Rutger Bruining, founder and CEO of StoryTerrace, the international biography-writing service, has been recognised ‘Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2022 Grand Final. Bruining and StoryTerrace have been commended for their dedication and commitment to economic growth, helping to drive job creation and boosting revenue. Since its launch in 2014, the memoir-writing service has documented the life lessons of thousands of ordinary people in both UK and US markets, and has since observed a staggering 58% rise in the number of copies printed in the UK this year, and a further 44% more projects worldwide when compared to 2021.
After deciding to leave his career in private equity over eight years ago, Bruining made the decision to start a meaningful service that captures the life stories of all manner of people. Inspired by his grandfather’s tales of adventure and adversity serving in the Dutch resistance during WWII, Bruining decided that priceless stories such as these are too precious to be forgotten. Later in 2019 and eager to hit the ground running, Rutger appeared on Dragons’ Den where he was offered the deal of a lifetime but rejected it for a greater opportunity. Over the course of the pandemic, the service witnessed a significant uptick in the number of people wishing to record their stories and even saw the number of full-time staff more than double during this period.
Bruining is among 12 other entrepreneurs who went home with prizes in categories from Health & Beauty and Sustainability to Family Business and the overall Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award, which was won by Jordan Brompton of myenergi Ltd. StoryTerrace will now become the publishing partner of the award’s inaugural book which will document some of the most prolific entrepreneurial stories from around the country – all of which were recognised at the ceremony in London last night.
CEO and Founder of StoryTerrace, Rutger Bruining, comments:
“I am beyond grateful to have been awarded and recognised as the ‘Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year’. It has been a pleasure to watch my company and dedicated colleagues grow and flourish in a service that truly captures the heart of the nation and allows people to remember the stories of their loved ones.
“I can only hope that this success continues into next year and that more and more people realise and share our feelings about the beauty in storytelling and the art in memoir-writing. It goes without saying that our talented ghostwriters in both the UK and the US have made this happen and have touched the lives of so many.”
