BlueProof founders Max Turner and Rafi Levy have been named finalists in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category at the Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards. The shortlist includes 740 businesses from across 10 UK regions and nations.
The Cambridge company was recognised alongside founders from across the country in a programme that drew 5,000 applications. Organisers said the shortlisted businesses have a combined turnover of GBP £3.3 billion, support more than 17,700 jobs and are creating more than 2,700 new roles.
BlueProof has built its early customer base in events, hospitality and public sector work. Recent projects include work with the NHS, the University of Cambridge and Hard Rock Hotels.
The business also completed what it described as its first festival deployment in Christchurch, New Zealand, where its technology recorded more than 20,000 opens over one weekend. It is now preparing for a UK festival deployment at Cambridge Folk Festival, where the system is due to be used by 15,000 people.
Earlier in its development, BlueProof reached the regional finals of the UK StartUp Awards in the Hospitality, Tourism and Events category.
The Great British Entrepreneur Awards were launched in 2012 and focus on founders as well as the businesses they build. Past winners and alumni include the founders of Simmer Eats, Grenade, ClearScore, Zilch and Unbiased.
BlueProof's place on the shortlist puts Turner and Levy among a group that, organisers say, reflects the breadth of small and medium-sized business activity in Britain. Half of the shortlisted companies are already selling overseas, while 40% are women-led.
Turner said the recognition reflected years of work on the business.
"Being named finalists means a lot. We've put everything into building BlueProof over the last few years, and it's rewarding to see that work recognised," said Max Turner, Founder, BlueProof.
The wider field
For the awards organisers and sponsor Allica Bank, the figures behind the shortlist are central to the programme's claim to reflect entrepreneurial activity beyond London and major listed companies. The selected businesses have a combined trading history of more than 5,200 years, according to the organisers.
Frankie James, Founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, pointed to the scale of applications and the resilience of the founders behind them.
"When we launched the Great British Entrepreneur Awards in 2012, we set out to back the businesses that get on and build, the ones that don't always get the recognition they deserve. More than a decade on, over 5,000 applications tell me we were onto something. This year's cohort represents billions in turnover and tens of thousands of jobs, but what I'm proudest of is the determination behind those numbers. These are founders who have stuck with it through every kind of year, and championing them is exactly why we do this," said Frankie James, Founder, Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
Allica Bank, which supports the awards, used the shortlist to highlight the role of established smaller businesses in the wider economy. It said such firms account for about a third of UK GDP and employment.
"What stands out this year is the optimism and ambition that continue to define the UK's established business community. Having run my own business, I know the resilience, creativity and sheer determination it takes to build something that lasts, especially in challenging times.
"Established businesses are the real economy, making up a third of the UK's GDP and employment, and represented in every town across the country. At Allica, we're proud to support and celebrate their contribution through the Great British Entrepreneur Awards," said Conrad Ford, Chief Product & Strategy Officer, Allica.
For BlueProof, the finalist placing adds national recognition as it expands deployments in live events and extends its list of reference customers. Its selection in the young entrepreneur category puts the focus as much on the founders' progress as on the business itself.
The shortlist also shows how awards programmes are increasingly used to gauge the health of the UK's private company sector through jobs, turnover and export activity, rather than revenue growth alone. In this case, the figures suggest a field weighted towards firms that have moved beyond the start-up stage into established trading businesses.
That may help explain why the programme continues to attract thousands of applicants and a roster of alumni that includes founders who later built nationally recognised consumer and fintech brands. For companies such as BlueProof, a finalist place offers visibility among investors, customers and peers as competition for growth capital and contracts remains tight.