-
“We’re obsessed with care”
Care is not a traditional business value. Peruse the classics and you’ll see boldness, passion, honesty and perhaps integrity, but not the C-word.
Thankfully things are changing – as Bloom & Wild demonstrates. This flower retailer meets tech company is undoubtedly growing relentlessly. Yet its business values would disorient yesteryear’s ‘manly’ entrepreneurs. “We’re obsessed with care,” says founder Aron Gelbard. “It’s vital to me and it’s a key trait I look for when hiring.” -
How we grew by 400% and hit 7th in the Fast Track 100
400 and 25,000. In the Ooni story, these two numbers stand out like haggis on a Hawaiian pizza. The first is the company’s percentage growth over the past 12 months. The second is the minimum starting salary for new Ooni employees in the UK. Few companies exhibit such steep growth or raw recruitment power, so how has this Edinburgh-based hardware company done it?
-
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…
-
7 lessons from the founder of Wattbike
For Ian Wilson and the Wattbike team, there was only ever one goal – to build the world’s most accurate indoor training bike. They were well-equipped for the challenge. “Competing in elite sport makes you single-minded,” says Ian, a former rowing world champion. “It’s a vital attribute in business, too…”
-
8 Explosive Lessons from a £200m Journey
Entrepreneurial journeys don’t come much wilder. In March 2021, Juliet Barratt watched through tear-filled eyes as Cadbury owner Mondelez International bought the business she’d co-launched in her spare bedroom 11 years ago. The deal was reportedly worth £200m. So why the tears? Quite simply because Grenade was her baby…
-
‘Don’t Do What You Love, Do What You’re Good At’
Trying to talk to Sarah Willingham without saying “success” is like trying to eat a doughnut without licking your lips. And when the inevitable happens during the first few seconds of our conversation, the Dragon’s Den star does what comes naturally to her – and in her warm and charismatic manner, she takes control and sets the agenda…