Entrepreneurs have been warned that there are only three weeks left to enter a competition to uncover the cream of the nation’s business talent.

For the second consecutive year, the BT Business Essence of the Entrepreneur campaign is looking to identify and reward 20 exceptional entrepreneurs in the UK, who are using technology to meet the demands of a changing world.

Accomplished entrepreneurs, such as Ariadne Capital’s Julie Meyer, will join industry experts and a selection of last year’s winners on a panel of judges who will determine this year’s finest.

Each competition winner will then have the ‘essence’ of their business captured in a picture taken by renowned celebrity photographer Perou, BT Business revealed.
The series of 20 photographs will be showcased at an exhibition in November at gallery@oxo on London’s South Bank.

Competition judge Karen Hanton’s pioneering online booking company Toptable, set up in 1999, made her a winner last year.

She said: “In a way, there was a certain amount of innovation with Toptable because no one had really tackled online booking before. Our website now receives four millions visits a month, takes bookings for 3000 restaurants (including 25 Michelin starred) and will make close to four million bookings in 2007.”

Commenting on her return to the competition as a judge this year, she added: “We are looking for pioneers, who are working outside the box, finding different angles and ways of doing things.”

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, who successfully launched The Black Farmer brand of sausages in a fresh category dominated by own-label, was another winner last year.

Commenting on Perou’s portrait, of himself tweed-clad in a field clutching a laptop, he said: “Perou’s portrait captured the modern image of farming. It also shows that technology can enable you to do business anywhere, from a garden shed, a field on even on a tractor.”

All entrants must run a privately-owned business, employ fewer than 75 staff and be able to demonstrate that technology has played an essential part in the success of their business.

Entries must be submitted by July 20 2007. For full details and to enter, visit www.bt.com/entrepreneur.

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007