The CEO and founder of Leeds-based online bed-in-a-box retailer Otty Sleep, Michal Szlas, has been shortlisted for the 2019 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards in the Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year category.
Michal and Otty fended off tough competition in order to make the regional shortlist, with a record number of businesses entering the awards across the wide range of categories.
Otty Sleep, which won the NBF Small Online Retailer of the Year award in 2018, combines tried-and-tested products with innovative materials. The last 12 months has seen Otty expand its product range following increased demand, as well as almost doubling the number of employees working at the company’s Leeds offices.
“It’s been a year of growth for Otty," says Michal. "Internally, we’ve expanded the office space at our Leeds-based headquarters following an increase in staff, while we’ve also been working hard to bring a new range of products to the market, helping customers and retailers get complete sleep solutions. Ultimately, this has led to an increasing market share, and shows that the team’s hard work is being recognised.
“The Start-Up of the Year category is competitive and includes a range of diverse and varied companies, and I feel privileged to be able to stand alongside the other exciting leaders as one of the North’s best start-up entrepreneurs.”
Past winners include David Buttress of Just Eat, Julie Deane OBE of The Cambridge Satchel Company, James Watt of BrewDog, and Hannah and Sophie Pycroft of Spectrum Collections.
