Our CEO and Co-Founder, Bernhard Niesner, was crowned winner of the Disruptor category at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 UK finals last week. This year marks the 20th anniversary of EY’s Entrepreneur Of The Year UK awards, which is part of a global programme that aims to celebrate, support and connect entrepreneurs.
The Disruptor award recognises “entrepreneurs with the vision and courage to challenge the status quo” and innovators who “push boundaries to revolutionise an existing industry”. Since starting busuu in 2008, Bernhard has helped shape the online language learning industry and, through our product, has helped changed the lives of over 80 million learners worldwide.
Winners were selected by an independent judging panel consisting of Entrepreneur Of The Year alumni, entrepreneurs, and high-profile figures from the business community. Back in September, Bernhard took part in the ‘UK Judging Retreat’ where he pitched his story, alongside other finalists, to the UK judging panel in face-to-face interviews. When deciding the overall winner, judges look for a range of qualities, from entrepreneurial spirit, to national and global impact and strategic direction.
Commenting on his win, Bernhard said: “I’m incredibly proud to have won the UK’s ‘EY Entrepreneur Of The Year’ award in the ‘Disruptor’ category. Entrepreneurship is very much about resilience, perseverance and optimism, and in the last ten years we needed a lot of these ingredients. I’d like to take this opportunity to share a huge thanks to the amazing busuu team who made this possible!”
Bernhard’s UK win is in addition to the award he won at the London & South regional final in July.
