ENTREPRENEURS NEWS | IN BRIEF
ONLINE TRADERS HAVE DOUBLED
The number of people earning a second income by trading online has doubled in the last year. A survey by Collect Plus, a parcel delivery and returns service, dubs these online entrepreneurs “e-pportunists”, finding that a third of them earn over £10,000 a year. Over half (59 per cent) of those trading online began doing so within the last 12 months, suggesting many have turned to the net to supplement their income as real wages fall and the job market remains stagnant. More than a quarter of these (26 per cent) are young entrepreneurs, aged 25-34.
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Stephen Catlin, chief executive of international insurer Catlin Group, has been named Ernst & Young UK Entrepreneur of the Year in London. Catlin competed against 42 other business leaders from companies across the UK including Nails Inc, Adconion Media Group, The Mountain Group and Wonga.com. Starting in 1984 with two people, £25,000 of capital and £25,000 of loans in the Lloyds of London market, the company grew to become a global insurance player with a turnover of £2.6bn operating in 52 offices in 22 countries employing more than 1,600 staff.
BUSINESS IDEA WINS £10K PRIZE
Cambridge entrepreneurs’ Streetsight business idea scooped a £10k prize from Anglia Ruskin University last week. Business partners Stefan Weniger and John Sweeney won the prize for their business that sells advertising on roadside telecoms cabinets across the country – a business that is already booming in Weniger’s native Germany. The 31-year-old, who now lives in Cambridge, explained: “John and I have always said that we wanted to start a business together and we began to explore this idea properly in 2008.”