Business Start-Up Award Finalists 2024
An award to honour an individual or group of individuals linked with the Armed Forces community who have started a successful new business venture within the last two years (since January 1st, 2022) and who still retain a minimum of 50% interest in the venture.
In partnership with GKN Aerospace.
“GKN Aerospace proudly supports the Business Start-Up Award, celebrating the courage and entrepreneurial spirit of the Armed Forces community. We admire the commitment to follow their dreams and drive to succeed which is an inspiration to us all.”
Introducing the Finalists...
Andrew and Lorraine Laverton, We Are Bert Ltd
The story of We Are Bert Ltd began in 2022 when Andy Laverton’s battle with poor mental health saw him seek solace in his garage, crafting scrap into whimsical robot sculptures. Drawing on engineering skills honed through 27 years working on helicopters in the Army and 16 in civil aviation, Andy found healing in taking rubbish and creating something unique. Making the scrap art robot sculptures now known as ‘The Berts’ helped calm his mind – he calls it ‘meditation for engineers.’
As the number of Berts grew, Andy and wife Lorraine found themselves facing a delightful dilemma; so many Berts and not enough space! And so, in July 2023 We Are Bert Ltd was born, completing Andy’s journey from REME to Robots. It is now an online retail outlet for The Berts and the inspiration for a children’s book penned by Lorraine. The stories, through Weebert characters encourage children; the innovators of tomorrow, to use their imagination, accept and respect difference, combine Art into STEM, and embrace environmental stewardship.
The couple’s latest venture – a stop-motion animation featuring Weebert and his companions – has attracted the support of industry professionals from the BBC, Netflix, and Aardman.
Chris Shaw, The Gen Dit Network Ltd
When Chris Shaw first left the military, it was on the promise of a job that never materialised and a relationship that ended unexpectedly – so Chris found himself facing homelessness. He re-joined the Marines for a further 10 years and when leaving a second time he focused all his energy on networking and establishing meaningful relationships outside the military with veterans already employed.
Like any selfless Marine, Chris thought about his colleagues coming through the same process and wanted to help make sure that the power of the network he had made for himself was available to others. Thus, The Gen Dit Network was born.
Chris initially created a LinkedIn veteran community group covering a vast spectrum of knowledge across employment sectors, with members happy to share and reach out to help guide others into gainful employment. Embracing the dynamic growth of the group, Chris used his project management skills to establish large national events for service leavers and veterans, with access to career coaches, CV writing guidance, seminars, and more, with the recent Bristol event in March 2024 attracting over 500 attendees. Currently run as a side-of-his-desk venture the events create a cash surplus that Chris can re-invest in the business.
Phillip Jones, The Chocolate Soldier Ltd
The Chocolate Soldier story began when Phill Jones joined the RLC as a chef in 1999. However, it was only as he contemplated the end of his regular career that he began to experiment with chocolate. After just over a year of teaching himself how to work with chocolate and combine great flavours with amazing presentation, he began selling chocolates made in his military quarter to family and friends at Christmas. He was immediately successful, such was the quality of his workmanship.
The Chocolate Soldier now provides exquisite handmade chocolates, to order, through an e-commerce shop, wholesale to restaurants, cafes, hotels, and military dinner nights, as well as bespoke ‘white label’ boxes for onward sale. The company uses high quality, ethically sourced, raw ingredients to create amazing feasts for the eyes, nose, and taste buds.
Peak production output has reached 1,500 chocolates a day. Meanwhile Phill has maintained excellent customer satisfaction, building to a Trustpilot score of 4.9, which is well above the average for Chocolate Artisans at 3.5.
The Chocolate Soldier is committed to sustainability, seeking to use packaging made from recycled material and by donating trees through fellow veteran business and 2023 Soldiering On Awards winner Carma.
Congratulate the finalists and join in with our celebrations on social media: #SoldieringOnAwards
