Best Mentor and Mentee rewarded for their efforts
Last year WOW teamed up with Hemingway Corporation and Mint Hotel and took it upon ourselves to help twenty-one young female entrepreneurs start their business lives. We did this by providing them with mentors to guide them and give advice. In effect we kick started twenty-one new businesses that day
The top Mentor and Mentee from the WOW Women’s Enterprise Day lunch were awarded free flights on Air South West this week.
John Murphy and Mhari Threfell beat off the competition to claim the top prize. Mhari said of John “Although my idea may not be in the specific field of my mentor. He understood and had belief in me. As such he worked tirelessly on helping me develop connections, improve my networking skills and help to find out if my good idea could be transformed into a good business idea. My mentor helped me gain:
Advancement and specification of my idea through setting out life goals
Several new business ideas
£1000 for my specific idea from Shell Livewire, which I got after pitching it to a room of students and judges
PR and publicity for my idea
Useful contacts and connections with the Rotary Club for my charity and with scientists for my shampoo idea
Meetings with those who might be able to help me in the future.
All of these have been invaluable to me. I think my idea would have dropped by the wayside if it hadn't been for John. Indeed, due to my work commitments, I haven't gone as far as I would have liked with the idea, but without John's support would not have been confident enough to enter the Shell Livewire Grand ideas award, which I subsequently won! This has lead me on to have some great PR, particularly in Scotland”
Kirsten Hemingway of the Hemingway Corporation who supported and arrange the event and subsequent competition said “John and Mhari really took on the challenge with no through of the competition prize. They have been an exemplary example of what good mentoring can achieve for a new business.”
The prizes were awarded at the same hotel where the lunch was held last November although in the time since the competition was held the City Inn has changed to Mint Hotel. This competition was important to Annette West the Hotel’s Sales Director. She said “This was one of the first events I attended at the hotel and it was inspiring, it is great to see how the mentors and mentees have developed such productive relationships.
This year WOW and the Hemingway Corporation are planning to host another spectacular event for Women’s Enterprise day and look forward to your support for this important work.
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