The Story So Far

"Winning Professional of the Year at the Sub36 Awards was humbling and incredibly motivating. It felt like real recognition from the Lancashire business community for the hard work and dedication I’d put into my career by that stage. The award gave me a huge boost in confidence and encouraged me to step forward as a leader. It also raised my profile, opening doors to new opportunities and connections. But most importantly, it reinforced that I was on the right path and inspired me to keep pushing forward."

Pauline Wild Managing partner, Forbes

"The Sub36 awards gave me so much confidence as my business had only been going for two years. It was such a boost that I’d done something bold and positive and that other people could see it. I leveraged the Sub36 by connecting with everyone in my categories and meeting up with them afterwards to get to know them. I’m still in touch with them now and some of them introduced me to different businesses that are our clients today. It was eight years ago when I won and we’re still in touch, we’ve grown our businesses, some have sold businesses and in 2018 you wouldn’t have that any of it would happen."

Laura Leyland Managing director and co-founder of Fresh Perspective

"Winning Lancastrian of the Year was a surreal and deeply proud moment. It is one thing to work hard, but being celebrated by your local business community is a unique thrill. That recognition acted as a positive catalyst for my journey, providing the credibility and confidence needed to scale +24 to the transformational growth agency it is today. For businesses, seeing young team members win is a major ‘stamp of quality.’ It signals that you are a hub for talent and innovation. It’s more than just an award, it’s a powerful validation of your team’s future potential."

Dave Walker Managing director, +24

"It is great when I turn around in my chair and see the award, I can say, ‘oh yeah, I did win that!’ It was really nice to celebrate the awards and get that kind of validation. Sub36 is a really good idea and format. I am not a massive fan of networking but having that group to connect with younger business owners and movers and shakers locally is great."

Amy King Investment co-ordinator, Rosebud

"When I won it was a bit of positivity during the pandemic. The award gave me a boost to keep doing what I was doing. It was great linking up with all the other winners. Talking to them and arranging meetings was great. I’m probably a bit rounder on the edges compared to five or six years ago when I won the award."

John Pickervance Partner, Forbes Solicitors

"I think it was only my second-year of trading as a limited company when we went in for the award. We were having a good year for growth and thankfully won. I would have been 22 at the time. It was a really nice start to a business career."

Tom Grattan Managing director, EXP

"Winning a Sub36 award was really cool and never in a million years did I think would win it. It feels really good to be recognised. It’s a great achievement and fundamentally I want more like success. Achievements along the way make you stop and think, ‘Yeah, I actually am on the right path and I’m doing well."

Sam Marsh Managing director, Jigsaw Fitness

"My Sub36 award showed I was a leader and it helped my progression. It gave me a lot of confidence that I could win something and achieve something like that. From a business perspective it is a great thing to have as we promoted it at the time and new clients did their research mentioned and supported progression for Group55."

Kate Horton Technical director, Group55

"It came as a surprise to me to win the award and I’d never really sat in front of a panel and really explained who I was, what my drive was and what I did. The people that I met during the awards are now managers, they own companies, they are directors. We’ve come through the ranks together and we still share those experiences."

Hannah Hughes Partner, Harrison Drury