TikTok has announced the launch of the #BeYourOwnBoss competition, with a £5,000 cash prize.
The winning entrepreneur will also win mentoring sessions from high-profile entrepreneurs, marketing from TikTok and the Purposeful Project and a year of financial and business advice from Intuit QuickBooks.
How do I enter?
The competition invites potential business owners to submit a pitch in a TikTok. You need a TikTok account to enter. Your pitch video must be 30-60 seconds long and include the hashtag #BeYourOwnBoss and you must follow @simonsquibb. Alongside your video, you’ll need to fill out a form with a link to your video. Get your entries in by June 30, 2021. Ten finalists will be chosen by the judges to present their idea in more detail to the panel during a live TikTok finale.
Simon Squibb, founder of The Purposeful Project, is a serial entrepreneur and investor. Alongside Simon, some of the judges taking part include:
- Justine Roberts CBE – The founder and CEO of Mumsnet
- Ben Francis – Founder and chief product officer of Gymshark
- Jess Butcher MBE – Co-founder and CMO of Blippar
- Alex Depledge – CEO and co-founder of Resi.co.uk
- Mark Tilbury – Businessman and influencer who runs multiple seven-figure companies
- Lisa Friedrich – Head of SMB, EU at TikTok
The UK government has also backed the competition’s launch. Business Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “We want to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a company. That’s why I’m backing the #BeYourOwnBoss competition, which seeks to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to make their dreams a reality.”
Recent UK ONS figures reveal that almost two-thirds of people who lost their jobs because of the pandemic are under 25 and that, of all the 16-to-24-year-olds who are currently unemployed, 74 per cent have been unemployed for at least six months.
Squibb said: “COVID-19 has left a ‘lost generation’ of unemployed young people in its wake, yet there is a solution: Don’t wait for a job, create one for yourself! I believe anyone can learn how to start and run a business – but you need to break free from the system that teaches you a job is safe and being an entrepreneur is risky, it’s the opposite.
“With the right mindset, training, tools and confidence anyone can be an entrepreneur. TikTok is an incredible place to reach a new generation of entrepreneurs who don’t consume traditional media and who otherwise would not see this opportunity.”
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