We’re proud to share that xigxag’s co-founders, Kelli Fairbrother and Mark Chaplin, have been named finalists in the 2026 Allica Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards, shortlisted in the Creative & Media Entrepreneur of the Year category.
The Great British Entrepreneur Awards recognise the people behind the business, not just the business itself. The decisions, the resilience, the stubborn refusal to give up when things get difficult. Past winners include the founders of Grenade, ClearScore, Zilch and Unbiased, many of whom were recognised early in their journey.
This year, over 5,000 businesses applied. 740 made the shortlist. Together, those 740 represent £3.3 billion in combined turnover, more than 17,700 jobs, and over 5,200 years of trading experience. 40% are women-led. It’s a snapshot of the businesses that actually power the UK economy.
Being part of that group means a lot to both of us.
What This Means for xigxag
We started xigxag because we believed the audiobook market deserved better. Better pricing, better technology, and a better experience for listeners.
The big platforms had settled into a model that works for them but not for the people who actually listen to audiobooks: monthly subscriptions that cap how much you can enjoy, a la carte prices that punish you for wanting more, an experience that hadn’t meaningfully changed in over a decade.
We’ve spent the last few years building something different. An audiobook app with no subscription and no monthly commitment. Prices start from £7.99 and get better the more you listen. Our listen-and-read experience that lets you see the text and illustrations as you listen, unlocking a load of first-ever features for audiobooks: search audiobooks, look up words, take notes, share quotes. It’s the first fully integrated listen-and-read experience in the world, and it’s built on technology developed by Mark in Cornwall.
Every audiobook on xigxag is narrated by a real human, not AI narration. We believe the voice telling the story matters: the timing, the emotion, the character, the silences, the humanity.
We’re a team of six. We answer our own support tickets. We limit the customer data we collect and aim to protect our users from big tech data trawling as much as possible. We’re building this the hard way, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
What’s Next
The Great British Entrepreneur Awards Gala Final takes place later this year. Whatever happens on the night, being recognised alongside this group of founders is super exciting!
In the meantime, we’ll keep making audiobooks better for the people who love them.
If you haven’t tried xigxag yet, now’s a good time. Download the app and see what audiobooks can be.
