Jodie Cook- Looking back on 25 years of BYPY

Photo credit: Birmingham Post, Jas Sansi

This year, we are celebrating 25 years of the iconic BYPY Awards. The awards highlight the exceptional talent and skills of young professionals across Greater Birmingham, while also giving the overall winners the chance to open doors in their careers that they might not otherwise have been able to open.

As part of these celebrations, we spoke to the overall winners of the awards, dating right back to the very first winner in 2001 to last year's winner.

Meet Jodie Cook, our winner from the 2014 BYPY Awards. 

Jodie is an award-winning and internationally-reknowned entrepreneur and author, who has been featured in Forbes' Europe's 30 Under 30 list of social entrepreneurs in 2017.

Read all about how Jodie felt about winning BYPY below..

What category did you win?

I won the Marketing category and overall Birmingham Young Professional of the Year prize in 2014.

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I started a social media agency in Birmingham in 2011 and sold it in 2021 as a team of 20 people. Since then I founded Coachvox AI, a tool that creates AI versions of coaches to help them build their coaching business. 

I was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list of 2017 and since 2018 I have been a senior contributor for Forbes on the topic of entrepreneurs. Clever Tykes, the children’s storybooks I co-wrote to inspire entrepreneurship in 6-9-year-olds are now read in every UK primary school. I am a co-host on The Futur podcast and YouTube channel, with 2.7m million subscribers, discussing personal brand, marketing, and creative work in regular episodes.

I have competed internationally in powerlifting since 2017 and represented Great Britain 9 times. I can deadlift triple her bodyweight and came 5th at the world bench press championships in 2024. I am a full time digital nomad, living out of a suitcase with no fixed location and moving every 2-3 months. I got married a few months after winning BYPY - myself and my husband Ben just celebrated our 11 year anniversary.

Where were you working at the time of winning your award?

I was three years into running my first business, JC Social Media, and we were a team of 5 people. I sold that business in 2021. 

What does your career look like now? 

I run a software company called Coachvox. We make AI coaches based on real coaches and consultants and they use their AI to generate leads and win new clients. I write as a senior contributor for Forbes and I cohost a popular podcast.

Why should people apply for GBYPY?

The award gives you access to a huge network of people who know you and want to support you. This does insane things for your career. The award carries power around the city and, if you’re intentional, you can use this to achieve all of your goals in work, life and sport.

How did winning BYPY feel for you?

Winning BYPY made me feel like the queen of Birmingham.