City’s young entrepreneurs to be honoured.
Two of the finalists for the 2017 Birmingham Young Professional of the Year awards are entrepreneurs based at Innovation Birmingham Campus. Dan Rice, Chief Technologist at Turn Partners has been shortlisted for Technology and Ria Blagburn, Founder of GrowBeyond is up for the Marketing and Communications category.
BYPY is a prestigious awards ceremony which recognises and rewards the most talented individuals in Birmingham’s business community. This flagship event of BPS Birmingham Future, taking place on 18th May at the ICC in Birmingham, celebrates the best professional talent across six categories including; Finance, HR, Recruitment and Training, Legal, Marketing and Communications, Property and Construction and Technology.
Dan is currently Chief Technologist at Turn Partners, a Birmingham-based start-up focussed on the acquisition, turn-around and creation of game-changing digital businesses. Since joining the company in July 2016, Dan has led the growth of the company’s technology including; a leading UK dating site and the world’s first scheduling tool for Instagram.
Having previously co-founded Hobzy.com, the social network for hobbyists, Dan’s breadth of technological knowledge and rare approach to the impact of technology on business has also enabled Turn Partners to more than double its revenue over the last eight months.
Dan Rice, Chief Technologist at Turn Partners, said: “Birmingham has always been more than just a home to me. The city’s rich history in creating game-changing innovations is inspiring and one of the main reasons I choose to live, work and invest in the city, as I believe Birmingham is key to creating the next world-changing innovation. BYPY is a great opportunity to celebrate what is happening in the city and it’s a true honour to be involved.”
Ria is Founder of GrowBeyond; a marketing consultancy which helps start-ups and SME’s develop measurable and sustainable growth strategies centred around high-quality content. Prior to starting her own business, Ria worked as Head of Marketing for a web design agency, where she developed her skills and used her experience to provide bespoke solutions for a wide range of customers.
Active in the Birmingham business community providing mentoring to students at the University of Birmingham and helping to connect the region’s tech companies as a Silicon Canal ambassador, Ria also recently set up a group designed to help introverts in business develop their networking skills, so they feel better equipped to market their companies beyond the office environment.
Ria Blagburn, Founder of GrowBeyond, said: “I’m ever so pleased to be a BYPY finalist. I’ve attended the awards for the past two years to support friends, and have always been impressed by the quality of the individuals shortlisted and the extent to which they contribute to the community. The shortlist this year is no different, so it’s a huge honour to be included amongst them.”
Both Dan and Ria were selected following an extensive application process, firmly placing them among the best young professionals in the West Midlands and will now face a judging panel led by Midlands Engine Chairman, Sir John Peace. For the first time, this year’s overall BYPY winner could potentially also receive an Executive MBA from Aston University worth £20,000.
Turn Partners and Grow Beyond are two of 160 tech and digital companies currently based at Innovation Birmingham Campus. For more information visit: www.innovationbham.com