Stuart Varrall of Fluid Pixel Wins National DediPower Digital Awards
READING, England, March 1, 2010--
- Stephen Timms, MP, Minister for Digital Britain, Presents Trophy in
London
Stuart Varrall of Fluid Pixel has won the coveted DediPower Digital Award
2010. The trophy was presented by Rt Hon Stephen Timms, MP, Minister for
Digital Britain, at a special ceremony in London, today.
Fluid Pixel, a business offering innovative applications, games and
interfaces for mobile phones, the web and desktops won the first prize worth
over GBP50,000, after entries from across the UK flooded in.
The Rt Hon Stephen Timms, MP, Minister for Digital Britain, Department of
Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), handed over the DediPower Digital
Award trophy at the European e-Skills Week opening UK conference on Monday
1st March.
He said: "It is always a pleasure to recognise and see business ideas
rewarded, and e-skills week is the perfect background to learn about new and
innovative ideas.
"I understand the competition for this award was exceptionally tough, and
I congratulate Stuart on his winning entry, which stood out for its great
potential both commercially and socially."
A special "Judges' Special Award" was won by Claire Watt-Smith of BoBelle
for an excellent entry, displaying a multichannel strategy to-go-to market
and creativity.
A further "Honourable Mention" award was claimed by Sarah Chester of
Chester Charms.
Stuart Varrall commented: "It feels great to have been recognised for the
work we've done at Fluid Pixel. It was a privilege to have been shortlisted
along with the other excellent companies and to have won the award is a real
honour. We're really excited about the whole prize package and especially
looking forward to getting involved in the mentoring process. Fluid Pixel is
currently expanding so this award comes at a perfect time for us to continue
to develop the company."
The DediPower Digital Award first prize is up to GBP25,000 cash
investment, plus GBP2,000 in development funds and a further GBP25,000 worth
of business mentoring & free Internet hosting.
Craig Martin, CEO, DediPower Managed Hosting and Chairman of the judging
panel said: "The first year of the awards has been a huge success. One of the
aims was to highlight the excellent young talent in Britain and to aid young
people aged 17 to 30 years with getting a good idea off the ground. It is
often hard to know where to turn if you have entrepreneurial spirit and a
commercial idea. Now, I am looking forward to playing a personal role in
making Fluid Pixel business a great success in the future."
The four finalists were:
- Claire Watt-Smith, Aged 26, for BoBelle
- Anita Moss and Paul Norman, both aged 28, for First Tutors
- Stuart Varrall, Aged 27, for Fluid Pixel
- Andrew Fidler and Gordon Bennell, both aged 28, for Student Aid
The final judging had been at the Telegraph Media Group headquarters, in
London, on Wednesday, 24th February, when finalists presented their idea and
business plan to a panel of judges which included:
- Kamal Ahmed, Business Editor, The Sunday Telegraph
- Catherine Doran, Director of Corporate Development, Network Rail
- Karen Price, CEO, e-skills UK
- Craig Martin, CEO, DediPower Managed Hosting
Karen Price, Chief Executive of e-skills UK, said: "e-skills UK is keen
to recognise the talent and entrepreneurial spirit in young people within the
IT sector. We are pleased to have been involved in this awards process with
DediPower and I was delighted to be on the judging panel. DediPower is one of
the many companies supporting e-skills UK's work in the area of Higher
Education and we are grateful for the role this competition has played in
inspiring more young people to consider careers in IT."
BoBelle Ltd, entered by Claire Watt-Smith (age 26), is a retailer and
wholesaler of ethically handmade Eel skin leather fashion accessories. It
incorporates style, fashion and luxury with ethics and affordability.
First Tutors, entered by Anita Moss (28) and Paul Norman (28), helps
families and adult learners to find private tutors. The web site uniquely
features previous client feedback on the 10,000 tutors listed from across the
UK.
Fluid Pixel Ltd, entered by Stuart Varrall (27), is a media development
studio specialising in mobile devices, dedicated to Flash Lite and iphone
platforms. It offers innovative applications, games and interfaces for mobile
phones, the web and desktop computers on a customised basis.
Student Aid, entered by Andrew Fidler (28) and Gordon Bennell (28), is an
engaging media information service for university students, parents and staff
and aims to be the "voice of the student market". Student-aid.co.uk provides
a localised portal for student life and provides digital and offline media
channels to universities for interaction with students and staff.
e-skills UK is the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information
Technology, rated 'outstanding' in the relicensing of Sector Skills Councils
in 2009. We work on behalf of employers to ensure the UK has the technology
skills it needs to succeed in a global digital economy. Our work covers
software, internet & web, IT services, telecommunications and business
change. Visit http://www.eskills.com .
About DediPower Managed Hosting:
DediPower is a leading UK provider of managed hosting and data centre
solutions, making the internet and eBusiness innovation a reality for
businesses of all sizes. Focused on delivering service excellence through our
Support with Passion(R) philosophy, DediPower's enterprise class data centres
support business critical applications. Providing innovative solutions and
expertise in dedicated managed hosting, virtualisation, multi-server
clusters, security, business continuity and co-location services. DediPower
is a winner of numerous hosting awards and is a Microsoft Gold certified
partner and RedHat Ready hosting partner. DediPower's headquarters is located
in Reading Berkshire, UK. For additional information, call 0870 252-3600 or
visit http://www.dedipower.com and keep up to date with DediPower via
Twitter, twitter.com/dedipower.