

TechVibe's unique business idea is to provide instant IT support to SMEs and households using remote and mobile solutions.

Hajre is an MBA alumni and Labinot is currently studying for a computer science degree at the University of Hertfordshire.

Most Viable Business

Nader Siabi, Marc Brown, Soraya Dhillon, Rona Robinson - UHTS Ltd

UHTS Ltd were awarded a prize fund that included cash and one year's membership to the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce.

UHTS unique business idea is to manufacture topical formulations of pharmaceuticals which are not currently available commercially.

Nader, Marc, Soraya and Rona are staff from the University of Hertfordshire's School of Pharmacy.