RiDO Rotherham Investment & Development Office

Communications entrepreneur Liam Winder has won the Best Business using IT category at the Rotherham Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2010.

Liam Winder's business Ripwire, based at the RiDO-run Fusion @ Magna business centre, is the only company to have the rights to be the internet service provider for the forthcoming South Yorkshire super fast digital regional network VDSL2.

The 27-year-old married father-of-two from Thorpe Hesley, picked up the £500 award, sponsored by Yorkshire Forward.

Liam now employs five full-time staff and his 20-month-old business boasts a string of impressive clients and services include internet provision, cloud computing and b2b high speed internet services. The business will be consumer-facing once the regional network is set up.

Liam said: "I'm delighted to have my business recognised. We've worked hard and come a long way in a short space of time. Accolades like this help to make all the hard work worthwhile."

The Rotherham Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2010, sponsored by Rotherham Enterprise Network (REN) and UK Steel Enterprise, has once again uncovered a wealth of young talent that is relentlessly bucking the national trend with a collection of small but successful new businesses springing up in the borough.

Award organiser and Rotherham Investment & Development Office (RiDO) enterprise manager Geoff Link said: "I never fail to be impressed by the passionate young business men and women that enter these awards, especially during these uncertain times.

"They stand out from the crowd, not least because of their determination, ingenuity and self belief. Setting up and running your own business is not for the faint hearted - and these young entrepreneurs are certainly not that."

The category winners will now go through the final to find the overall winner, which will be announced at the forthcoming Chamber awards ceremony.