Surrey Entrepreneur, Nigel Biggs Wins UK Business Award
Leaders from the South East’s Enterprise Hub Network presented their business acumen at UK Business Incubation’s annual conference held this year in Brighton on November 29, with one of the network’s key individuals, Nigel Biggs, winning the Champion of Business Incubation Award.
The Enterprise Hub Network, funded by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), helps entrepreneurs bring innovative ideas to market by drawing on the commercial expertise of local Enterprise Hub teams across the region.
Hub Champion award winner Nigel Biggs is one such expert and was recognised by the UKBI judges for his commitment to business incubation and its role in the wider innovation and entrepreneurship agenda, as well as his reputation for business leadership amongst his peers.
The judging panel for the Stakeholder Champion Award was made up of UKBI Board members, representing all sectors and stage of development within the business incubation community. The judges were impressed with Nigel’s commitment to start-up companies in the Surrey area, and his considerable skills in mentoring, motivation and facilitation. Nigel’s passion to support other entrepreneurs was born out of his own experience of founding and growing an internationally recognised technology business, which still has its HQ on the Surrey Research Park in Guildford.
Nigel was proposed for the award by Surrey Enterprise Hub Director, Mike Lunch. Nigel serves pro-bono as the Chairman of the Surrey Enterprise Hub board which provides guidance and support to the Surrey Enterprise Hub team. Lead by Mike Lunch this operational team of business experts works in collaboration with local universities, research organisations, Business Link and Surrey Economic Partnership to help people in Surrey to commercialise innovative business ideas with significant growth potential.
Nigel’s pioneering work for the Surrey Enterprise Hub has helped to cement these local collaborations and led to the development of three enterprise centres at Royal Holloway, University of London in Egham; in the Surrey Technology Centre in Guildford; and at Leatherhead Food International. Founded in 2002 the Surrey Hub team is currently providing intensive support to 35 early stage businesses with over 250 others receiving information and access to network seminars and workshops.
According to Malcolm Buckler, Chief Executive, UK Business Incubation:
“As ever, business incubation wouldn’t happen without champions within development agencies, central and local government and in our universities and colleges. This award recognises the important role and impact these stakeholder champions have. I am thrilled that Nigel has been recognised for his dedication to the development of business incubation environments and the support of start-ups businesses in the South East.”
Two of Nigel’s Enterprise Hub Network colleagues also made an impact at the UKBI conference. David Butler, Hub Director for the Canterbury Enterprise Hub, presented a paper outlining a proposal for an international network of business incubators that draws on university expertise to support high-impact, high-growth businesses. This plan is being jointly developed by the New River Valley Alliance with Radford and Virginia Tech universities in the USA and Kent University and Canterbury Enterprise Hub in the UK.
Additionally, Enterprise Hub Network Director Marilyn Huckerby, also based in Surrey, chaired a session on entrepreneurship that addressed three key questions: who are entrepreneurs, where do you find them, and what do they need? The session also explored the different types of funding and investment available for entrepreneurs and how to ensure they are making the most of the resources available to them.
To find out more about the Surrey Enterprise Hub visit www.surreyhub.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the SEEDA Enterprise Hub Network:-
The Enterprise Hub Network is a SEEDA-backed organisation that helps entrepreneurial individuals and organisations bring highly pioneering and distinctive ideas to market.
Working as a close knit team of commercial experts in Hubs across the South East, the Network draws upon a wide range of specialists to help people realise those opportunities with the potential for high yield and scaleable growth.
Through its unmatched connections in the business, academic and public arenas, the Enterprise Hub Network provides premium, personalised support, giving entrepreneurs access to advanced business insight, technical knowledge and financial investment.
Due to SEEDA’s funding, it can offer this world-class service to selected projects at low cost to the individual, making it the pre-eminent partner in the South East to transform knowledge into enterprise.
About Nigel Biggs:-
Nigel Biggs started his career in electrical engineering but moved into software engineering in the late sixties. After five years with a computer manufacturer he joined a software house in the UK and for five years also worked in Germany. He then spent time in project management and marketing before working as a client manager for a larger software house.
Nigel founded his company in 1987 and quickly moved into custom software development. In 1995 the company, Pixology, started to develop its own digital imaging software products and later launched The Digital Camera Company as an internet-based camera retailer. Pixology went public in 2003 and Nigel stayed in a variety of roles until January 2006.
Nigel is currently part-time COO at Imagineer Systems Ltd, a Guildford-based software company in the film industry. He is also Chairman and Business Champion of the Surrey Enterprise Hub and is passionate about helping small businesses. He is a trained business mentor, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Surrey and he is currently starting another business to promote, train and facilitate innovation.
Contact: Enterprise Hub Director - Mike Lunch
Email:
Publish Date: 03rd December 2007
