15-year-old Harrison Nott wins Alibaba cocreate pitch with cooltowel, securing $200,000 prize

A 15-year-old British entrepreneur has been crowned the grand winner of Alibaba.com’s CoCreate Pitch competition, taking home a $200,000 prize for his innovative small business, CoolTowel, at the platform’s flagship B2B event in London.

Held on 14 November, the CoCreate Europe conference brought together thousands of SMEs from across the continent, with 30 finalists selected to showcase their product innovations to a panel of global business leaders. Each finalist was tasked with giving a 90-second pitch to win the competition’s top prize.

After what the judges described as a “fantastic presentation” and “fantastic product”, Harrison Knott, from Essex, was named the big winner for his CoolTowel, a reusable cooling towel designed to provide instant relief during workouts, hot weather, travel and outdoor activities.

Despite his age, Harrison has already built an impressive project: Cold towel With an annual turnover of £200,000, his entrepreneurial journey – documented on social media – has attracted more than 50,000 followers and millions of views. He credits his parents’ early encouragement and support with fostering his passion for work.

Along with the grand winner, 10 additional finalists were recognized, each taking home $20,000 in prizes for their innovations. These were:
• UK: Nutri Troops, Intotum, SKIN
• France: Aza Fencing, OPAC, Portalo
• Germany: Trinom, Razico, Jarados swimwear
• Italy: Reflex

This year saw the inaugural European release of CoCreate Pitch. Alibaba.com reported an exceptionally high quality of entries, with British SMEs standing out for their commitment to sustainability: 18% of UK submissions included environmental concepts, beating France, Italy and Germany.

Together, CoCreate Pitch Europe and CoCreate Pitch Vegas have now awarded $1 million in global awards funding, bringing together more than 4,000 SMEs across the two events. The program reflects Alibaba.com’s focus on accelerating the growth of SMEs, helping companies adopt AI-driven sourcing tools and unlocking new international opportunities.

Speaking after his win, Harrison said: “I’m speechless. I’ve worked so hard to get here and never expected to win. I couldn’t be more grateful to Alibaba.com for this opportunity.”

Ko Chang, President of Alibaba.com, praised the quality of the entries: “CoCreate Europe celebrated the best SME product innovations. The creativity and fresh thinking on display was inspiring, and we have a unique winner in Harrison Nott and CoolTowel.

“At Alibaba.com, we are committed to helping SMEs achieve their growth ambitions by democratizing AI tools and digital resources.”