The Student Agency has been nominated for a national award

The York second year who set up his own letting agency has been nominated for a national entrepeneurship award.

Ryan Hill, the entrepreneurial York second year who runs The Student Agency together with his girlfriend Emily are now finalists for the “Social Enterprise (UK)” category in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, an award for excellence among entrepreneurs.

Speaking to The Tab, Ryan said: “We were selected from all of the contestants that applied, and they nominated us for the final. We’re included in the Social Enterprise category for aiming to ‘Battle Britain’s social challenges’ and for being ‘Geared towards creating social change’.

“We are in this category for  aiming to provide a fairer service to students; reduce agency fees for students to zero; and give a voice to international students who may particularly struggle in the letting process with cultural and language barriers.”

At least one of them looks pleased

The agency is the only student run company nominated within their category, as well as being the only ones from York. Although one member of the competition has apparently raised £40 million in donations over the past year, which sounds pretty daunting to us, Ryan seems unfazed and optimistic about their chances.

He said: “We were both super excited and felt it was a great honour to be considered for the award.

“It’s nice to see business-minded people see this as a viable idea that can work for students. We were shocked to be nominated for such a prestigious award and felt really honoured and proud of what we’d done in such a short time.”

Simon Burton, founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, said: “The entries we have received for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards can only be described as awe inspiring.

“The quality has been outstanding. The judges have had the extremely difficult task of whittling the great and good of the entrepreneurial community down to the very best and we are delighted by the companies that have made the shortlist.

“The Awards Ceremony itself in November will be a night to remember, with VIPs from the worlds of business and entrepreneurship gathering to celebrate entrepreneurial spirit in the UK.”

Ryan and Emily doing important business things

The winner of the award is to be announced at a ceremony in November, taking place at the Ballroom in Central London.

Check out The Student Agency’s site here