Shore Projects wins mentorship with Richard Branson

Startup watch brand Shore Projects has been named as one of the six brands globally to win a mentorship with Richard Branson as part of Shopify’s ‘Build a Business’ competition. The competition, which took place between October 1, 2014, and May 31, 2015, saw entrepreneurs across various industries start an entirely new company before selling their products via the Shopify cloud-based e-commerce website. Shore Projects was named as one of the top six stores that sold the most over a two-month period. As a result the watch brand’s prize will be a trip on a private jet to Necker Island where it will spend five days under the mentorship and advice of some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs. In addition to the mentorship with Richard Branson, the companies will also receive advice from entrepreneurs Seth Godin, Daymond John, Tim Ferriss and Marie Forleo. Harley Finkelstein, chief platform officer at Shopify, said: “We knew that for our fifth year, we had to go bigger and better, which is why we chose to work with Sir Richard, one of the most accomplished and inspirational entrepreneurs in the world.” The other five companies which won the prize include: Leesa: David Wolfe’s goal was to tap into the lucrative mattress industry by creating a high quality but affordable mattress that could get shipped directly to the consumer. Leesa is just that — a luxury mattress for under $1,000 (£639). Trunkster: After living out of their suitcases while travelling for business, Jesse Potash and Gaston Blanchet had an idea for a piece of luggage that was zipperless, with a built-in GPS, scale, and mobile charger. After raising $1.4m (£895,000) through a Kickstarter campaign, Trunkster was born. Pavlok: After experimenting with various ways to increase productivity, Maneesh Sethi realized that there were dozens of wearables tracking behavior but not one that actually changed behavior. Based on the work of psychologist Ivan Pavlov and 80+ years of clinical research, Sethi created Pavlok, a wearable that uses classical conditioning to break bad habits. Customers have used Pavlok to quit smoking, nail biting, overeating, drinking, thinking negative thoughts, and more. Little Letter Lights Co: Based out of Adelaide, Australia, Lucy Nourse and her husband Rob wanted to start a business so that she could spend more time with their kids by working from home. She knew she wanted a product for children that was unique, safe, and affordable so she created her letter lights. Coco White: Based out of London, England, Jonny Teeling and Will Peirce were looking to start a new business venture. They honed in on two key trends: the desire for an all natural teeth whitening product, and the concept of oil pulling. After drawing up some unique packaging designs and testing out different prices, Coco White was ready for market.