£10,000 Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

The Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award of £10,000 recognises and celebrates the achievements of the UK's finest young entrepreneurs.

25-year-old Robert Matthams was named Shell LiveWIRE UK Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009, walking away with the prestigious title and a £10,000 cash injection for his business, a carbon-friendly transport site, similar to eBay. Shiply.com provides an online marketplace where people list items they need to move and then receive bids in a reverse auction format from over 5,000 rated transport companies going there anyway. By making use of spare capacity in lorries, customers can save up to 75% on their deliveries. The business has been going for just over a year and has already saved over 1.6million kg of CO2 by making use of spare capacities. The business has over 40,000 customers and has saved them over £3million in reduced transportation bills.

On winning the award Robert said:

“I’m thrilled to have won such a prestigious award. Some people might say it’s mad to set up a business in a recession but I always had confidence in the strength of my business idea. The last twelve months have been amongst the most exciting of my life and I can’t wait to take my business to the next level on the back of this award. This country is full of entrepreneurial talent and support networks like Shell LiveWIRE are a great way to share ideas and get inspiration from people, just like me, determined to make a success of their businesses."

As a result of winning the award he featured on BBC Five Live and was interviewed on BBC Working Lunch. Shiply also received valuable coverage in the press including the Evening Standard.

To find out more about Robert’s business visit: www.shell-livewire.org/news/award2009

The Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010 is now open for entries until 5pm on 6th September at: www.shell-livewire.org/awards