☰

How we blagged meetings with buyers to build our brand

Husband and wife team Manav and Rimi Thapar started LoveRaw: a plant based chocolate brand with £600 and a food processor. Today, the confectionery is sold in 20 countries, and stockists include Asda, Coop and WH Smith. LoveRaw secured £2m of funding from investor Blue Horizon Ventures in 2020, after rejecting an offer in the BBC’s Dragons’ Den two years earlier. The family-run firm is based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, and products launched this year include vegan peanut butter cups in milk and white chocolate flavours.

Disclaimer: The statements made by our interviewees are an expression of their own views and opinions and in no way reflect FEBE Ventures’ views or opinions, nor are such views or opinions endorsed or supported by us.

More Founder Stories

From battling alcohol at 12 to building a multi-million pound business

In 2014, whilst on vacation in Thailand, three friends from London noticed the amount of rubbish and plastic bottles on a remote island. Founders Josh White, who had previously launched an events company, Perry Alexander, a self taught graphic designer, and Ariel Booker, a headhunter, started researching and discovered that cans are more recycled than […]

Having a family has shown me there’s more to life than business

London-based Wild manufactures and sells natural, refillable deodorant and soap on a subscription basis. Launched in 2019 by co-founders, chief executive Freddy Ward and chief marketing officer Charlie Bowes- Lyon, it aims to reduce plastic waste while creating products using natural ingredients. The company has secured a total of £7.6m in equity funding, including a […]

How I overcame illness, tragedy and humiliation to build a multimillion-pound global brand

Rob Law has conquered more challenges than most, including family tragedy, personal illness and humiliation on national TV. Here, Rob reveals the tools he uses to dance around seemingly immovable obstacles and we uncover why having these tools in your kitbag is often the difference between success and failure…

Great culture is about hiring great people. Nothing else.

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…

7 Things I Look For When Investing In Entrepreneurs

Peter Roberts is the sort of investor you want on your team. The 75-year-old has been there and done it as a founder, marshalling his biggest recent success, PureGym, to a £160 million turnover and a place in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100. He’s also been there and done it as an investor, fuelling several exciting start-ups on their journeys towards rapid growth…

The twins set to shake up the cosmetics industry

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.