TEO Academy Named Triple Finalist in the UK Small Business Awards 2026
Recognition across three award categories celebrates not only TEO Academy's early business journey, but the principles behind the platform: specialist education, human connection and fairer opportunities for tutors.
TEO Academy and its co-founder, Lisa Hourihan, have been recognised as finalists in three categories at the UK Small Business Awards 2026.
Lisa was initially named a finalist for Female Entrepreneur of the Year. TEO Academy was subsequently recognised in two additional categories: Best Business Start-Up and Best Home-Based Business.
For a young education platform built from a home office, this recognition represents an important milestone. More importantly, it gives greater visibility to the values that shaped TEO Academy from the beginning.
Recognition for the founder, the idea and the business
Each category reflects a different part of the TEO Academy journey.
Female Entrepreneur of the Year
Recognising Lisa's transition from registered nurse and communication educator to the co-founder of an international education platform.
Best Business Start-Up
Recognising the development of TEO Academy from an idea into a growing specialist English marketplace serving tutors and adult learners worldwide.
Best Home-Based Business
Recognising what can be created through remote working, resourcefulness and a clear mission, without beginning with a large office or traditional infrastructure.
A business shaped by frontline experience
Before co-founding TEO Academy, Lisa spent more than 15 years working as a UK Registered Nurse.
Her healthcare career demonstrated how strongly communication influences confidence, professional progression, teamwork and safety. It also showed that talented professionals can struggle to demonstrate their knowledge when language or communication becomes a barrier.
TEO Academy grew from the belief that adult learners should be able to access specialist support that reflects the situations they actually face, whether that means a clinical handover, professional interview, university seminar, examination or international workplace.
The platform was also designed around another group whose expertise can be overlooked: the tutors delivering the education.
Why ethical tutor treatment matters
Education platforms depend on the skills, preparation and professional judgement of their tutors. Yet educators working through online marketplaces can face high commission charges, limited control and systems that prioritise volume over expertise.
TEO Academy was developed with a different approach. Tutors set their own rates and availability, build profiles around their specialist knowledge and retain control over how they teach.
The platform applies a flat 14% commission, allowing tutors to keep 86% of their lesson fee. This model is intended to support a more sustainable relationship between the platform, the tutor and the learner.
Fairer remuneration
Tutors retain the majority of their lesson fee and remain in control of the rate they charge.
Professional autonomy
Educators manage their own availability and choose how best to use their expertise.
Specialist visibility
Tutors can present experience in areas such as medical, business, academic and examination English.
Better learning relationships
Learners can find educators whose professional knowledge fits their goals and working context.
A home-based business with global reach
The Best Home-Based Business recognition is particularly meaningful because TEO Academy demonstrates what a small, remote team can begin to build without traditional premises.
Tutors and learners can connect across countries, while the platform itself can be developed, managed and improved remotely. This lowers geographical barriers and makes it possible to build an international education community from the UK.
Working from home does not make the ambition smaller. It means using digital tools, professional networks and lived experience to create something capable of reaching far beyond its starting point.
Recognition for the wider TEO community
Although the Female Entrepreneur of the Year nomination carries Lisa's name, none of TEO Academy's progress has happened in isolation.
The platform has been shaped by its tutors, learners, coaches, collaborators, family members and supporters. Every tutor who has created a profile, every learner who has trusted TEO with their goals and every person who has shared or recommended the platform has contributed to its development.
The three finalist positions are therefore not simply recognition of one founder or company. They are an opportunity to celebrate the community growing around a more specialist, personal and ethical approach to online education.
Featured by Warrington Worldwide
Lisa's triple finalist recognition and journey from Warrington nurse to education entrepreneur were also covered by the local press.
Recognition is a milestone, not the destination
TEO Academy remains a growing platform. There is more to improve, more specialist support to develop and more work to do in helping learners discover the right educators.
The award recognition provides encouragement, but it does not change the fundamental aim: to build an education platform that respects the expertise of tutors and helps adult learners communicate with greater clarity and confidence.
As the business develops, those principles will continue to guide the decisions behind the platform.
Be part of the next stage of TEO Academy
Discover the story and values behind the platform, find specialist English support or join our international tutor community.
