The Solopreneur Awards returns to The Waldorf Hilton, London, on December 6th 2026. Entries have been extended to August 31st following demand, with submissions open now
Now in its second year, The Solopreneur Awards has drawn judges and guests from across the UK, Europe and the United States, with big industry names flying in for the December ceremony. Entries are judged across 13 categories by a panel of female founders including Dragons’ Den alumna Ola Goldsmith, Forbes-featured Alice Benham, and Lucy Legal, the lawyer known for protecting small business owners online.
Women make up a growing share of Britain’s business owners and a shrinking share of its leadership. Around one in five active UK companies is now female-led, but the number of women running mid-market firms has dropped to 17%, the lowest figure in nearly a decade, and 86% of female entrepreneurs report difficulty accessing finance to grow, against 76% of men.
The women who build alone face something else on top of that. IPSE research found a quarter of female freelancers experience loneliness and isolation from working the way they do, compared to 16% of men.
Cutting that isolation is the point of this night. Women who met at the 2025 ceremony have spent this year
referring work to each other, collaborating, and in several cases building together. Everyone in the room is celebrated on the night, finalist or not. The awards are the introduction, but what happens afterwards is the reason for them.
“Running a business on your own is lonely in a way people don’t talk about,” said Nikki Pope, founder of The Solopreneur Awards and The Modern Launch Club. “There’s no team to celebrate with, and nobody who saw
how hard the last year actually was. I wanted to build the Oscars of the online space, a night that looks and feels like the work deserves”
“I was a teacher for twelve years. When I quit to become a coach, I had this belief in myself, and it was hard for other people to see it,” said Amber Jay of The Gutsy CEO, winner of Business Coach of the Year 2025. “Three years down the line, two babies down the line, to have this award means everything”
Entries close August 31st, 2026, and winners are announced at The Waldorf Hilton on December 6th, 2026.
