ENTREPRENEUR FOUNDATION inspires Hertfordshire businesses

The Entrepreneur Foundation has been designed to nurture and grow a new network of enterprising individuals who meet the criteria; offering a two-year initiative of mentoring, training, and support, supplied by Founder members, by Supporters and, of course, by the Chamber itself.

On 17th April 2023, the Herts Chamber hosted their Entrepreneur Foundation Introduction meeting for the 2023 cohort. This event took place at Knebworth barns and allowed the entrepreneurs to meet and network with their peers as well as their Herts Chamber’s mentors Jeremy Bishop (Chairman) and Colin Spiller (Board member).

Meet the 2023 cohort participants:

Alex Anderson

We are not a bike shop with a coffee shop bolted on. We are a professional cycling workshop and artisanal coffee specialist. We cater to the caffeine needs of cyclists, local villagers and walkers and the mechanical needs of their bikes. What sets our workshop apart (particularly from other bike shops) is our independency with no allegiance to specific brands.

This means we can give unbiased advice using our in-depth knowledge and deliver an exceptional level of service with our highly qualified and experienced mechanics. Over at the café whether it’s one of our locally renowned toasted sandwiches or a cup of our coffee, we take the same care and attention to detail as the bikes we work on.

To the future we look to expand our customer base to include a more broad range of local community members (both cycling and non-cycling), promote our ride based events, develop our marketing to stay up to date with the latest in digital as well as out-of-home strategies and work closely with other local businesses to form symbiotic working relationships through events and services.

Tony Charalambides, owner & founder

The Greek Farmers Taverna & The Greek Farmer

Launched at the end of 2021 from our farm in Hitchin, Herts. The former a Greek takeaway serving local areas and the latter a SALSA approved producer of Greek influenced charcuterie using only British free-range pork & grass-fed beef.

In November 2022 we competed & successfully won ‘Aldi’s Next Big Thing’, a C4 TV series subsequently supplying Aldi with 15,000 packs of our cured meats. December 2022 saw our takeaway nominated and become finalists of the Just Eat Restaurant Awards for best restaurant in the South East 2023.

Doug Lee 3 Drakes

We are a leading supplier of personalised clothing, accessories, workwear and corporate clothing for customers throughout Hertfordshire, London and the whole of the UK since 2015.

Embroidery and printing of your logo onto your organisations clothing is an effective way to promote and identify your business. We supply and brand polo shirts, sweatshirts, company shirts and fleeces, jackets, corporate clothing, hi vis, hospitality clothing, healthwear and many other types of clothing.

This was a great opportunity for the entrepreneurs to find out more about the Entrepreneur Foundation programme and its benefits.

And from April 2023 we will offer DTF prints for clothing in what we believe the first clothing supplier to offer this service in Hertfordshire.

There is no minimum order and no set up fees. We work for a range of large and small clients including David Lloyds Leisure, Notting Hill Carnival and Elizabeth Scarlett.

And it doesn’t have to be workwear. If you want personalised clothing for a sports club, stag weekend and hen parties or for children’s parties and weddings, we’re happy to help.

Sarah-Jane Hingorani Owner Ubere Mama

I’m Sarah-Jane Hingorani, owner of Ubere Mama, a breastfeeding clothing range born from my own need to feel more comfortable breastfeeding in public.

While breastfeeding worked for me, the quality of breastfeeding clothes didn’t. As a fashion designer, I wanted a range that would boost my confidence, support my independence and work just as hard as I did.

Fast-forward 10 years and Ubere Mama is now helping lots of women like me dress for breastfeeding success.

Ubere mama is on a mission to give women the choice and support they need to make breastfeeding work for them. Not just through my sustainable British-made breastfeeding clothes that stand the test of time, but by building a network of breastfeeding advocates across the nation to make a lasting difference, now and for years to come.”

TOTFest Festival. Kerrie is passionate about her personal development within the creative aspects of the business, and the work she is doing to develop herself as a marketeer and branding specialist.

As a Merchandise Planning Manager turned Event Management Specialist, Kerrie has developed a unique perspective when it comes to business growth. Influenced by innovation and grounded by solid budgeting and forecasting experience, she aspires to make TOTFest a recognised household name.

Holly Giddings

I’m Holly. I’ve spent the last 20 years delivering recruitment for some of the best hospitality groups in London and globally.

Victor

Harabari Founder and CEO Cardio Crown

CardioCrown is a MedTech company with a mission to transform healthcare by leveraging the power of technology to improve access, quality, and efficiency for patients and clinicians alike. The company is currently in the development phase of their flagship product, NeuroVive, which is designed to empower stroke rehabilitation at home by using cutting edge technology such as Virtual Reality, Electrical Stimulation, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

Neil Walcuch

Tenschul has designed and developed an automated solution to combat single use packaging through a Reuse and Refill system, focusing specifically on Liquid products in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. Our Liquid Vending system (LiquiVend®) has been funded by Innovate UK via Wrap to enable the public to trial refill using technology and understand consumer behaviors and habits associated with refilling of liquid products at a retail sites. The prototype personalizes each user experience and discretely captures usage data and preferences.

Kerrie Goude

A self-described achievement junkie, Kerrie Goude is a Female Founder who is committed to business growth and increasing brand awareness. She has spent the last 5 years in partnership building Pink Bear Events Ltd, large scale event organisers and the creators of

Madeline Griffith

Madeline Griffiths recognised a gap in the events industry and co-founded Pink Bear Events, with the goal of placing memories for friends and families at the heart of their experiences.

Drawing from her analytical background in Merchandising, Madeline has utilised her expertise in budgeting and planning to drive the growth of the business. Madeline is deeply committed to creating more community events, partnering with local councils, renowned brands, and creative professionals to offer families and friends valuable opportunities to spend quality time together.

Outside of her work with Pink Bear Events, Madeline is also actively involved as a Co-chair of the local Primary School parent committee. In this role, she skilfully manages stakeholder interests and leads fundraising efforts to support the enhancement of learning experiences and opportunities for all pupils.

Simon Porter Co-owner Reswirl

My name is Simon Porter and I am the Co-owner of Reswirl a Hertfordshire based business that manufactures eco friendly toothbrushes made from plant based plastic entirely in the UK. Our novel and unique approach within this market sees our customers return their used toothbrushes to us whereupon we clean, separate the materials and remake into new toothbrushes for a closed loop circular economy.

We are currently adding to the range and have grand plans for growing the business in Stevenage and we look forward to realising that growth over the coming years.

Hospitality recruitment is my passion; for me, it’s about so much more than ‘filling a role’; it’s about coupling the right opportunity with the right person at the right time – and I’m told I’m pretty good at it! Having worked in-house sourcing talent for the likes of Sexy Fish, The Ivy, Scott’s, Annabel’s, Starbucks, Shake Shack and Pizza Express - I understand the importance of knowing your business inside out. HOUX will take the stress out of recruitment for your time-poor management team, managing the process from start to finish.

Simon Potts Managing Director Future Motors Limited

My passion is finding and delivering commercial solutions for businesses that are demonstrably sustainable whilst having a tangible positive and measurable impact on P&L. I have found that saving energy for organisations is a sweet spot of efficiency, sustainability and profitability which is why I find myself running Future Motors Limited

Our simple to retrofit motors for Heating, Ventilation and Airconditioning (HVAC) systems give immediate savings of 30-70% and have paybacks of between 1 and 3 years. Save energy, money and CO2