Famed for his Dragons’ Den pitch which saw him go on to make millions from his Caribbean sauces, Levi Roots was in Birmingham to encourage the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
Mr Roots teamed up with Entrepreneurial Spark powered by NatWest to mark Global Entrepreneurship Week.
The successful entrepreneur, who has an estimated net worth of £35 million, was the headline act at the #PitchOff event at Birmingham’s Custard Factory.
#PitchOff offers a free platform for anyone who wants to learn how to take their business to the next level with would-be entrepreneurs pitching their business idea in 60 seconds.
Mr Roots talked about his journey, sharing the challenges he faced and people keen to follow in his footsteps were given the chance to quiz him about his success.
Entrepreneurial Spark is a business accelerator founded in Scotland which recently opened in Birmingham.
Would-be entrepreneurs taking part in the #PitchOff events are in the running to win a place in their nearest Entrepreneurial Spark accelerator where they will receive free office space, IT support, mentoring and networking opportunities.
They can also win a bespoke advertising campaign for their business and a one-hour business review with Entrepreneurial Spark CEO Jim Duffy.
Mr Roots said: “It’s so difficult when you are starting out and not everybody will have the chance to appear on primetime television to pitch your business like I did.
“So to be able to access completely free business advice and support from Entrepreneurial Spark powered by NatWest is an incredible thing and I would encourage anybody out there who has an idea or a dream to come and talk to these guys and see how they can help you.”
Mr Duffy added: “We are all really excited to have Levi Roots on board – he is an icon. Since we announced that we were opening our free business accelerator hub in Birmingham we have met some great people from the business community here so we are looking forward to meeting many more during Global Entrepreneurship Week.”
