Vote now for the Virgin Media VOOM 2016 champion!
• Over 130 Irish businesses in contention for VOOM 2016 – Virgin Media’s pitch competition
• To vote, visit www.vmbvoom.com – and type in Ireland Public voting closes 23rd May
Wednesday May 11th, 2016: Richard Branson’s business boosting VOOM 2016 competition has now reached the public vote stage as the deadline for entries has now closed.
Over 130 Irish businesses are now in contention to be one of the 160 businesses who will take part in a 29-hour pitchathon (which will also be a Guinness World Record), pitching to Richard Branson himself. The public are now being encouraged to cast their votes as they will determine who goes forward to the next stage.
To support the Irish entries, simply follow these steps;
1. www.vmbvoom.com;
2. Click on Browse Pitches;
3. Insert Ireland in the “Search” engine;
4. It’s over to the public.
The Irish entries are posted under two categories which companies have applied to; Start-Up and Grow. The ‘Start-Up’ category is for fresh and exciting businesses that are still in the early stages of development. The ‘Grow’ competition is for businesses that are already recording revenues but are looking to ramp things up.
Gavan Smyth, VP of Virgin Media Business said:
“This is the first time that VOOM has been open to Irish companies and the response has been astounding. Ireland has a fantastic start-up community and we’ve had some amazing ideas and examples of innovation from the Irish participants.
“It’s now up to the public to decide who goes forward. So we’re urging people to visit the website www.vmbvoom.com and cast your vote to support those entrepreneurs with great ideas and the existing businesses who are looking for a boost.”
Some interesting pitches from the selection of Irish entrants this year include GolfBirdie, new App for golfers featuring high definition tee to green flyovers filmed using drones, Quirky Glamping Village, a transport themed glamping village in Sligo and ShopLoyal, a visit-based mobile loyalty solution to offer customers the best offers from their favourite shops.
Winners of VOOM 2016 will share a prize pot of €1.2 million with prizes including out of home marketing campaigns, broadband and telecoms packages, social media and PR support and mentoring from VOOM professional advisors and from Virgin Media.
Ends
Notes to editors
Competition timings
• 22nd March – Competition launches and open to entries
• 5th April – Public voting opens
• 10th May – Entries close
• 23rd May – Public voting closes
• June – Shortlisting process
• 28th June – Finale with Richard Branson and the judging panel, to choose the winners
LinkedIn Professionals
As part of the competition we will offer 12 roles to LinkedIn UK members where they can apply to be "Professionals" to help choose which VOOM 2016 entries make it through to the finale as well as providing professional mentoring and support for those Finalists.
About Virgin Media Business Ireland
Virgin Media Business is the leading national provider of integrated business communications ranging from Metro Ethernet services up to 100Gbps, Internet connectivity up to 10Gbps and broadband services for the small office and home office market.
Virgin Media Business offers the complete spectrum of business communications products through its high capacity fibre network. Services include Carrier Ethernet, Metro Ethernet connectivity, co-location, SIP and TDM voice services, leased lines, managed bandwidth and direct internet access.
Virgin Media’s BitBuzz is a Wi-Fi network operator providing a range of managed services to hotels, airports, cafe bars, pubs and other public locations throughout Ireland and the UK.
Virgin Media Business is one of the largest business-to-business communications providers in Ireland with a strong presence in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and 14 regional towns.
Virgin Media is a part of Liberty Global plc, the world’s largest international cable company. Together Virgin Media and Liberty Global serve 27 million customers across 14 countries, helping connect people to the digital world and enabling them to discover and experience its endless possibilities.
