As a founder you have to juggle ‘doing the job’ and being the CEO
More Founder Stories
I crave experiences and being a founder is the ultimate adventure
UpSkill Digital is a digital skills training agency catering for both businesses and individuals. Founded by Gori Yahaya in 2015, the company provides a wide range of training modules, such as digital marketing, Google Analytics, and social strategy. UpSkill Digital is also an alumnus of the Mayor’s International Business Programme, which aims to help businesses […]
Entrepreneurship is a disease…but I don’t want the cure’
This technology start-up unlocks the world of whisky. It has developed proprietary image capturing software that allows mobile phones to scan and identify any bottle of the ‘golden elixir’. The Bevvy app displays a variety of information on the scanned whisky, including an estimated valuation, tasting notes, user ratings and distillery history. Its database stores details of more than 200,000 bottles, and the app is aimed at anyone from novices to collectors and distillery owners. Headquartered on the Isle of Islay, the company was set up in 2021 by leading whisky expert Laurie Black, and entrepreneur Luke Heron, co-founder of medtech firm TestCard.
How I started my multi-million-pound technology business from a pig shed
Charlie Jardine is probably the only Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur who launched his business in a pig shed. In 2015, he converted a barn on his grandfather’s Suffolk farm and began to develop his first product – an electric-vehicle (EV) charger. From there, things accelerated quickly…
From dressing up as Santa to raising $50M and hitting the Deloitte Fast 50
Aged 10, Christer Holloman launched a Rent-a-Santa business in his hometown. He’d dress up as the Big Guy each Christmas Eve and, as per Swedish tradition, hand out gifts to excited kids. “I’ve got a picture of me aged 13 counting out my earnings on Christmas Eve, I guess I was destined to become an entrepreneur.” 30 years on, Christer is living out that destiny…
HOW TO GET YOUR CUSTOMERS TO LOVE YOU
When businesses face unexpected threats, the directors usually call emergency board meetings. A leadership team gathers in the boardroom to thrash out a survival strategy and take decisions that they often hide from customers and the wider team. Here’s what women’s clothing company Snag did when facing a crisis during 2020’s first lockdown: founder Brie […]
‘How we made tofu sexy’
Tofoo produces organic, gluten-, dairy- and yeast-free products from soybeans. Husband-and-wife team Dave Knibbs and Lydia Smith have built the business to sales of £18.6m in 2021. The North Yorkshire firm says it is the fourth-largest brand in the chilled meat-free market, with more than one million households buying its products regularly. Its recent growth is partly due to winning listings in major retailers including Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.