Mum who launched mental health plushies for kids triumphs in Chamber competition

A mother who launched the world’s first mental health plush toys to aid young children has been crowned the winner of a competition hosted by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC).

The Calmness Crew - founded by Burton upon Trent-based Fran Williams following her daughter’s struggles with anxiety – was named as the judges’ ‘one-to-watch’ in the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition.

Women-led SMEs and start-ups from across the West Midlands entered the annual competition – organised by the GBCC, in partnership with NatWest and British Business Bank – with four finalists securing the opportunity to pitch to an expert judging panel at the Birmingham offices of law firm Mills & Reeve last night.

After a round of pitches and questions, The Calmness Crew was revealed as the winner.

The judges were Craig McVoy, founder and CEO of Turnkey; Nigel Hall, chair and board advisor to multiple start-ups; and Sharonjit Clare, former independent chair of the WMCA race equalities taskforce.

Fran (pictured) was inspired to start The Calmness Crew after her six-year-old daughter suffered with severe anxiety following the Covid-19 lockdown.

The collection of comforting plushies is designed to support the wellbeing of young children by voice guiding them through mental health techniques such as box breathing, positive affirmations and grounding techniques.

Fran is also collaborating with educators and wellbeing organisations to introduce The Calmness Crew into learning environments.

Judges told her: “The size of the market opportunity is tremendous. While you focus on young people, we think what you’ve developed is applicable to everyone.

“Neurodiversity is a growing crisis, not just here but worldwide. What you’ve hit on is incredible.”

Fran said: “Winning this award means so much because when I started The Calmness Crew, it was a journey that I didn’t actually want to be on due to my daughter suffering with extreme anxiety.

“But now to win this award, it gives me some kind of external validation to know that what I’m doing is important and that I am on the right track.

“I’m so pleased that I took the courage to apply and turn up to do my first ever pitch.”

The other finalists were Borro, a sustainability-focused service that enables parents to rent kids and baby clothes; Syncd:in, a revenue-generating music tech company that helps underrepresented artists to take control of their music royalties; and Waste Projekt, a sustainable design start-up transforming food waste into fully biodegradable plant pots and eco-conscious gardening products.

The Women Entrepreneurs Pitch competition is designed to showcase the best of the region’s women-led SMEs and start-ups, while addressing some of their barriers to growth.

Figures from the Gender Index reveal just 3.29 per cent of West Midlands-based female-led companies have attracted angel investment in 2025 so far – down from 7 per cent in the same period during 2024.

Tracy Sherratt, UK senior network senior manager (West Midlands) at the British Business Bank, said: “The British Business Bank is delighted to again play our role in supporting the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition, held here in the West Midlands.

 “The event is great opportunity for women entrepreneurs to have the chance to network, gain insight and potentially unlock investment opportunities.”

Harinder Kunor, accelerator community manager for NatWest, said: “It is a pleasure for NatWest to be supporting the Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition.

“It is a great opportunity for us to help females break down those barriers and gain valuable insights to help them scale and grow their businesses.”