“We had completed prototyping and testing. We had also secured our five patents, so the Award came at a crucial time, and enabled us to move forward with production,” she said.

Easy Hang’s premium clothing hangers help to protect garments and reduce waste. The unique design folds down to allow easy removal without pulling or stretching the clothes, and the durable beech wood offers a sustainable alternative to plastic.

Since winning the Young Innovators Award, Easy Hang has begun trading, and growth has been promising both on home soil and overseas.

Going into production

The financial backing from Innovate UK played a pivotal role in Easy Hang’s progress, accelerating production timelines and design refinement.

“The ability to visit the factory in person was invaluable. I spent days reviewing hundreds of units and implementing small but crucial improvements to increase assembly precision and efficiency,” Shannyce said.

“It also gave me the opportunity to build relationships with my suppliers and communicate my vision in a way that’s not possible over email. Doing so improved our quality control and enabled us to manufacture the product to the standard that our customers deserve.”

Personal growth

Beyond the financial impact of the Award, Shannyce credits the award with fostering her personal growth, helping her gain independence and confidence.

“Travelling by myself to visit our manufacturer and being in a situation where my age, gender and race could make others undermine me, I quickly learned how to advocate for myself and the vision I have for Easy Hang. Following my trip, I felt so much more capable and confident in both myself and our product,” she added.

Shannyce reflected that while she’d had ambitious plans for Easy Hang’s first year, the process has taught her that success doesn’t come overnight. “Learning to remain patient and consistent on this journey, and counting every win, has been a great area of growth for me,” she said.

Building a supportive network

The Young Innovators Award connected Shannyce with a network of peers and industry mentors, providing guidance during this crucial phrase of her entrepreneurial journey.

“The cohort of awardees is an incredible, supportive and uplifting space. The knowledge exchanged was very helpful along our various journeys. I was also blessed to have insightful and proactive innovation champions, who helped me with marketing strategies, connections, practical advice when it came to logistics, shipping, packaging and so much more,” she said.

“The great thing about Innovate UK is that the Award is much more than just finance. Although funding is an extremely important resource, it’s also invaluable to have a support network of experts available to you and I would encourage any awardee to make the most of it in whatever way you can.”

Learning from others

With Easy Hang launched and Shannyce feeling more confident as an entrepreneur, growth is front of mind for the next chapter.

“I’d love to work with more retailers, big and small, to increase our stockists in the UK and internationally. We’re also looking for business development support, as I would love to work with hotels. I’m still learning, still growing and very open to guidance and learning from others. I feel more creative than ever, and I’m very grateful to have been an Innovate UK Young Innovator.”