Coras crowns first winner

Photos by Helen from Helen Sarah Pictures

Photo above: Coras founder Shawn Khorassani (far left) with the finalists

The highly anticipated Coras event reached a climax on Thursday 2 May when sponsors, partners, the five finalists and guests were invited to a black-tie networking event at the Hilton Newbury Centre to hear the results.

Out of all the entries in the business competition, one local company was awarded with a year of mentoring from Coras founder Shawn Khorassani, plus a £10,000 cash injection to help their business grow.

Over 100 people attended the event which included a three-course meal followed by presentations from each of the finalists as chosen by Shawn. After months of applications and interviewing rounds, the finalists selected were health drink provider Love Kombucha, bespoke countryside event organisers Fields of Fun, child dance school Baby Ballerinas, tracking gadget manufacturers Track Your Ltd and unique bra designing company Fitelle.

At the end of the evening, Shawn crowned Natalie Ash from Fields of Fun the winner.

Shawn Khorassani commented on the success of the event “It went beyond what we had hoped. All the indications are that we should do this event again. You can tell from the atmosphere that everyone has loved it and from the comments we have received, people are saying there has been nothing like this before in Newbury.”

The event was also attended by Newbury MP Richard Benyon and Newbury Mayor Councillor Arthur Johnson who said “It has been a very exciting night and the finalists have been superb.  It was fantastic to see their enthusiasm for business and I hope there will be more events like this in the Newbury area to show that anyone can be in business and fulfil their dreams.”

The Mayor added “My personal favourite out of the finalists was Baby Ballerinas because it involved the whole community getting involved in dance.”

Coras winner, Natalie Ash said “It is absolutely amazing to be the winner of Coras. It is wonderful that someone really believes in my product and I am really excited about the future. The money helps but it is not just about that. I am looking forward to the advice I will receive from Shawn and working with him to build an even better product.”

Buzz will be speaking to Shawn Khorassani in the next issue of Buzz so make sure you check the Buzz stand listed on our About page from June 1^st.