As the premier award of the Heropreneurs Awards, the Heropreneur of the Year Award holds a distinguished place, recognising an individual who has demonstrated exceptional entrepreneurial achievement, outstanding leadership, and a strong commitment to supporting and inspiring the wider military business community. Criteria for success may include commercial performance, innovation, community engagement, resilience, and serving as a role model to others.
Military Affiliation: Nominees must be individuals connected to the UK Armed Forces – including veterans, serving personnel, reservists, military spouses or partners, and young people (aged 16-24) from UK military families. The nominated business is not required to be based in the UK.
Successful Business Leadership: Nominees must have founded the nominated business themselves and must still be involved in its leadership. Founders who have sold, stepped down from, or otherwise exited the business are not eligible. The business may be of any size or age.
Impact and Influence: Nominees should demonstrate positive influence within the military entrepreneur community through mentorship, advocacy, employment, or leadership.
Mission Alignment: Nominees must embody the values of Heropreneurs, integrity, innovation, purpose, and community impact.
Deadline to Apply: Sunday 14 June 2026
This award celebrates small businesses that exemplify entrepreneurial strength, operational stability, and sustained performance. Nominees will have created solid foundations and proven that small, focused teams or individuals can achieve remarkable things.
This award recognises an outstanding product, physical or digital, and demonstrates the skill, determination and vision needed to bring it to market successfully. Nominees will show how a great product is the result not only of clever design and innovation, but also of strong foundations, thoughtful leadership and the ability to turn ideas into real‑world impact.
We are looking for businesses that combine product excellence with entrepreneurial strength, organisations that understand their customers, navigate challenges with resilience, and demonstrate how the right team, values and decisions can turn a product into something truly meaningful.
This award recognises early-stage businesses – no more than three years old or less from first trading – that demonstrate innovation, traction, and exceptional growth potential. Nominees must be the original founders and remain actively leading the business, having neither bought nor sold the company being nominated. Entrants should show how they have validated their idea, gained early momentum, and built a scalable foundation for future success. Evidence may include customer acquisition, product or service development, partnerships, revenue growth, or creative problem solving.
This award recognises a business whose main area of operation is technology, either focusing on the development and manufacturing of technology or providing technology as a service. Nominees will need to demonstrate that technology is the cornerstone of their business while highlighting the benefits it delivers to end users. Success may take many forms, including growth, profitability, flexibility, and overcoming challenges.
If you are interested in exploring an MBA at WBS, please contact [email protected], and we will put you in touch.
This is one of our most coveted Awards at the Heropreneurs Awards 2026, delivered in collaboration with Warwick Business School (WBS). The winner of the WBS Award will receive an extraordinary 100% scholarship to pursue one of their prestigious MBA programmes. And that’s not all; significant scholarships await the runners-up, ensuring that multiple members of our community can benefit from this incredible initiative.
The WBS Award is designed to recognise ambition and help individuals transition to the next stage of their career through an MBA, providing them with the knowledge and skills to foster both personal and professional growth and to make a meaningful and positive impact on the world. A Warwick MBA offers a long-term return on investment, from increased earning potential to expanded career opportunities. Explore the transformative journeys of previous finalists, from starting their own successful business through to becoming a defence tech leader.
We are looking for candidates who:
In short, we are looking for Change Makers. Individuals with untapped potential, who are driven to redefine what’s come before, and have the bravery to change things, big or small, for the better.
We encourage applications from veterans, reservists, and serving personnel from the British Armed Forces and their families at any stage in their careers.
Read more about WBS and whether an MBA is right for you.
Applications must be made by applicants themselves; no third-party nominations will be considered for this Award.
Interested but not sure what’s right for you? You can book an informal 1-2-1 chat with a member of the WBS team to find out more. 1-2-1 chats can take place either online or face-to-face in Warwick or London. During the conversation they can review your CV, present an overview of our MBA programmes, outline the benefits of studying at Warwick, and answer any questions you may have
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WBS Award applications open |
16 March |
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Book a short 1-2-1 chat with a member of the WBS Recruitment team |
16 March onwards |
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WBS Award applications close |
26 April |
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Online interviews for shortlisted candidates |
During May |
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Face-to-face pitch for top selected candidates (finalists) at the Shard, London* |
7 and 8 July |
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Awards event at The Shard* |
2 November |
*Applicants must be available to travel and attend these events in person.
To be considered for the Award, you must meet the entry criteria for your preferred MBA. In addition to work experience requirements, we encourage applications from candidates with undergraduate level degrees however, we also welcome candidates without such a qualification but demonstrate a proven ability to succeed through their experience.
When applying for this Award, it is important that, should you win, you will be available to take up the scholarship and opportunity to study for a WBS MBA starting at the relevant time as follows:
If you are selected to receive a partial scholarship, it is important that you consider how you might fund the remaining fees.
Please note that previous applicants can only make one further application. We recommend that if you were unsuccessful on your prior attempt, you provide relevant and specific insight and evidence into your additional gained experience since your last application.
In nominating yourself for the WBS Award, you agree that for administration purposes, personal data will be shared between Heropreneurs, the Forces Employment Charity, and WBS.
As part of the acceptance criteria, winners are committing to assist in the promotion of future Awards.
