Worcester entrepreneur named Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year 2022

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Worcester-based Vann Vogstad has been recognised as one of this year’s most exceptional business leaders at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2022 Grand Final.

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Vann, founder of COHO won Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year.

Launched in 2019, COHO is on track to become the “AirBnb of Shared Living”, helping people find affordable homes with like-minded housemates. Lending from his own experiences of shared living after university, Vann founded COHO to help change the reputation of shared living, replacing the image of the “weird housemate” with something more like the Friends TV show.

The programme, in partnership with Starling Bank, has recognised the UK’s most inspiring entrepreneurial success stories for a decade and developed a community-oriented network of alumni which grows year on year.

The ceremony was held at Grosvenor House in London and saw 1,400 entrepreneurs and colleagues join together to celebrate a collective £2 billion generated in turnover and over 17,000 jobs.

Vann said: “I’m thrilled to win this award. We truly believe what we’re doing has the ability to improve the living situation for hundreds of thousands of people, particularly with the cost of living being so high, increasing the need for affordable housing. Having such respected judges agree and give this coveted award lets us know we’re not alone with our vision.”

Over the ten years, there have been a number of big names to receive accolades, including  Alan and Juliet Barratt of Grenade, Shaun Pulfrey of Tangle Teezer and Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett. Many previous winners have gone on to sit on the expert judging panel for the 2022 programme.

Great British Entrepreneur Awards founder Francesca James said that the awards’ tenth anniversary was the biggest and best yet: “Celebrating Britain’s ambitious, driven and inspirational entrepreneurs for a decade has been an honour, and we’ve learnt so much from hearing all of their unique stories and perspectives.

“The extraordinary circumstances of the last few years have tested the resilience of our business communities, and the challenges were enough to give many entrepreneurs an excuse to give up. Instead, our award winners did the opposite and, through ingenuity, innovation and the ability to adapt, they thrived.

“These challenges certainly haven’t gone away, and the next few years will present new obstacles to overcome - but one only needed to look around the room at our tenth anniversary to see some of the truly special founders and doers, to gain confidence that this snapshot of the economy can go on and adapt again.

“We’d like to congratulate all of our 2022 winners for all of their hard work and achievements - we look forward to following your lead into 2023 and beyond!”

Anne Boden MBE, Founder of Starling Bank, headline partner of the Awards, said: “Entrepreneurs up and down the country across so many different industries have shown just how innovative and resilient they have been in these uncertain times. The awards are a celebration of their success - congratulations to all winners.”

To find out more about the awards and to see the full list of winners, visit greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com.