Michelle WollastonSecond Chapter Business of the Year
Second Chapter Business of the Year recognises a founder who has built their current business following a significant career or life transition. It celebrates the experience carried forward, the new capability developed along the way and the measurable results created in a deliberately chosen new direction.
Is this your category?
A quick read on the businesses this title is written for.
Has built their current business following a meaningful career or life transition.
Uses previous experience, skills or perspective to strengthen the business they are building now.
Can demonstrate measurable business progress in the new chapter.
Shows clear learning, adaptability and confidence in the direction they have chosen.
What judges need to see.
The five areas your answers are assessed against.
Foundation
Foundation: The transition into the current business, the opportunity identified and the foundations of the new direction.
Results
Results: Measurable progress, traction and commercial outcomes created in the current business.
Decisions
Decisions: Choices, pivots and skills developed while building the new chapter.
Leadership
Leadership: Self-leadership, application of prior experience and growth in capability or influence.
Impact
Impact: The value created through the new business and the entrant's direction for the years ahead.
Evidence to start gathering
Start collecting these now so the writing is quick later.
Read the Evidence Pack guideRevenue, client, customer or sales growth.
Business milestones reached since launch.
Evidence of market validation or repeat business.
Qualifications, skills or experience applied from the previous chapter.
Systems or operational improvements developed in the new business.
Testimonials or case studies with specific outcomes.
Partnerships, recognition or new market opportunities.
Evidence showing how a significant transition shaped the business direction.
Entry details and eligibility
The format, the dates and the conditions that apply to this title.
The current business must represent a genuine new chapter following a significant career or life transition.
There is no age restriction for this category.
- Assessment period
- 2024–27.
- Minimum business age
- 12 months.
- Written responses
- 5.
- Evidence Pack
- 5 pages.
1 January 2024 to 28 February 2027
Minimum 12 months in business as at 4 October 2026.
5 written responses, up to 400 words each.
One PDF, up to 5 pages and 10 MB.
Resources
Before you enter
Five short reads that answer almost everything. Each one opens the Entry Guide at the right place.
Evidence Pack guide
What counts as evidence, what does not, and how to lay the PDF out.
Full eligibility
The rules that apply to every title, including trading dates and locations.
How judging works
Who reads your entry, how it is scored and how finalists are chosen.
Build a strong entry
How to answer the five questions with specifics instead of adjectives.
Frequently asked questions
Costs, deadlines, multiple entries and everything else people ask first.
Category partner
Michelle Wollaston
Presenting Second Chapter Business of the Year
Presenting partners do not score, select or influence entrants. Judging is run independently.
RAYE Awards 2027
Second Chapter Business of the Year
Entries are written and submitted in the RAYE Awards portal, a separate system to RAYE Haus. Read the criteria, gather your evidence, then head across.