News & Info > Winner of the Milton Abbey Entrepreneur in Residence Competition announced

Winner of the Milton Abbey Entrepreneur in Residence Competition announced

Congratulations to Tom who with his company T.O.M (Totally Original Merchandise) has won the Entrepreneur in Residence Competition, resulting in a prize of £2,000. Many congratulations also go to Ed and Freddie for getting so far in the competition.

Tom’s company start-up ‘Totally Original Merchandise’ manufactures and sells marble door stops that he has found and repurposed from architectural marble cut-offs.  This really captured David Ross, our Entrepreneur in Residence’s imagination. Tom had done a huge amount of work to package and present his product cleverly, and David was able to give him advice on how to market and sell his doorstops, as well as putting in Tom’s first bulk order.  

                                            
 
Our Entrepreneur in Residence scheme is now in its fourth year.  It brings a successful business leader into the School to adjudicate in a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style competition, in which £250 of seed funding for a business idea has to be developed into a fully-fledged business proposition. Business surgeries with the entrepreneurs are a golden opportunity for the teams to get advice about strategic marketing, financing and pricing from a business leader well known on the high street. Perhaps the biggest dividend is the encouragement that the budding entrepreneurs receive; someone believes in their idea and in their ability, and they feel able to breathe life into their business.
 
David Ross qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co. He co-founded The Carphone Warehouse Group Plc in 1991 and has also been involved in leading many other public and private companies. David is passionate about developing educational opportunities for young people and established the David Ross Foundation, which currently sponsors 33 academies in Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and the Humber Region. David is a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery and on the Board of the British Olympic Association. Previous Entrepreneurs in Residence include Anya Hindmarch, Cath Kidston and Johnnie Boden.
 
Milton Abbey Headmaster, Magnus Bashaarat, said “We are very grateful to David Ross who has been an inspirational Entrepreneur in Residence for Milton Abbey School, providing our pupils with real insight into what makes a successful entrepreneur and enabling them to learn from one of the UK’s most successful self-starting businessmen.”