Bailiwick Business Academy is back!

Monday 04 June 2018

The Bailiwick Business Academy is back – another opportunity for the island’s top start-up talent to gain guidance, support and potentially investment.

Organised by Bailiwick Publishing, the parent company of Bailiwick Express, the unique competition gives budding entrepreneurs across Jersey and Guernsey the opportunity to get in front of a high-profile panel of investors who grill the shortlisted finalists on their ideas.

The inaugural academy’s big success story was James Le Gallez, the Guernsey-based producer of Haut Maison liqueurs, who scooped the top prize of  £15,000 of promotional support, and an introduction to a potential investor. 

The win, which he described as a “dream come true”, has allowed Haut Maison to plan its launch in Jersey  - the first step towards achieving the artisanal company’s national ambitions.

"The event itself was such a fantastic idea and I’m so glad that something like this has been put on for businesses in the Channel Islands and hope that it will continue to be a success for many years to come - maybe one day I'll be on the panel too!" James commented.

Pictured: James Le Gallez, whose business, Haut Maison, won the last Bailiwick Business Academy.

But he wasn’t the only ‘winner’, as three out of the four finalists, including a mobile app, a children’s mental health toolkit and a healthcare management system, ended up in private talks with investors with a view to getting the financial support they needed to bolster their fledgling businesses.

Supported by two organisations at the forefront of helping entrepreneurs, Jersey Business and Envestors, entries for the second Academy are now open.

Finalists will face FeelUnique’s Aaron Chatterley, MaxiMuscle’s Zef Eisenberg, and David Williams on pitch day in October. The panel will decide for themselves if they want to invest in any of the businesses, but the winner is guaranteed to receive mentoring and specialist advice, as well as advertising and branding support, and office space. 

Bailiwick Publishing Director Mark Jackson commented: “We have an excellent panel again this year giving those that make it through to the final an amazing opportunity to speak to some of the big success stories in business. Our first Academy had three out of the four finalists go on to speak to investors and I’m very much looking forward to hearing more about their journey later this year. We have also put together a much bigger package of support services for our second Academy which includes the advertising space with ourselves. 

“Once again, we would like to thank the investors for their support, as well as Carey Olsen, Natwest International, Savills, Sancus, Envestors, Jersey Business and Start-up Guernsey. I can’t wait to see what the next pitch day brings us in October.”

You can apply by clicking here. Applications close on 31 August.