Young Entrepreneur Finalist, Claire Watt-Smith of BoBelle Ltd

Sept. 19, 2010 - PRLog -- Hundreds of young entrepreneurs across the country recently entered for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award sponsored by Shell. This is a hugely famous and prestigious award whereby the top entrepreneur wins £10,000 for their business. One of the previous winners, Michael Welch, has said that the award made a huge difference to his business. He was able to reinvest in his tyre company and grow massively to make him now the leading tyre retailer.

Claire Watt-Smith of BoBelle London has grown her business single-handedly. Winning this award would be fantastic as it could potentially open so many doors. Watt-Smith says "I am genuinely thrilled to be in the top 40. This has come as a huge surprise to me and has given me the confidence to shout from the rooftops about BoBelle! I started out mid-recession, so it has not been easy without funding and financial support. However, I believe that for businesses to thrive it takes more than just money. You need perseverance, determination, belief and a damn good product and first class service. You need to focus on your core USP. It takes time to grow and to develop a brand overnight is near impossile. The finalists of this award have all shown acute business acumen and determination to succeed. I wish all of the finalists good luck but obviosuly I hope to win the award overall!"

Editor’s Notes:
Claire Watt-Smith, the Founder and CEO, has been awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts, as well as Top 100 Entrepreneurs as voted by Striding Out. Recently she was nominated as one of the Top 20 Red Hot Women Under 30 by Red Magazine, as well as one of the top Enterprising Britain Entrepreneurs by The Daily Mail and winning runner-up prize for the DediPower Entrepreneur of the Year award. Claire Watt-Smith also acts as an Ambassador for Enterprise UK. She founded BoBelle London at the tender age of 25 having studied her BSc in Management and French and Royal Holloway, University of London, and then completing her Masters in European Business and Spanish. BoBelle London has been seen in The Times, The Independent, Red, Drapers, Cosmopolitan and more.

The growing brand can be found in over 75 boutiques and stores in the UK and Ireland, including Fenwick Brent Cross and Elys of Wimbledon and soon to be Fenwick Newcastle. The new Men’s collection and small leather accessories are being launched for Christmas, with the Apollo Iphone case being the biggest pre-seller so far. For photos and more details, please contact Vicky Maguire or see the BoBelle London website, www.BoBelle.co.uk.

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BoBelle London is the retailer and wholesaler of hand made fashion accessories. Currently we use sumptuous eel skin leather; a unique leather which is a by-product of the food industry in Asia. We are not limited to this leather and have further plans to embrace our core aim which is to promote change in the purchasing habits of the public by offering fashion of exceptional quality and educating against the current culture of disposable fashion.