NEW FOR 2026
CALLING ALL YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
The new King’s Awards for Enterprise – Young Founder category launches this year, celebrating exceptional entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30.
This year sees a rare first for The King’s Awards as a new category is launched in a bid to develop, support and acknowledge the next generation of business leaders. The Young Founder Award has been created to recognise exceptional entrepreneurs who are aged 18 to 30, celebrate their achievements, and showcase their entrepreneurial spirit and business skills. It will serve to both reward those who have shown exceptional insight, and inspire other young people to follow suit as the United Kingdom strengthens its commitment to develop and reward innovation, and support those looking to launch a new business. The category has been designed to shift the focus beyond youth itself – emphasising business excellence, community impact, and validated commercial performance, rather
than personal background or privilege. Anyone who has launched a business and experienced success, in any field, is eligible to apply, whether they left school with few qualifications or achieved a first at university. Indeed, the new Award has been specifically designed to encourage young people to see entrepreneurship as a viable and attractive career path, and support a long term government push to bring entrepreneurial skills into the national curriculum, enabling school leavers to start businesses sooner. It will showcase stories of resilience and adversity, triumph and hardship, and has been launched as part of the Department for Business and Trade’s Small Business Plan in a bid to champion achievements and support business growth.
The Award is aimed at… • Young business founders aged 18 to 30 at the time the Award is granted (6 May 2027). • Those who may have started a business even earlier in life, but are now operating at a strong, demonstrable level. • Entrepreneurs who show that young people can achieve a meaningful commercial and community impact. • The Award will recognise the business as a whole, with a specific focus on the young founder or CEO who drives it. • The new Young Founder category is now open for applications, alongside the existing four categories. The first recipients will be announced on 6 May 2027.
www. kingsawardsmagazine .com
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