Cemal Ezel, barista and trainer at the Old Spike Roastery, explains why Lucy Stanciu should win the Rising Star category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition:
Lucy, was homeless at the beginning of 2015, sleeping rough and selling the Big Issue. She cannot speak English and she is 55 years old. This is not the normal start of a great story.
But in 2015, Lucy started working at Old Spike Roastery, fought her way through the tribulations connected with homelessness and found the courage to persevere with the training and early starts that come with the job of being a barista.
She is now leading a team of three, organising their training and running our roastery on the weekends. She is an invaluable member of our team and is starting to innovate and suggest new processes. I saw her on a day off and she had taken the initiative to distribute flyers about the roastery to increase sales. She is a true inspiration for everyone.
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the top three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
