Coras finalists still reaping the rewards

Pictured: Coras2013 Finalists – Shawn Khorassani of Coras, Sharon Moore of Baby Ballerinas, Natalie Ash of Fields of Fun, Melanie Millin of Love Kombucha, Debi Richens and Simon Tyler of Fitelle and Gary and Julia Brown of Track Your Ltd

Following the successful Awards Ceremony in May, the winner and all of the finalists of Coras2013 are still seeing the benefits of the competition-process.

Fields of Fun became the winning start-up business of Coras2013, securing £10,000 cash and business mentoring from local entrepreneur Shawn Khorassani. The founder of Fields of Fun, Natalie Ash, said “Winning Coras 2013 was incredibly exciting and it has been a wonderful platform from which to promote Fields of Fun, having gained some great exposure.”

Ms Ash’s activities have been featured in a number of publications which she believes has attracted new clients. Natalie Ash continued “Having Shawn’s expertise has also been invaluable; knowing that there is always someone on the other end of the phone to call for advice.”

Love Kombucha, finalist of Coras2013, now has a number of regular customers as a direct result of the event. Melanie Millin, who started her health-drink business, said “We are busy delivering Kombucha drink around the local area and are in the final stages of drafting labels for our sleek new flavours – Blueberry, Original and Ginger. Love Kombucha will soon be making a regular appearance at the Newbury market on Saturdays.”

Another shortlisted start-up business of Coras2013, Baby Ballerinas, is seeing an increase in student numbers. Sharon Moore, of Baby Ballerinas, said “I am getting closer to fulfilling my dreams.  Coras enabled me to look in detail at where I would like my business to go and has helped me take the steps towards bigger and better things.  The feedback from the evening has been amazing and so nice to have people that believe in my dreams as much as I do.”

Track Your Ltd also competed in Coras2013 and since the event their unique GPS Monitors for people, pets and possessions have assisted people in various situations. Gary Brown of Track Your Ltd said “We are also proud to be working in association with Marvellous Festivals. At the same time, we are actively seeking new avenues and offer No Obligation Trials.”

Debi Richens of Fitelle, finalist of Coras2013, explained how the event helped her to focus on her business, “Being chosen as a Coras2013 finalist made us slow down, take a step back, and make a few minor tweaks. However, it was the fact that we did not win the Award that forced us to look more intensely at our business model.  By turning our disappointment into enthusiasm, we quickly realised Coras had given us the confidence to experiment with different ideas and not be afraid to make changes when needed.”

The winner of the Coras2013 event was announced at a red-carpet ceremony in May following several competition rounds. The final five, as chosen by Shawn, presented their start-up businesses at the event before the winner was revealed.