Dock & Bay was created in 2015 to reinvent the beach towel. The company’s lightweight towels are made from recycled plastic bottles and are quick drying, compact and sand repellent. In 2017, co-founders Andy Jefferies and Ben Muller appeared on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, securing a £75,000 investment from Deborah Meaden in exchange for a 10% stake. The London-based business has warehouses on three continents and has expanded its eco-friendly product range to include hair wraps, make-up removers, ponchos and more, all using materials made from recycled plastic bottles building on its mission to become a sustainable lifestyle brand. Sales have doubled in two years, reaching £8.4m in 2021.
Great culture is about hiring great people. Nothing else.
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Water2: This 25-Year-Old Built a £20M Business With 3 Employees
Charlie Robinson, founder of Water2, joins us to break down how he built a £20M business with just 3–4 people… and why 1% of the UK now drinks filtered water through his product. It’s a business built on simplicity, leverage, and obsession with growth. Charlie dropped out of university within weeks… Started multiple failed ventures… […]
Charlie Bigham: From Start Up To Household Brand
Charlie Bigham started cooking up his business at home. It all started on his kitchen table 25 years ago. Sitting at his kitchen table, he began to combine ingredients to create dishes that he hoped to sell to local food shops and delis. Today, he employs more than 500 people. We talk to Britain’s comfort-food king Charlie Bigham and extract nine lessons from his extraordinary entrepreneurial journey…
We turned £3,000 savings into a multi-million pound clothing brand
Founded by Samantha and Stephanie Frost in 2013, Pretty Lavish started their company in their Hertfordshire living room, aiming to fill a market gap for affordable, high-quality clothing. Gaining popularity, the company opened its first store in 2017 and thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on knitwear and lounge attire. Leveraging Instagram and TikTok, […]
‘Why getting married was the best first step for our business’
Dr.PawPaw makes more than 30 skincare products sold in 30 countries through the likes of Boots, Superdrug and Sainsbury’s. Johnny and Pauline Paterson set up the company in 2013 when their daughter was diagnosed with eczema. The husband-and-wife duo searched for a natural alternative to steroid prescription creams and realised there was a gap in the market. They invested £20,000 to create a multipurpose balm using papaya extract.
It’s not about the money. It’s all about the mission.
This start-up is transforming the way music royalties are paid. The Audoo Audio Meter™ tracks and identifies music played in public places, such as shops, gyms and bars. The data is sent to performing right organisations to ensure that artists are compensated for their work.
“Our testing kit will help the NHS and save lives”
In today’s world of high-tech medicine, it’s ironic that a product made of paper could play a leading role in improving global healthcare. The idea that an A6 piece of card might have a greater impact on global health than, say, a fleet of surgical robots seems ridiculous. However, the simplest ideas often pack the biggest punch…