A wardrobe malfunction with ill-fitting tights that would not stay up inspired Brigitte Read to set up this hosiery business in 2018. Snag Tights caters for a wide range of sizes from four to 36 and offers 1,500 product lines. The online retailer has diversified into leggings, T-shirts, skirts and swimwear and has more than 2m customers in 90 countries. The Scottish-based brand is now eyeing expansion in America.

D.Louise was founded in 2021 by Olivia Jenkins, who named the direct-to-consumer jewellery brand after her late mother, Deborah Louise. Olivia co-founded the business with serial entrepreneur Jack Zambakides and former professional cricket player Oliver Smithson. The South London company has gained attention for its high-quality, waterproof jewellery made from stainless steel, designed to withstand […]

We live in an era of remote working, office pool tables and CEOs signing off emails with smiley emojis. But beneath the fluff, many people still believe deep down that fun and work do not go together ­– that fun is expensive and a distraction from the DEADLY SERIOUS business of running a company. In these people (you […]

As business meetings go, it was unusual. It’s not every day that an entrepreneur with a background in manufacturing pitches to a Spice Girl. But somehow, this rendezvous was going ahead. And Christopher Money was pumped. The year was 2016 and Christopher had moved heaven and earth to get an audience with Emma Bunton. But the outcome of his proposal was in the balance. The idea that Baby Spice would say no to his business partnership invitation wasn’t worth thinking about, as the idea she’d say yes was so incredible. *Enter huge amounts of adrenaline.

Two years ago, we wrote about James Macfarlane under the headline: ‘The quiet tech entrepreneur who’s building a half-billion-pound empire’. Hands up. We low-balled him. In April 2021, PM Connect signed a contract with the NBA. The agreement, means that fans in Europe and South Africa can now pay to watch the New York Knicks, LA Lakers et al via their mobile phone. Where the business could go from here is dizzying…

Beijing-born twins Jake Xu and Shane Carnell-Xu launched this men’s cosmetics brand in 2019 after raising funds from angel investors Sally Preston and Neil Mather of Kiddylicious, the children’s snack business. Bestsellers in Shakeup’s skincare and makeup range include moisturiser, under eye concealer and face masks. The brand is stocked by national and overseas retailers, such as Harvey Nichols, Superdrug and Australia’s Myer, and it recently launched its new Face 4ward range in China. The Xu brothers previously set up READY, a creative agency based in Bath.