Leader Views
Against a background of unprecedented transformation in the way businesses are run, it is more important than ever to learn best practice from other entrepreneurs and market experts.
Alasdair Haynes, Aquis Exchange
Alasdair Haynes is the founder and CEO of Aquis Exchange. He talks to GBI editor Greg Gille about building the pan-European equity trading platform, challenging the scale-up funding status quo, and how the UK can become the epicentre of the next generation of tech giants.
Charlie Fraser, The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN)
Charlie Fraser, co-founder of The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN) sits down with GBI editor Greg Gille to discuss the entrepreneurial potential of refugees, the work TERN is doing to support them and shift the narrative around their contribution to local communities, and more.
Mandy Tucker, Startup Culture Code
Mandy Tucker, a coach with more than 20 years’ experience as a corporate technology leader and founder of the Startup Culture Code framework, shares her insights on how founders and small businesses can scale more effectively and build the right company culture from day one.
Gavin Tew & Lawrence Hargreaves, Source Group International
GBI catches up with Gavin Tew and Lawrence Hargreaves, the co-founders of staffing business and 2021 Growing Business Awards winner Source Group International (SGI), to discuss the ongoing progress of the company and its unrelenting focus on nurturing its own talent.
Todd Davison, Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance
Todd Davison, managing director of specialist insurance provider Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance, talks to GBI about how the company can help small business owners, how it measures success, how it plans on financing its growth in the coming years, and more.
Alastair Douglas, TotallyMoney
Alastair Douglas, CEO of credit app TotallyMoney, highlights how the company is aiming to help people under-served by the financial services industry, what private equity backers have brought to the business on its growth journey, how TotallyMoney deals with maintaining staff engagement while scaling up, and more.
Molly Johnson-Jones, Flexa Careers
Flexa Careers recently raised a £2.3m seed round led by Ada Ventures to expand its global reach. Co-founder and CEO Molly Johnson-Jones shares the inspiration behind the launch of the business in 2020, how the team chose its new venture partners, how it measures success, and more.
Wendy Lloyd-Goodwin, Life Science Law
Wendy Lloyd-Goodwin, the founder of Life Science Law, talks to GBI about the inspiration behind the legal staffing business, how it has navigated its own growth challenges, and why the reward of building a successful company more than makes up for the stress along the way.
Andrew Franks, ClaimsLine
A change in the law prompted a big change in strategy at Claims Line, which provides support for people who have been involved in an accident, says its co-Founder and Commercial Director Andrew Franks.
Simon Morton, Eyeful Presentations
Starting two businesses at the same time and never borrowing any money has been a winning strategy for Simon Morton, the Founder of presentation consultancy Eyeful Presentations.
Steve Pierson, UK FM Services
Providing really good customer service has been a winning strategy for achieving success, says Steve Pierson, founder of facilities management company UK FM Services.
Tom Parkinson, SteamaCo
Helping electricity providers in Africa and Asia operate more efficiently is both challenging and rewarding, says Tom Parkinson, Managing Director of SteamaCo, a purpose-led business which is a technology partner to utilities in Emerging Markets.
Ross Kemp, Asap Water Crafts
Becoming a contestant on a TV show and being flown to Australia by Richard Branson have been just two highlights of starting his own jet board business, says Ross Kemp, founder of Asap Water Crafts.
Rebecca Kelly, VenueScanner
Bootstrapping, funding from friends and business contacts and angel investors have all been fruitful sources of finance for events platform VenueScanner, says founder and CEO Rebecca Kelly.
Jamie Woods, JCW
Always putting our employees first has been the secret to our success, says Jamie Woods, Founder and CEO of recruitment company JCW, which was crowned Employer of the Year in the 2021 Growing Business Awards.
Anna Green, Broadsword
Trying to keep her event business afloat during the pandemic while her business partner husband was battling a severe illness was a huge challenge for Anna Green, the co-owner of Broadsword, which was awarded the Triumph over Adversity award at the 2021 Growing Business Awards.
Seb Robert, Gophr
Thinking carefully about both sides of the marketplace has enabled online courier platform Gophr to stand out from its competitors, says its founder Seb Robert.
Jack Scott, Dash Water
Co-Founders Jack Scott and Alex Wright are tackling the problem of food waste head on with the creation of their soft drinks business Dash Water, which only uses wonky fruit that would have been rejected by supermarkets.
Zofia Ludwig, Expert in Mind
Finding the right staff, working hard and learning not to panic have been vital skills for creating a successful business, says Zofia Ludwig, Founder of expert witness business Expert in Mind.
Neil Russell, PJ Care
Looking after our staff really well has been a key element to our success says Neil Russell, Chairman of neurological care provider PJ Care, which was crowned Diversity and Inclusion Champion at the 2021 Growing Business Awards.
Eddie Whittingham, The Defence Works
Eddie Whittingham built his technology-based cyber security training company The Defence Works entirely by himself using information he found on the internet before selling it for a seven-figure sum.
Anthony Chadwick, The Webinar Vet
Introducing new ways of learning into the traditional world of veterinary practice has more than paid off for online veterinary training business The Webinar Vet during the pandemic, says its founder Anthony Chadwick.
Ryan Welmans, Sopro
Creating a truly scalable business has been the key to success for tech-based marketing business Sopro, which won the Smaller Company Award at the 2021 Growing Business Awards, says its co-founder Ryan Welmans.
Elliott Herrod-Taylor, The Bunch
Trying to sort out shared utility bills for nine other housemates was such a nightmare it inspired Elliott Herrod-Taylor to create tech business The Bunch to solve the problem. He won Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2021 Growing Business Awards.
Nadeem Ahmad, Templeton Recruitment
Finding a niche and creating its own way of working has been key to the success of recruitment business Templeton Recruitment, which was awarded Export Champion of the Year at the 2021 Growing Business Awards, says Founder Nadeem Ahmad.
Janan Leo, CocoRose London
Running for a bus in high heels inspired Janan Leo to create foldable flat shoes that women could wear while commuting to work. Her London-based shoes and accessories business CocoRose London now has a turnover of £1 million.
Laura Simpson, My Bespoke Room
Staying focused on where the value lies and setting the team clear KPIs have helped to drive success at online interior design business My Bespoke Room, says its co-Founder Laura Simpson.
Emma Tapper, The Friendly Chemical Company
Finding a way to reduce the amount of single use plastic thrown away was the inspiration for creating their eco-friendly cleaning products business The Friendly Chemical Company, says co-founder Emma Tapper.
Josh Gill, Everflow Group
Simplifying the business proposition, creating a great working environment and only hiring people with the right values has been key to the success of water retail business Everflow Group, says its Founder and CEO Josh Gill.
Simon Crowther, FPS Group
When his family home was flooded it inspired Simon Crowther to find a way to help others from suffering the same fate. His flood protection business FPS Group now helps households and businesses and has a turnover of £2 million.
Digby Vollrath, Feast It
People are desperate to get back to creating happy memories at physical events, says Digby Vollrath, the co-Founder and CEO of Feast It, an online platform for planning events.
Emily Rae, Finance Partner at Fletcher Priest Architects
Finance Directors can play a key role in growing an SME says Emily Rae, Finance Partner at Fletcher Priest Architects, an architecture business in London which employs 120 people.
Hugh Griffiths, Founder and CEO of Inzpire
Deeply understanding our customers and our market has been key to our success, says Hugh Griffiths, Co-founder and CEO of Inzpire, a defence business which provides safety-related equipment and advice to the military.
Mark Gibson, Capito
Discovering that the business already had a great culture was one of the key reasons why he decided to join Scottish technology provider Capito, says its Managing Director Mark Gibson.
Dr Linda Harris, Spectrum Community Health
As a leader, don’t be afraid to show you are passionate about what you are doing, says Dr Linda Harris, Founder and CEO of Spectrum Community Health, a social enterprise healthcare business.
Avin Rabheru, Housekeep
Finding the right people for the right stage of the journey has been key to the success of Housekeep, an online home services platform, says its founder Avin Rabheru.
Mike Asher, Better2Know
A pivot to providing Covid testing services has transformed the fortunes of Better2Know, a disease testing provider which has quadrupled in size during the pandemic, says Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Mike Asher.
Tim Smeaton, Kubrick
Spotting an opportunity to close the technology skills gap in the employment market was the inspiration for Tim Smeaton to co-found technology consulting firm Kubrick, which trains graduates and junior professionals for client projects.
Carl Tomlinson, virtual FD at vfdnet
Hiring a virtual Finance Director can enable ambitious SMEs to access expertise that they would not otherwise be able to afford, says Carl Tomlinson, a member of vfdnet, a network of virtual Finance Directors.
Matt Barker, MPB
Turning a hobby into a full-time business can be a challenge but Matt Barker has managed to turn his love of photography into MPB, a hugely successful online trading platform for used photographic and video equipment which has revenues of £65 million.
Dave Allen, Brandpie
The pandemic has prompted some soul-searching amongst businesses as they reflect on what their true purpose and ambition is, says Dave Allen, founder of Brandpie, a purpose-driven transformation consultancy.
Giles Henschel, Olives Et Al
Recruiting the right team has been both a challenge and the key to success for Giles Henschel, the founder of Olives Et Al, a Dorset-based business that creates, sources and supplies fine food and has a £3 million turnover.
Billie O’Connor, CFO of Milk and More
Ensuring that the basics are covered is just one element of being an effective Chief Financial Officer, says Billie O’Connor, the CFO of Milk and More, a sustainable milk and food home delivery business in the UK.
Louise Frankland, Mansfield Pollard
The timely relaunch of a forgotten product has boosted the fortunes of Mansfield Pollard, which creates specialist air management units for the healthcare and data centre markets, says Managing Director Louise Frankland.
Richard Potter, Peak
Showing businesses how to use data and AI to make good commercial decisions is delivering high speed growth at Peak, a Manchester-based tech business whose revenues and staff numbers are doubling every year, says Founder and CEO Richard Potter.
Suleman Sacranie, The GP Service
The pandemic has transformed the telemedicine market and considerably boosted demand for The GP Service, a telemedicine platform that enables patients to see a GP via their laptop or mobile phone, says founder Suleman Sacranie.
Niall Holden, VDC Trading
The vending machine has had to go but the challenges of the past year have left us lean and fighting fit, says Niall Holden, founder of cabling specialist VDC Trading, a £7.5 million turnover business which provides cabling equipment for concerts and live events.
Tom Ball, Desk Lodge
It has been a challenging year for DeskLodge, an entrepreneurial Bristol-based business which provides co-working and hotdesking space for more than 3000 people, but the future looks bright, says founder Tom Ball.
Praveen Vijh, Eat Natural
A firm belief in the importance of keeping things simple has enabled co-Founder Praveen Vijh to grow healthy snacking business Eat Natural into a company with 350 employees and a £45 million turnover, which has just been bought by European food giant Ferrero.
Henry Milroy, Pan-n-Ice
The pandemic inspired ice cream business Pan-n-Ice to pivot into a completely new market and it is now reaping the benefits, says Founder Henry Milroy. The London-based business now has 50 employees and £1.5 million turnover.
Jane Field, Jonny’s Sister
Dealing with spelling mistakes and rogue couriers are just two of the challenges of running online personalised gift company Jonny’s Sister, says Founder Jane Field. The business specialises in British handmade products and has a £1.5 million turnover.
John Beard, The Whisky Shop
The pandemic has opened our eyes to the huge untapped potential of selling online, says John Beard, Co-owner of The Whisky Shop, an independent national chain of upscale whisky shops with a £15 million turnover.
Charlie Bigham, Charlie Bigham’s
Finding something he still enjoys doing after nearly 25 years has been key to the success of Bigham’s, the high-quality prepared food business which now has a turnover of £80 million and employs 500 people, says founder Charlie Bigham.
Will King, King of Shaves
It’s been a roller coaster ride for Will King, the founder of shaving products business King of Shaves, which experienced considerable highs and lows since it was started nearly 30 years ago. It now has a turnover of £4 million and employs 10 people.
Dominic List, Carbon Labs
The demand for healthcare mobile apps has exceeded even our ambitious targets due to the pandemic, says Dominic List, serial entrepreneur and founder of Carbon Labs, which creates mobile client management apps for health and wellness providers. It now has 10,000 users on the platform.
Marcus Mollinga, YourZooki
Increased awareness of the importance of boosting immunity has powered the growth of liquid supplements business YourZooki during the pandemic, which is doubling its workforce to 35 to deal with the increased demand, says co-founder Marcus Mollinga.
Dr Elliot Street, Inovus Medical
Attitude, excellence and ethic are the three values driving Inovus Medical, a business started up by Dr Elliot Street and Jordan van Flute which designs and manufactures healthcare training simulators for surgeons. It supplies 70% of UK hospital trusts and employs 24 people.
Cris Reeves, Haughton Honey
Using mail order rather than social media to drive sales, being stubborn and having the determination to make honey an exciting product again has been key to the success of Haughton Honey, a fast-growing English honey business in Cheshire, says its founder Cris Reeves.
Amy Moring and Jeff Webster, Hunter & Gather
A surge of interest in health and wellness by consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic has super-charged growth at Hunter & Gather, a health food and supplements business with a £2 million turnover run by co-Founders Amy Moring and Jeff Webster.
James Wilson, Private Label Nutrition
Expanding into manufacturing was an inspired move for Private Label Nutrition, a Blackpool-based business which makes supplements for the health food and sports nutrition industry and has a turnover of £3 million. Co-Founder James Wilson explains why.
Limvirak Chea, Fixter
Switching the focus of the business from growth to profitability over the past year has been the key to success for Fixter, an end to end online car maintenance platform, says its Founder Limvirak Chea.
Denise Gosney, Razzamataz Theatre Schools
Appearing on Dragons' Den and not being afraid of hard work have delivered big wins for Denise Gosney, founder of Razzamataz Theatre Schools, a franchise business providing classes for children.
Ian Herbert, Vistair
Helping airlines manage documents in order to be able to comply with industry regulations has been a brilliant move for Ian Herbert, Founder and CEO of Bristol-based technology SaaS business Vistair. The business has grown strongly and now has a turnover of £9 million.
Mark McCormack, Talking Tables
Preparing for when parties are allowed again is just one of the challenges of running a paper tableware business right now, says Mark McCormack, co-founder and joint Managing Director of Talking Tables, which has a turnover of £17 million.
Owen Gleadall, Merlinsoft
Helping British farmers to pick their fruit and spotting other new revenue streams has transformed Owen Gleadall’s ticketing software business Merlinsoft, tripling its revenues from £2 million to £6 million over the past year.
James Hickman, Plumbworld
One of the first online-only retailers, James Hickman has always invested in technology to keep costs down at his bathroom products business Plumbworld. The business grew by 26% in 2020 to a turnover of £61.5 million.
Andrew Jervis, ClickMechanic
Technology is transforming the way that businesses can provide services to customers, says Andrew Jervis, the founder of ClickMechanic, an online marketplace for car mechanics which has gross revenues of £9 million and 200,000 customers.
Jacqueline O’Donovan, O’Donovan Waste Disposal
Dealing with robots and unnerving men is all in a day’s work for Jacqueline O’Donovan, who became Managing Director of her late father’s waste management company at the age of 19. The company now has a turnover of £20 million.
James Brueton, Envirobuild
Keep it lean, manage your cash, and make sure you invest in IT systems early, advises James Brueton, the co-founder of EnviroBuild, an online builders merchant selling sustainable building materials which has a turnover of £13 million.
Chris Forbes, Cheeky Panda
Panic buying during lockdown has turbo-charged the demand for Cheeky Panda's bamboo toilet paper and enabled it to triple the size of its workforce. Co-Founder Chris Forbes explains how his eco-friendly business is reaching new heights.
Guy Schanschieff, Bambino Mio
Great business ideas can come from anywhere, as Guy Schanschieff and his wife Jo discovered on a round-the-world trip before setting up Bambino Mio, which makes reusable nappies and has a turnover of £13 million.
Anthony Karibian, bOnline
A full scale pivot into VoIP phone systems has paid off for Anthony Karibian, CEO and Founder of bOnline, which now provides VoIP telephony services to more than 7,000 small firms in the UK and won a Smaller Company of the Year category in the 2020 Growing Business Awards.
Pierre Coombes, Big Wolf Marketing
In hindsight getting 200 T-shirts printed with the company logo was perhaps not the best use of his start up funds but Pierre Coombes quickly ditched his vanity project for serving clients better at his marketing agency Big Wolf Marketing.
Christine Kelly, Little Kickers
Being an eternal optimist and having a love of solving problems has clearly stood Christine Kelly in good stead. Her business Little Kickers, which runs football classes for children, has grown from a single session to having 330 franchises in 33 countries.
Sarah Hanley and Kate Ward, Silver Apples Bakery
The pandemic has been a fantastic opportunity to take the business to a whole new level, says sisters Sarah Hanley and Kate Ward, who together run Silver Apples wholesale bakery in Stockport.
Kelly Waters, 101 Ways
Managing the cashflow and putting in a lot of hard work has been the key to business success, says Kelly Waters, the founder of 101 Ways, a technology consultancy based in London which now has a turnover of £20 million and employs around 100 people.
Richard Tang, Zen Internet
Becoming one of the first internet service providers in the country has turned out to be an inspired move for Richard Tang and Zen Internet, the business he founded in Rochdale, which now has a turnover of £82 million and employs 540 people.
Barry Smith, Symprove
For many years Barry Smith found it hard to get anyone to believe in what he was doing. However he has had the last laugh and his business Symprove, which makes food supplements to provide relief for digestive problems, is now growing at 50% a year.
Lucy Frankel, Vegware
Edinburgh-based firm Vegware is making a positive difference one spoon at a time by making disposable food containers and cutlery out of plant-based compostable packaging rather than plastic. Environmental and Communications Director Lucy Frankel explains why.
Jamie Keeble, Heck
Keeping supermarket chilled cabinets stocked with sausages is no mean feat in a pandemic lockdown but Heck co-founder and sales director Jamie Keeble explains how the Yorkshire-based firm rose to the challenge with the help and determination of its 150-strong workforce.
Kathryn Parsons, Decoded
Teaching training courses during a pandemic has been a challenge but also a great opportunity to widen the business offering, as Kathryn Parsons the co-founder and co-CEO of Decoded, a technology education business based in London, explains.
Euan Blair, Multiverse
Euan Blair is Co-Founder and CEO of Multiverse, a fast-growing business which provides and trains apprentices for businesses. It is backed by $20 million venture capital funding and has 170 employees. Multiverse has so far found placements for 2000 apprentices.
Joanna Jensen, Childs Farm
Joanna Jensen is Founder and CEO of Childs Farm, which makes sensitive skincare products for babies and children and is the UK’s number 1 baby and child toiletry brand. She explains how she grew the business and what she has learnt along the way.
Robert Ginsberg, HiB
Bathroom products firm HiB used the lockdown period to invest in new processes and technologies. Managing Director Robert Ginsberg explains how the Staffordshire firm, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is quietly powering ahead.
Jonathan Seaton, Twinkl
Jonathan Seaton is the co-founder of Twinkl, an online learning business that has been particularly busy during the pandemic supporting parents and children doing home learning. The business was started in 2010 and now offers over 525,000 educational resources.
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