Econsultancy’s CEO and co-founder Ashley Friedlein (pictured) collected the award, sponsored by Advansys, from BBC journalist and Today programme presenter John Humphrys at an awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London last week.
Open to businesses trading online with a UK turnover of under £10m, the award was newly created this year for the company demonstrating strong financial performance and “the highest levels of delivery, site engagement and usability, security, innovation and ethical practice.”
Econsultancy is a privately owned, subscription-based online publisher and community with more than 110,000 members globally and offices in London, New York and Dubai. Founded in 1999, Econsultancy has grown to become a leading source of independent advice and insight on digital marketing and e-commerce.
Judges said of the company: “Confounding the cynics, Econsultancy is proving that charging for content is a perfectly sustainable and profitable business model.”
Ashley Friedlein said: “We are thrilled that the judges have recognised the success we have had with our community-based B2B publishing platform. Online retail businesses have typically received most of the accolades in recent years so it’s great for a media company to win the first Small Online Business of the Year award. While many publishers are struggling in the digital world, this shows that media companies with the right business models can prosper.”
Kurt Wilson, CEO at Advansys said: “Advansys warmly congratulate Econsultancy on their award and applaud their innovation and enthusiasm in bringing together marketing and e-commerce professionals from around the world. We are extremely proud to have sponsored the Orange Small Online Business of the Year Award and to have awarded a successful company who also share our passion for e-commerce.”
George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, delivered the welcome address to 1,100 top UK business leaders and entrepreneurs including Dr Richard Ward, Jasmine Whitbread and Martin McCourt, the chief executive officers of Lloyd’s, Save the Children and Dyson respectively. Lord Wolfson, Chief Executive of Next, won the Daily Telegraph Award for a Decade of Excellence in Business.
“The National Business Awards are a celebration of the very best in British business. They are a unique opportunity to recognise the hard work you all do, as small businesses or multinational companies, to achieve commercial success”, said the Chancellor.
Open to organisations of all sizes from all sectors across the UK, the National Business Awards in partnership with Orange is the UK's most prestigious independent business recognition platform with its particular emphasis on excellence, innovation and ethical business.
