Great British Entrepreneurs Magazine (Special Edition)

Special Edition

“THESE TIMES SHALL PASS” - WILL KING, KING OF SHAVES -

T H E S TA R L I N G P O R T R A I T S E R I E S Disruption is good. Challenging the status quo is what drives many entrepreneurs – and it certainly drives our partners at Starling Bank. The Portrait Series spotlights fellow British pioneers of purpose-driven change.

Starling Bank; proudly supporting entrepreneurs.

IN THIS SPECIAL EDITION, WE HAVE FEATURED ALL 2019 WINNERS, FINALISTS AND JUDGES CAN YOU SPOT YOURSELF?

DOWNLOAD HERE

VIEW MORE OF THE STARLING PORTRAIT SERIES, CLICK BELOW: DOT MCCARTHY

CELIA HODSON

DAVE LINTON

DAMIEN LEE

Cronkshaw Fold Farm

Hey Girls

Madlug

Mr Lee’s Noodles

CON TEN T/ COLUMNS

FEATURES

NEWS

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08 14 54

Words from the Founder

Three Things...

GBEA: Reimagined

Words from Starling Bank

Happy News

Starling Bank Flying Start

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Advice & insight

Reaching for the Starlings

Great British Online Community

COVER We have made a collage of all of our entrepreneurs, alumni and judges from 2019.

Can you spot yourself?

Now more than ever, we need to celebrate the movers and shakers in Great Britain today.

That’s why we have brought together our champions in a downloadable piece of artwork. you can download a copy by clicking the link on the opposite page. Please feel free to use this on your social media channels and website, don’t forget to tag us: @EntrepreneursGB #GBEA In this issue we focus on Happy News and offer advice and insight through these tough times. We hope you find it useful!

GBEA; WE HAVE HISTORY! We were born out of a belief that entrepreneurs are as much about their story as they are their balance sheet

We had amazing support from some of Great Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs from the start

Our alumni was growing. We quickly realised that we were more than ‘just’ an awards programme, instead a community and thriving ecosystem of support all year round and provision of opportunities for winners and finalists to connect and showcase

We extended the coverage of the awards across the UK and took the ceremonies to five cities – Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and London

Scrapping the black tie format for our regional events, we took over comedy clubs and music venues for a more relaxed vibe with better opportunities for networking

THE STORY DOESN’T END THERE, FIND OUT MORE HERE

COLUMN

Dear Entrepreneurs We know these are incredibly testing times for most of those within our Great British Entrepreneurs community and please know that our thoughts are with each and every one of you as we all navigate this challenging landscape.

I’ve always said we’re more than just an awards programme. Instead, we’re a community of entrepreneurs and their supporters which has seen great camaraderie and spirit all year round and year on year. However, there’s never been a time in our existence when this support, empathy, collaboration and understanding has been more important and needed.

Like many of you, I run a small business and have had moments over the past few weeks of fear and uncertainty, worry; for my own sanity and for my teams, dread over tough conversations, making bold decisions in a changing landscape, but then also immense gratitude for what I have and the health of those dear to me. I have to keep reminding myself of that last one when it all gets a bit too much.

Over the past few weeks most of our worlds have been turned upside down and as entrepreneurs, while we’re already used to dealing with set-backs and having to masterfully pivot, this set of challenges is unique in that none of us are fighting this alone.

While we might all feel like there’s not a lot we can do individually, there’s a whole lot of strength and resolve in this community.

If you’re not already in our community then you’re welcome to join, there are no barriers. Read our community stories, join our online events (come to the live ones post lockdown), ask us for introductions, even write for us if you’ve got something to share.

We’re not a membership organisation, we’re simply an awards programme that grew with some phenomenal supporters and individuals to be an eco-system of support and encouragement, in the good times and the bad.

We’ve put this magazine together to showcase entrepreneurial spirit, to highlight some of the wonderful pivots entrepreneurs have made to survive this crisis and even to address and support health and social causes. We’ve shared snippets from our judges webinar series, many of whom have been through a recession, have encountered major set-backs and have generously shared their stories and advice with our community.

As our front cover says, these times will pass, and while our blessings may be well disguised in this pandemic, we must still count them.

Francesca James, Founder 05

“The thing that made me fall in love with Starling was when I talked to customer services at 2am. I’m often up working late, so that’s really useful. The overdraft was also a lifesaver - I opened mine without any hassle.”

Claud Williams Founder of personal development brand Dream Nation

Starling Bank’s here to support British businesses. Even at 2am.

Find out how Starling could help you.

starlingbank.com |

@StarlingBank

COLUMN

Anne Boden, Starling Bank At any time of great change, a new set of winners always emerge. The pandemic has changed so much for the nation’s entrepreneurs, but there are already clear signs that they are doing what entrepreneurs do: thinking quickly, adapting and finding a new way through.

From what we have seen from our own business customers, many, many UK entrepreneurs have been quick to move with the times. There are already some very interesting adaptations of existing models to match the abrupt change in circumstances. Businesses that were efficient at delivery, have expanded that side of things into new areas as online sales have rocketed. Others have anticipated the massive lifestyle changes that are expected to endure for some time to come and have prioritised producing goods for the home and garden. Those that are in traditional industries, such as catering, are adapting premises, so they can continue to operate while implementing social distancing. Plus, of course, our growing band of tech entrepreneurs are already in pole position to expand in the current trading environment. Digital will inevitably be key to managing some of the big lifestyle changes ahead.

From Starling’s viewpoint, we entered this crisis as a small bank and are emerging as a large one.

When the lockdown loomed, our first challenge was to get the entire team set-up to run the bank from their homes, a feat we managed in a matter of days. To be fair, the bank was originally designed to be run from a laptop, so we had a head start. Our second challenge was to work out what it was our customers really needed. Overnight, we ditched all the projects on our to do list that were no longer so important and, in the case of our business account

holders, worked through the various pinch points that would slow down operations in the tough times ahead. On the smallest level, we quickly introduced in-app cheque deposits, so customers don’t need to leave their (home) office. On the largest, we worked hard at getting customers access to vital funds. We were the first of the new generation banks to be included in the government-backed loan schemes.

We became a lender under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), providing loans of £5,000 to £250,000 to SMEs struggling financially as a result of the emergency.

When the government announced financial support of between £2,000 and £50,000 for SMEs via emergency Bounce Back Loans (BBLS), we got this scheme up and running at Starling in just a few days. Our priority was to make the processes quick, painless and efficient, which is crucial at times like this. Many SMEs reported applying for loans and receiving money in their account within two hours.

That’s quite impressive, even by Starling’s efficient standards. There were, inevitably, some businesses that were disappointed, but I think our record will speak for itself. As we near the midpoint of 2020, we now look after more than 155,000 SMEs, which is 2.6% of the UK SME banking market, with deposits up 200% and more than £500 million of lending on our balance sheet.

For many businesses, including ours, making these big changes, takes courage and a willingness to see things a bit differently. It’s the entrepreneurs that understand this and are already making the changes now that are beginning to thrive.

You can find out more about Starling’s business banking here.

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GBEA

2020 : REIMAGINED IMPROVISE, ADAPT, OVERCOME

In ‘normal’ times, our ‘business as usual’ would see us visiting eight cities in September to crown regional Great British Entrepreneur Awards winners who would then go on to compete at the national final. Those alumni (finalists and winners) would go on to join a growing and supportive community of entrepreneurs and their mentors and would be invited to further events, create connections, be inundated with media and collaboration opportunities and would proudly call themselves a Great British Entrepreneur. We know that our ‘business as usual’ isn’t right for right now and so we’ve reimagined it, putting the needs of the entrepreneurs we work with at the heart of every decision.

So, without further ado, I present to you…..

Click here to start application

ENTRY PERIOD

The Great British Entrepreneurs 2020 Reimagined: Entry Period: We’re extending this. The deadline was May 2020, it’s now 3rd July 2020, giving entrepreneurs an additional two months to apply.

Don’t forget, when applying for an award you’re often looking in a rear view mirror. The past few weeks may have taken their toll and it can be hard to focus on achievements that may be overshadowed by fear and uncertainty but it can be a positive exercise in reflection to review your accomplishments to date. Don’t forget, there are very few businesses that have not been affected by Covid-19 - we really are all in this together and our judging panel will be sympathetic to that and, more importantly, the community will be supportive.

REGIONAL AWARDS

Regional Awards:

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This is a BIG change for us. We’ve decided to take our regional awards programme online and we’ve done this for a few reasons:

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Firstly, because it allows us to bring all of the regions together for one big online event at a time where community and national unity is vital.

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Secondly, because there is absolutely zero cost for entrepreneurs to attend and children, partners, cats and dogs can join in the fun too and of course, the home bar is cheaper!

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Social distancing can be maintained

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We realised that a very positive outcome of this is that our sustainability will improve significantly which can only be an incredibly good thing!

We’ll still be joined by Great British Entrepreneur Awards favourites Wynne Evans and Oli Barrett MBE and have a number of tricks up our sleeves to ensure that the magic of a “in real life” event is brought to you in your kitchen, lounge, dining room or garden.

NATIONAL FINAL : WE WILL MEET AGAIN! National Final: We will meet again!

We have confirmed a date for our national final, November 23rd 2020. Taking place at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel and being billed as the flagship event for the 2020 Global Entrepreneurship Week, this will be the biggest celebration of entrepreneurship Great Britain has ever seen and will invoke the spirit of patriotism at a time of national unity.

In addition to the evening activity, the day leading up to the ceremony will give entrepreneurs the opportunity to listen to talks from industry experts and inspirational entrepreneurs, meet suppliers and spend time with their peers as part of our Great British Entrepreneurs LIVE sessions (originally planned for May, but now part of our reimagined plan).

The evening will then feature the GBEA national final, bringing together entrepreneurs from all across the UK along with an all-star roster including the founders of some of Great Britain’s most wellloved brands.

This will be the BIGGEST celebration of entrepreneurship that Great Britain has ever seen and we can’t wait to see you there to celebrate your achievements.

Anne Boden, founder of Starling Bank says that “As an entrepreneur myself, I know there is strength in businesses coming together to support each other. The UK has a strong and enduring business community with a determined will to survive, and the Great British Entrepreneur Awards embody the spirit of our long history of entrepreneurialism and enterprise. Even though the Awards have changed this year, we believe that they will still be a huge source of support and celebration; shining a much needed spotlight on amazing businesses across the UK and the people that run them.”

The spirit, innovation and kindness we have experienced over the last few weeks has been incredible and we would like to thank you all for that support. It has made us even more determined, along with our partners to work our socks off to make the GBEA community stronger over the next few months and ensure that entrepreneurs and their businesses thrive in the future.

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e e r h T

Three skills I’ve been working on in lockdown With social distancing measures in place, entrepreneurs’ worlds have been thrown into disarray. Their once jam-packed days of meetings and travelling, have developed into days spent at home, running companies from their home office and sofas.

If there’s one thing we know about entrepreneurs, it is their incessant desire to evolve. Therefore, we asked some of our community what key skills they’ve been working on during lockdown.

Prioritising writing Jodie Cook, JC Social Media My role involves being both a “maker” and a “manager”. I used to escape to coffee shops to be the maker, and that’s where write my books and articles, but now I have just one work space.

I’ve solved the lack of multiple work locations by being the manager as soon as I wake up, and the maker a little later in the day. I’m zoning my day rather than my physical location and so far it’s enjoyable and productive!

My team is used to working from the same office.

Because we’re now all working remotely, together we have come up with ways of replicating the awesome office culture we have. This has included themed Zoom catch ups and ramping up the volume of our status updates for team projects.

Mindfulness and jigsaws Jess Butcher MBE

Participating in webinars Rajeeb Dey MBE, Learnerbly Professional: we’re going through a period of growth at Learnerbly. In the wake of COVID-19 edtech and workplace learning has become far more in focus and we’ve seen a significant spike in interest. Our team has subsequently scaled quite a bit recently having onboarded 6 new colleagues over the last few weeks. I’ve had to adjust my own management and leadership style in this period as well as adjust to hiring and onboarding new colleagues remotely. At the same time i’m participating in numerous

Running. I have never ‘got’ running and convinced myself it wasn’t for me What

webinars about scaling sales and marketing

started two months ago as a resilience challenge (three laps of the park, with lots

teams in particular as that’s the area we’re

of walking breaks) has progressed to 5km circuits four times a week. I’m nerding

growing our team.

out on Strava and Fitbit data in an effort to push myself and have ploughed through audible books on my runs.

Fiction over news. I’ve tuned out of mainstream media almost entirely. I’m not a scientist nor epidemiologist and even those fields seem to lack any consensus,

Personal: I am focusing on my wellbeing and exploring different forms of meditation and breathing exercises in the morning

with everything becoming politicised. The constant, repetitive diet of doom and recrimination got me down, so a) I’ve turned my attention ‘local’, working with

Random: my intention is to pick up DJ skills. I

my local community and personal network to support where I can and b) to my

bought myself a DJ set over Christmas (a gift

delight, rediscovered fiction. Anna Karenina has been my lock-down salvation.

to myself) and have the best intentions but in all honesty haven’t got round to doing much

Jigsaws with Gin & Tonics. It’s official, I’m middle-aged. Jigsaws offer the most

as yet but given lockdown doesn’t look like it’s

under-rated mindfulness… and who knew this white-wine girl could so easily

necessarily lifting anytime soon there’s plenty

switch her tipple of a life-time!

of time!

e e r h T

Things that keep me motivated during the crisis Keeping yourself motivated every day is not an easy feat. Throw in a pandemic and strict social distancing measures and it becomes very hard to focus on work, especially when there’s a sense of unease and unknowing. However, it has given us time to stop, reflect and asses our wellbeing, which we regrettably sometimes neglect.

We asked some of our GBEA alumni what Three things are keeping them motivated. whilst working from home.

Come out fit and healthy Mich Turner MBE, Little Venice Cake Company The lockdown has gifted me a time-rich creative space - the key is routine and a daily plan that stimulates mind, body and spirit.

Baking, for pleasure. I am enjoying the opportunity to bake for pleasure at my leisure!

Exercise. I actively look forward to my one outdoor exercise per day - I have taken to walking in the countryside, appreciating the arrival of spring.

Having a good mix of activities Julie Deane OBE, The Cambridge Satchel Company During lockdown I have done my best to make sure I have a good mix of activities – keeping

Quilting. I would never normally have time to invest in as large a project as a quilt. I love the

upbeat, challenged and focused. Remaining

mathematical precision, creative enjoyment and total immersion in a project that demands my full attention.

me on track.

My aim is to come out of the crisis

motivated is so important, here’s what has kept

New products – what will customers be looking for when lockdown eases and life becomes more

fit and healthy; having spent time caring and providing for others and

normal? This has resulted in two new bag designs.

keeping in contact as much as I can.

With physical shops closed how can we make our digital presence stronger? This has resulted in a new look Instagram, writing new copy for the

Connecting with colleagues Chieu Cao, Mintago I am conecting with my colleagues and the community regularly to share ideas and perspectives and focussing on the things I can control such as my daily routine, work tasks and how I relate to others.

website and writing a Brand Bible so everyone on the team is better informed as to how to keep the brand pure and consistent.

Finally, for balance, I have set myself the challenge of training my dogs so that as soon as we are able to travel there will be no reason not to take my furry friends with me as we hit the road!

I am also exercising daily. It’s a lockdown but don’t let that kill your ability to control your body and stay fit.

For more information, click here.

e e r h T

Things I resolve to do when lockdown is lifted When we emerge from the current pandemic, life as we know it will have changed. There will be air of opportunity, a time where we can adapt to the new world of business.

Our alumni summarised what they were resolving to do when the lockdown rules have been lifted.

Educate and promote Laurence Kemball-Cook, Pavegen I’m looking forward to settling into the ‘new normal’ and delivering new Pavegen projects for clients. My team is hard at work making

Change our recruitment Lucy Cohen, Mazuma

sure we are prepared for the world opening back up, and when the time is right we will

Work from home more: my productivity and quality

have exciting new projects ready for launch.

that I don’t need to be in the office just to show that

of life is much better working from home. I’ve realised I’m around. Instead, I’ll attend for structured meetings

Continue to educate and promote the importance of adopting sustainable practices to ensure future generations have a better quality of life. If lockdown has shown us anything it is that now is the time to act and commit to positive changes in our daily lives to help our environment.

Focus on building stronger, smarter communities through innovation and technology. The shift in societies willingness to help others is a positive by-product of COVID-19 and has formed a global community.

with teams and stakeholders and the rest of the time I’ll work from my home office.

Change our recruitment: our best people have thrived in a remote set up; I want more of that!

We don’t offe a face-to-face service so staff don’t all need to be in the same room to work well together. We’ll be fully embracing tech and remote recruitment from now on!

Appreciate human interactions: even though I enjoy staying in the house and working from home, the lockdown has made me appreciate the value of

Create a New Kind of Normal Jo Chidley, Beauty Kitchen Sustainability is at the core of every decision I make in order to do better for people and the environment, both in my personal life and business ethos. It’s definitely been a motivator behind why I created the Return · Refill · Repeat programme for our reusable packagaing.

Throughout our time in lockdown, I’m grateful to learn that there is a silver lining in the sense that this experience has dramatically changed the way people approach waste. This time has allowed us to become more appreciative of our environment after spending so much time inside too. People are thinking more consciously about what they need and are being more creative with what they already have. I want this new way of thinking to become the norm, so sustainable choices can be made in every aspect of life to create a waste zero world.

human interaction. So I’ll be working to make sure that face time in real life is valuable and enriching more than just a default setting for meetings.

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For more information, click here

Drumroll please...

Flying Start competition winner: De Broize Custom Drums BY TEAM STARLING “Playing drums is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” says Samuel de Broize. “But I never thought I’d be a drum builder.” He also never thought he’d be chosen as the winner of our Flying Start competition for Starling business customers.

“That was the biggest shock.”

We launched the competition alongside our national advertising campaign for our app-based business accounts. Customers sent in an image of their workspace - kitchen table, summer house, garden shed - and told us how they’d spend the £5000 prize money to grow their business. Four judges from the Great British Entrepreneur Awards (GBEA) selected Sam as the winner based on his passion, vision and eagerness to grow his business.

“He’s a highly motivated entrepreneur, whose entrepreneurial spirit shines through,” said the GBEA judges.

Sam, 29, makes snare drums by hand. He repurposes and recycles wood from a range of sources - furniture, door frames, floorboards to make custom drums. He takes commissions and sells drums through his business De Broize Custom Drums, while also working part-time as a

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Music Technician at the University of Westminster.

He’s been using Starling for his business banking since 2018.

How did it start?

“In 2016 my grandfather died,” he says. “It hit me really hard. We always said that we’d make a drum together but we never got to it.” A few weeks later, Samuel decided to try making one himself. “It became part of the grieving process.”

The wood came from a lintel in his parents’ house, adapted when his grandfather came to live with them. He scoured the internet for tutorial videos and set to work using his grandfather’s woodworking tools. “He was a hobbyist woodworker,” Sam explains. “We’d make little bits together but never anything super technical. This was a very ambitious but also very therapeutic task.”

He made his second drum from a floorboard. By the seventh drum, people were not only interested in the stories and sounds of his instruments, they wanted to buy them.

Which business challenges has he overcome?

In the transition from hobby to business, his main challenge was pricing. “It wasn’t until I did a drum show and some people started a bidding war over one drum that I realised how much people wanted this product,” he says. “It’s about knowing your market, where you stand in it and what value you bring to your customers.” Sam sells existing drums through his online shop and at drum shows. He also takes commissions from people he meets or who contact him through the website or social media.

UK drum shows form a key part of his business.

“When I first signed up, I knew I’d be the smallest person there but I didn’t care. It gave me something to work towards.” He planned to attend several events to showcase his drums and speak to potential customers but they were all cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

During lockdown, he’s still been able to work on commissions and create videos to share on social media. He’s also been selling tee-shirts, with 10% going to charities supporting frontline workers, and is committed to matching these 10% contributions.

Sam wants to make drum building more accessible.

“There was hardly anything online for the style of drums I make,” he says. “I like to give people pointers. Make sure everything you’re doing is accurate. If you’re off by a few millimeters or a couple of degrees on a certain cut, the whole thing won’t be round.”

Another highlight was making a drum for Nathan Shingler, crowned Young Drummer of the Year 2019. “It had one hundred individual pieces, such as an old dining table and other furniture. It was a beautiful drum,” he says. “It’s another way of recycling, rather than burning. I’d never want to contribute to deforestation.”

When making the drums in his flat or at his shared workshop, he often listens to The Down Beat, a podcast hosted by the drummer Craig Reynolds.

“It’s cool to hear people you look up to talking about things like post-tour depression. Musicians are put on very high pedestals and you don’t think they’ll ever go through stuff like that.” Samuel still plays the drums himself, although he currently uses an electric kit for the sake of his neighbours.

How does he plan to grow his business?

Samuel received a £5000 grant for winning our Flying Start competition. “I heard about it through my girlfriend. I didn’t think I’d actually go on to win it.”

He’s only ever used Starling for his business finances. “It’s very intuitive,” he says. “I like the breakdown of everything that you spend where you can see a percentage of outgoings for each category. Then you can add receipts to each transaction.”

He plans to use his prize money to buy photography and recording equipment, invest in tools for drum building and secure slots for future drumming events and shows. His images will be used to promote his drums online and in his annual crowdfunded magazine.

What makes his business different?

The wood used to make each drum is an integral part to its story. “One commission came from someone who’s moving house and doesn’t have room for their great grandparents’ cabinet, which has water damage on one side. They’ve asked me to turn it into a new snare drum.”

“I aim to develop my skills in content creation,” he says. “This will come in the form of videos of builds, play-throughs and demos on top of recorded audio samples of each drum. This will further benefit potential customers. The cameras and audio recording equipment will vastly improve the quality of this content. I would also like to carry on building strong relationships within the drumming community and further establish the brand, getting to know drummers and their stories.”

His advice for budding entrepreneurs? “If you have a vision and you believe in it, take it as far as you can,” he says. “And use Starling.”

Learn more about De Broize Custom Drums.

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Your print, your way

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FEATURE

:) GBEA HAPPY NEWS It’s easy to start feeling more than a little overwhelmed with the bad news right now which is why, with our partner Printed.com, we’re on a mission to highlight the good; the entrepreneurs & businesses who are doing amazing things, who have achieved so much (before and during the COVID-19 pandemic), who may have turned their skills to good and who deserve to be recognised.

For more Happy News stories, click here.

One Million Steps app made free for charities and businesses Charity Film Awards 2020 will be going virtual Over the past four years Charity Film Awards has become a very special campaign and one of the biggest cause-based film movements in the world, recognised by IMDB and BFI. The films we celebrate are unexpected, inspiring, positive, heart-warming and powerful.

The awards are determined to continue to celebrate the UK’s amazing charity sector, which is so vital at this challenging time and needs our support more than ever, so they will be running this year’s Awards Ceremony as a virtual event.

The stream will be broadcast on the Charity Film Awards website and YouTube.

Walking is great for our physical and mental health.

But we tell ourselves we can’t find the time, we’re tired, we’ll start tomorrow.

Walk, jog, run or even dance your way to 10,000 steps a day for 100 days.

Those one million steps add up to awesome 500 miles! Turn those steps into fundraising efforts with One Million Steps.

One Million Steps understands the current crisis, and have risen to the challenge. Million Steps is now free for any charity and any business (and charity they support) no onboarding, no fees, no costs, no risks.

Oltco installs Recycle Bound surface at the Eden Project Oltco has grown to become the leading independent resin bound specialist in the UK. With three expert installation teams and experienced office staff.

Oltco Cornwall provided the Eden Project with stunning pathways made with recycled plastic which can withstand a high footfall, is anti-slip, and low-maintenance and can be enjoyed by visitors. They love teaming up with businesses that reflect their ethos of protecting and safeguarding our planet and environment.

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John Stapleton kicks off Rockstar Series at Home Grown Home Grown is a private members’ club for high-growth entrepreneurs. An exclusive membership club offering space for like-minded people to network, entertain and grow in beautiful surroundings.

The Home Grown infamous Rockstar Series returned in April, with multi-exit entrepreneur John Stapleton. Fellow member and Founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Francesca James, talked to John about his inspiring entrepreneur journey with over 30 years’ experience in pioneering new FMCG categories and establishing and growing consumer-led businesses in both the UK and the USA. In 1987 John co-founded The New Covent Garden Soup Co Ltd., which pioneered and grew the fresh soup category in the UK. On reaching over £20m revenue, New Covent Garden Soup Co was sold in 1998. John then co-founded Glencoe Foods Inc., designed to bring the fresh soup concept to the US. On returning to Europe, John established a consumer branded food consultancy and later co-founded Little Dish, which supplies healthy, natural and convenient meals and snacks to children over one year old. Having grown to approx. £15m annual revenues, John sold Little Dish in 2017.

Imployable offers users 30 free qualification courses Imployable’s mission is to revolutionise an industry by creating a system that improves efficiency, cuts the cost of recruitment and gives equal opportunity to people looking for jobs and careers.

During these times it is important to stay mentally active, have a goal and achieve it. Imployable have therefore partnered with the Study Academy to bring all registered imployable users a completely free qualification which is CPD & Birmingham University accredited, for the duration of the lockdown.

Brewdog’s James Watt gives away best-selling book for free A decade of dog, 1000 employees, and two breweries later, Brewdog are the fastest growing Food & Drinks company in the UK, one of the Times Top 100 Best Employers, and breaking into international markets, they are on a mission to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as they are.

BrewDog’s co-founder James Watt offers a business bible for a new generation. It’s anarchic.

It’s irreverent. It’s passionate. It’s BrewDog. And at the moment, it’s free!

Mrs Bucket launches decontamination cleaning services Mrs Bucket is a multi award-winning cleaning business with over 250 staff. Founded in 2005

by Rachael Flanagan. At the age of 18 she had the ambition to start a unique cleaning company where standards and service were her main passion for driving the company forward.

The team have recently launched Prevention and Decontamination cleaning services, specifically designed to target and eliminate the spread of COVID-19.

Boss Brewing launches delivery service and Pub in a Pack They’re launching the service with one packaging type – a mixed case of 12.

They’ve also created a Pub in a Pack, so people can recreate their favourite night out, from the comfort of their own home.

Impact Summit makes a speaker announcement #GBEAalumni Impact Summit is a platform for some of the most innovative minds of our times. They celebrate the emergence of individuals and companies building and rethinking models for success.

Jamie Crummie, co-founder of Too Good To Go, the world’s largest marketplace for surplus food, has been given a speaker spot for #ImpactSummit20. The free app connects retailers who have unsold food available with local customers who purchase, collect and enjoy it Named in Forbes 30 under 30 in Europe and shortlisted for the GBEA Entrepreneur For Good Award in 2019, Jamie is changing attitudes and reducing the impact of food waste on our world.

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Mindful Chef offers NHS workers discount on healthy recipe boxes Mindful Chef are a health-focused food box company set up by school friends Giles, Myles and Rob. Since their launch in 2015, they’ve shipped over 10,000,000 ingredients from incredible small farms across the UK.

Find and support local businesses so they can find and support you iTown is a free app for towns, villages and high streets across the UK. Support your local business and order the items you need or love for collection or delivery to your door. The team are working with a number of councils and town leaders to help connect their highstreet to local customers. Find out how iTown can help support your area.

Madlug designs activity book for children in care There are thousands of children in care who are now having reduced contact with birth families and siblings due to Covid-19. Most already feel lost in the care system and that no one cares. Now is a great opportunity to show them that we care and to get your children involved in making a difference.

For the people currently working around the clock to keep our nation safe and healthy, here’s a little thank you from the entire Mindful Chef community. If you email hello@mindfulchef.com from your NHS address, they’ll give you a code for 30% off their healthy recipe boxes throughout this time.

The Madlug Activity Book is Dave’s solution to helping you do this. It’s jam-packed with all sorts of puzzles and activities to keep hands busy and minds occupied. Madlug have designed games, doodles and dot to dots to help inspire a child’s creativity and reward their curiosity.

Hey Girls offers vouchers to Young Scot Carers #BuyOneGiveOne

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From kitchen to global empire, King of Shaves turns 27 years old

For every Hey Girls product sold, a box of sanitary products is given to girls and young women in the UK from low-income families. The aim is to eradicate period poverty in the UK.

Created in Will King’s kitchen, King of Shaves is now 27 years old. Born in 1993. Pre-internet.

Pre-Trump presidency. Pre-cheap airlines. Pre-Zoom. Originally conceived to make shaving enjoyable. Now gaining new fans as a highly rated handwashing gel.

Young Scot have committed to support their #YSCarers with an online vouchers to spend on the Hey Girls website, where you can purchase sanitary products for yourself and donate some to someone in need with a £10 Hey Girls voucher.

Chop, chat, chill with Chuku’s virtual supperclub

The Goodwash Company donates care packs to NHS workers

FutureX makes resources free for entrepreneurs

‘The Goodwash Company’ is a social enterprise that gives 100% of profits from product sales to ‘The Goodwash Foundation’ to fund projects that help improve the lives of animals and people.

FutureX creates and curates content for business leaders building a more sustainable, socially-conscious global economy.

They have given around 4,000 wash packs to NHS trusts in Wales, food banks and King’s College Hospital London.

The packs include travel size shampoo and soap.

To show further support, each time you purchase a soap bar from The Goodwash Company they will send you a complimentary ‘ration bar’ for you to give to another member of the community as a thank you #DIOLCH. They have even left a space on the label for you to add a name.

Through their online resource platform, international leadership programmes, large-scale summits and community events, they support entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs at every stage of their journey.

In this uncertain time, community is more important than ever. To support purposedriven entrepreneurs during Covid-19, they have made the FutureX Plus community free for solo-entrepreneurs and freelancers until 1st June and reduced the price of full subscription for founders, CEOs and business leaders.

Throughout their childhood, big brother Emeka (é-meh-ka) and little sister Ifeyinwa (i-fay-in-wa) noticed the lack of Nigerian cuisine on the capital’s “foodie” map. Keen to share their heritage with schoolfriends as they got older, they patiently waited for that spot which would celebrate the flavours of their motherland and pay homage to the stories told by their grandmother. They set up the world’s first Nigerian tapas restaurant earlier this year, home of the chop, chat chill.

Whilst you can’t go to their new restaurant, they’re bringing the chop, chat, chill to you with a series of intimate digital dinners, connecting their Chuku’s community across the globe. Enjoy the shared laughter, their fave Naija beats and a chance to meet new people – all from your kitchen table.

Deposit cheques at home with the Starling app You can now deposit your cheques through the Starling app.

In these times, when many of us are trying to avoid going outside, leaving the house to post a cheque may be difficult.

The ability to deposit cheques via your mobile means one less reason you need to. And one more reason to manage your money with Starling, a bank that gives you financial control all from one app.

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Dinoski guide children through the crisis Nook pods provide healthcare sector with a place to recharge Bristol-based Furniture design business Do Company is offering to loan its comforting semi-private Nook pods free of charge to any healthcare sector premises in the UK in a bid to provide staff and visitors with a place to recharge and coordinate in comfort during the outbreak.

Dinoski create a range of eco-friendly animal themed ski & winter wear.

To show support for the NHS, Dinoski reached out to their audience to create an uplifting video about what kids think about the current crisis: The Childrens Guide to Coronavirus.

Prior to that, to help parents keep children entertained at home they gave away 800 free activity books and have created free colouring sheets and character cut-outs for anybody that signs up to their newsletter.

Dinoski are now developing an animated story series, highlighting important environmental messages which they hope to launch later this summer.

Entrepreneurs come together to support UK’s 5m self-employed A team of self-isolating entrepreneurs from London’s burgeoning Fintech sector – built a proof of concept which aims to support the UKs 5m self-employed in the COVID-19 economic crisis. The idea allows a self-employed person to selfcertify and evidence their loss of income due to coronavirus through a web site.

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Dress up at home to bag yourself a pair of Snag Tights Snag Tights make tights that are genuinely different sizes, to fit comfortably women of all shapes.

Normal tights vary in length, but not by width, which is why it can be such a struggle to find tights that actually fit. Snag Tights tights are genuinely different sizes, which means they vary in height, width and around the waist so they fit every body shape.

For all their Instagram followers, Snag Tights have launched a Dress Up Fridays competition where they are giving away a pair of tights each week to the most fabulous look posted by a Snaggler.

To say thank you to the amazing NHS staff, they are also giving away one pair of tights to an NHS frontline worker for every order they receive.

Snaffling Pig collabs with Double Dutch Drinks Double Pig? Snaffling Dutch?

GBEA winner, Snaffling Pig, has started shipping fellow GBEA category entrants, Double Dutch Drinks on behalf of Raissa de Haas and Joyce De Haas and their awesome team. From a little post Nick Coleman (owner) put up two weeks ago asking if any food/drinks brands needed help with storage, picking or packing, they are now working with five just frankly brilliant brands.

BrewDog launch Lock Down Lager, the ultimate shower beer BrewDog have developed the ultimate shower beer to help people enjoy beer in a whole new way whilst staying at home.

The guava and grapefruit deliver a fresh, fruity hit guaranteed to quench your thirst. This is a classic German-style pilsner with a twist, designed to be clean and refreshing. Just like your shower.

BrewDog launch Lock Down Lager, the ultimate shower beer Charley Chau is a family-owned British business founded by two self-confessed crazy dog ladies, Christine and Jenny Chau).

Mr Lee’s Noodles fuels frontline workers After being told he had a few weeks to live, this cancer survivor and noodle lover is now on a mission to help time-poor people eat better.

Enter Mr Lee’s Noodles.

Damien is currently donating one cup of noodles to UK foodbanks and frontline staff for each box of noodles bought. He’s also offering 20% off these boxes, and free delivery.

“We’re giving an initial 1,000 cups of noodles separately to Poole Hospital, Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

Royal Marsden Hospital Chelsea and the Royal Marsden Hospital Sutton.

We’ll follow up with more and I estimate that the final number could be in the order of 10,000.

Grenade fuels NHS staff with dedicated care parcels Currently, they are helping the efforts to succeed over Covid-19 by supporting NHS staff working tirelessly on the front line by fuelling them with Grenade care packages. They are also offering a 40% on their products for anyone with a blue light card.

“I’m determined to do everything possible in recognition of their incredible efforts,” says Damien.

They have set up a temporary “emergency supplies” section on their website to help their customers source basic essentials at this very tricky time. It’s not a comprehensive pet store, but a small collection of essential items to keep your dog well fed, amused and in good health through these challenging times.

Brewgooder gifts NHS staff packs of beer Brewgooder’s focus has been diverted to the frontline efforts of the NHS. You can now gift a fourpack with a message of support for an NHS employee, to claim at random and receive when they are ready to. Every £6 donation will cover the cost incurred to brew, pack and deliver a fourpack of beer with your message included, to an NHS employee in the UK.

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Brought to you by

Supported by

Lockdown learning for businesses Advice | Insight | Trusted Opinions The economic impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak continues to hit small businesses and entrepreneurs across the UK. This series is designed to support them with news, information and advice from Freshbusinessthinking.com and trusted partners.

We are adding talks from partners daily, and they are all entirely free of charge for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

This is a time when as a business community we need to come together and support one another and we’re lucky enough to work with so many organisations and individuals who are passionate about supporting these communities.

It is critical we support each other through all this. We entrepreneurs love a challenge so we shall rise up!

Julia Elliot Brown Enter The Arena

I’m sure we will all deliver some solid strategies for the UK’s SMEs. Entrepreneurs must be prepared and ready.

Michael Jacobsen Serial Entrepreneur

On-demand and live session access Including sessions by:

FEATURE

ADVICE & INSIGHT Fresh Business Thinking have, along with partners, supporters and industry experts been running a series of virtual event sessions to help entrepreneurs and business decision makers navigate through challenging times.

Packed with experience, information and advice, here are some series highlights: •

Support from Government and the road ahead

•

Flying in the face of adversity

•

When life throws you a curve ball

•

Why a recession can lead to reinvention

•

Raising investment in challenging times

For all sessions and for further information, click here.

of Shaves will celebrate its 27th anniversary, with more than 15Bn lives ‘shaved’ world-wide.

Now Executive Chairman, King of Shaves has been the stand-out innovator in men’s grooming products for over two decades.

Overcorrecting is imperative: Having started King of Shaves in 1992 in the height of a recession and having been through a few more economic downturns since then, Will adminds he has “seen quite a bit.”

Will says that businesses need to now, more than ever, immediately acknowledge their problem and over-correct, “you’ve got to almost do more than you think you need to do to right the ship.”

Don’t be afraid of over-correcting says King of Shaves “When I started King of Shaves I had been made redundant. I went from a £25,000 salary to nothing. I had to rent out the flat that I had bought a couple of years earlier because I couldn’t afford to live there. I had no money and I had to do everything myself. I even had to hand fill 10,000 bottles of shaving oil” Will King, King of Shaves *The quotes from this article are taken from a webinar that WIll King recently ran with Fresh Business Thinking. You can view the whole session by clicking on the image below.

Will referenced Professor Scott Galloway (who you can follow on Twitter here) and who talks about over-correcting in his three pillars of crisis management which are:

1. Top guy / gal takes responsibilty 2. Acknowledge the issue 3. Overcorrect Galloway says that “six months from now when things are back to relatively normal, measures taken now may look drastic, but that is the point.”

“What’s difficult about overreacting is it’s disproportionate to the problem at present. It’s deeply uncomfortable, because you are devising a solution to a problem that doesn’t yet exist and whose future scale you are guessing. Throwing vast resources at a guess is risky and hard to justify, yet if you wait long enough for the scale to unfold, it will be too late.” Professor Scott Galloway A World Health Organization expert put it very well by saying:

Click here

“If you need to be right before you move, you’ll never win. Perfection is the enemy of the good when it comes to emergency management. Speed trumps perfection. The problem right now is everyone is afraid of making a mistake.”

Will King: Following redundancy in the early 1990’s, Will created the King of Shaves brand and its first product, a shaving oil.

Buying shave.com for £18 in 1995, he found that “shaving’s a growth business” and in this year, King

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Click here

“What’s difficult about overreacting is it’s disproportionate to the problem at present. It’s deeply uncomfortable, because you are devising a solution to a problem that doesn’t yet exist and whose future scale you are guessing. Throwing vast resources at a guess is risky and hard to justify, yet if you wait long enough for the scale to unfold, it will be too late”. Professor Scott Galloway

market fit. Will says that then “you do what’s called a pivot, and do something different, much like the story of Slack.*”

Summer is coming & this storm will pass:

Click here

As a sailing guy, Will was keen to get across the message that “this storm will pass” and that entrepreneurs need to remember that we are all in an economic hiatus and that they’re not alone in the boat right now.

Survive, Plan, Act-ion, Cash, Enjoy: In only a story Will King could tell, he shared how he had signed up to shave Richard Branson’s beard in space as part of Virgin’s Galactic programme by invitation of Virgin’s head of astronaut relations in 2006.

For ever and ever and ever, Will says “Virgin Galactic has never taken off, but at the time I developed an acronym when giving presentations to entrepreneurs and business owners using SPACE.”

Recommended listening: You can listen to the story of Slack’s pivot above on Reid Hoffman’s podcast, Masters of Scale.

Act-ion: Whatever you decide to do, don’t knee jerk it. When you’ve sat down and decided what your future course of action will be, act upon it and be decisive.

It’s understandable to be worrying about short-term things, but you’ve got to think ahead and skate to where the puc is going to be.

S urvive

Cash:

P lan, prepare & pivot

If you don’t have cash you don’t have optionality.

A ct-ion

Right now you need to take some very active decisions in terms of minimising your cash burn.

This will often include some tough decisions and might include laying off and/or furloughing staff.

C ash E njoy Previously the letters have represented satisfaction/ success, passion/persistence, attitude of action, confidence and common sense and enjoy, but he’s re-purposed it for current times, and here it is: Survive: How you survive is entirely down to you including the decisions you make and actions you take. We’re all in survival mode right now. Will shared how King of Shaves competes with massive multi-nationals and to compete, they’re having to be very active and proactive about what they are doing and why with both consumers and buyers.

Plan, prepare & pivot: Whatever you’re doing now, will it be fantastic when we come out of the other side of this storm? You’ve e number of weeks or short months to think about what your business does and how or why. Pivoting is a tech term, it describes when you’ve built something, and perhaps there’s not a product or

You’ve got to be really hard on yourself and look at the over-corrections that you need to make to keep you and your business alive.

Enjoy: As much as this is an incredibly tough time with lots of tragedy, sadness, grief and upset in it, it is also an extraordinarily quiet time that can allow for entrepreneurs to re-centre their thinking. Embrace and de-clutter where you can and consider the societal shifts for when we come out of the other side.

Watch the full webinar

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In this strange new world, one thing remains the same.

Consumers trust friends’ recommendations more than any other source of advertising.

Overcome your marketing challenges with the award-winning Mention Me platform. Our cutting-edge technology turns happy customers into brand advocates who return often, spend more, and recommend your brand to others.

Visit mention-me.com for a free demo.

Click here for the full webinar

Raising investment in challenging times Julia Elliott Brown is the CEO and Founder of Enter the Arena, the UK’s leading equity fundraising expert and specialist coach. With 20+ years commercial experience developing and building high-growth start-ups.

Julia recently ran a webinar for entrepreneurs covering the journey to raising investment during COVID-19; the conflicting forces and the value that this will have on businesses over the long term.

Julia said “these are very worrying times, the current Coronavirus situation will affect each of us differently. I’m sure you’ll be wanting to know what is going to happen in terms of your prospects of raising investment right now. It may well be that raising capital is an even more pressing issue, depending on how your business is impacted”.

As a serial entrepreneur, Julia has successfully raised millions of pounds in equity finance for business growth from angels, VCs and crowdfunding, both for her own business, and has supported dozens of her amazing female founder clients in doing the same.

In terms of raising investment, we do have to work under the assumption that we are going to be in this challenging environment for the next few months. Some investors will see this as an opportunity to make smart investments in businesses that are going to give them long term value, but there are also investors that will be holding onto cash. But life does go on and business is still being done, so we’ve got to work with what we’ve got.”

Raising investment is going to be more competitive than ever Raising investment is going to be more competitive than ever but Julia says that “there will be opportunities for the very best entrepreneurial businesses if you go about it in the right way” With 20+ years commercial experience developing and building high-growth start-ups, including the award winning online shoe design brand Upper Street, and internet pioneer UpMyStreet.com, Julia’s mission and passion is to bring her wealth of expertise to support women entrepreneurs on their own journeys to raising finance and scaling their businesses.

Watch the full video session by clicking on the button above to learn about: • Making your business attractive to investors

Julia says: “You may feel stressed, panicked or overwhelmed right now. These are very understandable feelings.

• Adjustments to your raise amount & valuation • Running your investment campaign from your desk

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Watch webinar

Watch webinar

Hannah & Sophie Pycroft, Spectrum Collections

Martin Newman, The Consumer Champion

The founders of Spectrum Collections, the ‘world’s most Instagrammable make-up brushes’, Hannah & Sophie Pycroft discuss how to ensure that digital strategy and brand communication are empathetic and of the moment, whilst also still encouraging consumers to shop.

There is no question that the Coronavirus Pandemic, and its impact both in a health context as well as and the subsequent lockdown we’ve all experienced, will impact our behaviour as consumers. Martin gives you his perspective on what consumer-facing businesses will need to do to adapt.

Watch webinar

Watch webinar

Russell Dalgleish, Serial Entrepreneur and Investor

Alison Edgar, The Entrepreneur’s Godmother

In this webinar, Russell shares his thoughts on how entrepreneurialism must develop, where the most likely opportunities are in the world and how you can get your mindset right to optimise the chances of success.

For some businesses, face-to-face meetings are an essential part of their sales strategy. So how do you strike deals in a digital world? This webinar assesses how the market has changed and the best practice to ensure a digital sales strategy keeps a human touch.

Entrepreneurs must provide staff with “protection, direction and leadership” in times of crisis

Click here for the webinar John Stapleton is the ‘Authentic Entrepreneur’ with 30 years’ experience in pioneering new FMCG categories and establishing and growing successful consumer-led businesses in both the UK and the USA. In 1987 John co-founded the New Covent Garden Soup Co Ltd., which pioneered and grew the fresh soup category in the UK and In 2005, John cofounded Little Dish, which supplies healthy, natural and convenient meals and snacks to children over one year. Little Dish created the chilled toddler food category, developing full UK retailer distribution and became the go-to brand in fresh toddler food.

Having grown to approaching £15m annual revenues, John exited Little Dish in 2017.

John is an experienced entrepreneur who places a great deal of importance on both planning for a crisis and on developing a competitive advantage for life after the crisis blows over.

John says that “being prepared is the first step to securing your business’ future once a crisis hits”.

Adding that “failing to have a plan in place could be the difference between job cuts - even the business’ demise - and a long-term, bright future”.

When asked to put together his thoughts around the covid:19 crisis and advice and support for entrepreneurs, John focussed on three main points with the first being “look after staff”.

John said that this is something entrepreneurs need to look at doing immediately. Staff are a businesses most valuable but also currently, “the most vulnerable asset”.

Trying to work from home is challenging and “employers need to be mindful of the mental health

implications of such changes and potential added pressures those in their team might be facing”. John suggests that leaders “may also want to consider flexibility and workarounds” adding that “9-5 is perhaps not all that relevant anymore”. Many will have children and partners or other family members who are working. This situation is not business as usual and understanding of your teams personal situations is important.

John stressed that entrepreneurs need to demonstrate leadership now more than ever, having plans that are broken down on a daily basis, emphasising the fact that “communication is more important than it’s ever been”. In addition, leaders need to consider how they will provide “protection, direction and leadership” even when you can’t see and meet face to face.

In addition, John says that “the word furlough probably wasn’t a word in our vernacular until a few weeks ago but is now a commonly used phrase and process that entrepreneurs and their employees are now familiar with”.

Entrepreneurs need to adjust to and understand that while furloughed workers cannot undertake any work, they are still part of your team because they’ve “not been laid off”. Leaders should therefore ensure that they make the effort to “check in and keep people involved” but be very mindful to ensure that they adhere to the rules around the scheme.

John reiterated that the scheme does have a fair bit of flexibility that entrepreneurs and employees might find useful. The scheme allows businesses to furlough a staff member, bring them back and then furlough them again, as long as it is done in “blocks of three weeks”. It might even be useful for both staff and businesses to rotate staff on furlough.

This is a brief write up of a webinar that was run

by Fresh Business Thinking & supported by BT. In this challenging landscape, where business owners are searching for information and clarity more than ever, Fresh Business Thinking decided to call upon the experience and expertise of seasoned entrepreneurs to share ideas, advice, anecdotes and opinions via a virtual series of events for small businesses navigating COVID:19.

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MAKE A

BLOODY

DIFFERENCE

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Girls in the UK miss school because they cannot afford period products - we give a girl or young women one pack of product for every pack you buy - help Hey Girls help UK girls every month.

Hey Girls products are eco-friendly, sustainable and made with materials that neither harm the environment nor your nether regions.

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Flying in the face of adversity Lara Morgan is a British entrepreneur with a track record of delivering exceptional accelerated growth.

Her investment strategy in wellbeing products primarily is pinned to improving life’s journey.

Investing as a family office she has a portfolio of seven consumer services businesses which she works to drive sales, leadership and innovation.

She is an inspirational leader with a legacy of building world-class teams and aligning organisations behind a clear strategy. She practices the art of selling and creating win-win customer partnerships for her brands 24/7.

Her specific expertise is in sales strategy, customer insight and brand development, multichannel and multisite management plus organic or M&A / partnership driven expansion.

Having guided her business through SARS, Foot and Mouth and the September 11 attacks, Lara shared her top actions on how to face adversity and thrive in a webinar with Fresh Business Thinking.

Think wellbeing routines, recovery thoughts and thinking ahead with a positive outlook.

“Whilst I commend you for working hard, and probably working harder than you ever have. It is also important to look after yourself, keep a rhythm, keep your brain active, but also take a break. Go for a walk and get some fresh air,” she says.

Lara advises that you get started on some “clean the house projects. For those of you finding it very difficult to find something to sell, do something else. Sort out your image library, data is gold. But data is only gold when it’s organised. Have you got a clean desk system, good paper movement, and are you learning new software? What can you do to being accelerated positivity when you get back to work. What are the things that you can do to create energy, conversation and positivity, like a halo effect, whilst still making a gain.”

Furloughing staff is tough. Lara suggests doing the following to help keep staff motivated: •

Create a WhatsApp channel, so any success or positivity can be shared amongst the team

•

Regular communication, care enough to call

•

Help mums and dads who need to be more productive with family life by giving them working hours that fit around their home lives

•

Help them with their working conditions

•

Send small token gifts or care parcels with personalised notes and give another for them to gift to someone working on the front line

Keep people rewarded and motivated. It may sound like nothing, by sending someone a ‘sleep well’ candle as they’re having a hard time shows that you care about their wellbeing.

To watch the full webinar, click on the button above.

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VI D

N IO

CASTS | AN D O IM |P AT O E

www.pinpoint-media.co.uk

APHIC DE S I G | GR N

Stay ahead of the curve

FEATURE

REACHING FOR THE STARLINGS Along with our partner Starling Bank, the Great British Entrepreneur Awards prides itself on supporting exciting entrepreneurs making waves in the UK. Here are our 15 most exciting entrepreneurs to watch in the following categories for 2020: • • • • • • • • •

Social entrepreneurs Food entrepreneurs Drink entrepreneurs Young entrepreneurs Family business entrepreneurs Health & fitness entrepreneurs Creative industries entrepreneurs Distruptive entrepreneurs Eco entrepreneurs

For all the lists and for further information, click here.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

Kristina Salceanu Advent of Change

Ben Sadler Alive and Kicking

Kristina Salceanu is the founder of Advent of Change, a multi-product retailer centered around an advent calendar with a difference. Instead of chocolate or gifts, each window donates to a different charity.

Ben Sadler is the CEO of Alive and Kicking, the world’s only not-forprofit ball manufacturer.

It creates jobs for disadvantaged people in sub-Saharan Africa to produce hand-stitched, quality balls.

Nat Mady Hackney Herbal

Mona & Shaz Shah Harry Specters

Nat Mady is the founder of Hackney Herbal, a social enterprise on a mission to improve people’s health and wellbeing through herbal tea. It runs a wide range of training, and mental wellbeing events and workshops.

Mona and Shaz Shah are the co-founders of Harry Specters, an award-winning chocolate company that provides free training and employment opportunities to young people with autism.

Gavin & Sally Murray Just-Ice

Sally Wilton Lexi Cinema

Gavin and Sally Murray are the founders of Just-Ice, a premium ice cream shop which gives employment opportunities to survivors of human trafficking. It only uses fair trade and natural ingredients.

Sally Wilton is the founder of Lexi Cinema, the UK’s first social enterprise independent boutique digital cinema. Staffed by passionate, local volunteers, Lexi donates 100% of its profits to The Sustainability Institute.

Karen Williams Buddy Bag Foundation

Cemal Ezel Change Please

Meg Doherty Fat Macy’s

Karen Williams is the founder of Buddy Bag Foundation, a charity which donates luggage and supplies to children in emergency care. Each Buddy Bag contains toiletries, pyjamas, underwear and socks.

Cemal Ezel is the founder of Change Please, a coffee brand that tackles homelessness. It’s a social enterprise that is staffed by the homeless, to help the homeless. As well as giving them a job, they provide a London living wage.

Meg Doherty is the founder of Fat Macy’s, a social enterprise serving delicious food and dining experiences at supper clubs, events and offices in London. It uses its profits to fund a housing deposit scheme.

Hoda Judah Armani InHouse Records

Zakia Moulaoui Invisible Cities

Harun Master Jerry Bottle

Hoda Judah Armani is the founder of InHouse Records, a fully functional record label operating in prisons. It works with offenders in prison to aid rehabilitation and provide employment.

Zakia Moulaoui is the founder of Invisible Cities, a social enterprise that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides in their own city.

They run community events in the local area.

Harun Master is the founder of Jerry Bottle; reusable, steel water bottles. Profits are used to fund clean water projects in India and Tanzania. The bottle has the coordinates of the related water project on the bottom.

James McConnell & Hannah Henshaw Naturespy

Pranav Chopra Nemi Teas

Dr Mick Jackson WildHearts Group

Pranav Chopra is the founder of Nemi Teas, a fair trade loose leaf tea company that uses plasticfree, biodegradable packaging. It also offers employment opportunities to refugees.

Dr Mick Jackson is the founder of WildHearts Group, a portfolio of businesses creating global change. From office supplies to an awardwinning entrepreneurial programme, all profits go to its charity.

James McConnell and Hannah Henshaw are the founders of Naturespy, a social enterprise that seeks to reconnect people to local green spaces and wildlife, and aid wildlife research.

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FOOD ENTREPRENEURS

Jonathan & Alex Petrides allplants

Paul Brown BOL Foods

allplants, a 100% plantbased food and meal subscription service.

The pair created the business to encourage people to live a vegan life in order to protect the future of the planet.

BOL Foods, a plantbased ready meal brand designed for ‘time-poor foodies’. Its dinner boxes, soups, veg pots and salad jars offer a plant-based twist on British favourites.

Hannah Adams & Jen Henry Naked Dough

Emilie Vanpoperinghe & Deepak Ravindran Oddbox

Based in Camden Town, Naked Dough offers a ‘pint of dough’ and party packs made with fresh, handmade dough.

It also sells ‘make your own’ kits for customers.

Oddbox is a sustainable fruit and veg box service that uses ‘wonky’ and surplus produce. Based in London, it delivers boxes to homes and offices directly from farms.

Meg & Jonathan Chapman RawHalo

Adam & Drew Jones Tattu

RawHalo is an organic raw chocolate brand made from ethicallysourced, plant ingredients. Having started with hand deliveries to local, organic stores.

Tattu is a Chineseinspired restaurant and bar with locations across the UK. Tattu combines contemporary Chinese cuisine, fusing traditional flavours with modern cooking methods.

Adam Wills & Jian-Peng Then Crosstown Doughnuts

Dafna Bonas Indie Bay Snacks

Harriot Pleydell-Bouverie Mallow & Marsh

Crosstown Doughnuts is a quirky range of doughnuts, freshly made by hand every day and are available through gift boxes or at live events.

Indie Bay Snacks is an award-winning snack brand that offers plenty of health benefits. Its vegan-friendly, crunchy, chocolate pretzels contain natural ingredients and no trans fat.

Mallow & Marsh, a chocolate-covered marshmallow snack.

Stocked in over 3,000 stores across the UK, they are available in bars or sharing bags. They take four days to make.

Olly Hiscocks Olly’s Olives

Brad Stevens Pizza Punks

Olly’s Olives is a range of olive-based snacks sold in supermarkets and stores right across the country. Olly’s Olives products are also available on Ocado, Amazon and on easyJet.

Pizza Punks is a pizza restaurant based in Belfast, Glasgow and Newcastle. With branding and toppings inspired by punk culture, Pizza Punks creates “anarchy in the oven.”

Freddie Gore Browne & Luke Canvin PRIME Bar

James Averdieck The Coconut Collaborative

David Knibbs & Lydia Smith The Tofoo Co

Matteo Ferrari & Nick Croft-Simon White Rabbit Pizza Co

The Tofoo Co is a range of tofu-based food products.

Stocked by supermarkets and stores across the country, it also offers recipes to help customers achieve a meat-free diet.

White Rabbit Pizza Co is a range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free pizzas that keep the authenticity of Italian pizza alive. The pair met while working at the White Rabbit pub, Oxford.

The Coconut Collaborative is a range of snack and dessert products that use coconut milk and cream instead of cow’s milk. It makes Great Taste award-winning dairy-free yoghurts and desserts.

Prime Bar is a range of protein snacks made with grass-fed beef, fruits and peppers.

Naturally dairy and gluten-free, PRIME bars are low sugar.

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DRINK ENTREPRENEURS

Nicola Hart & Sam Clark Agua De Madre

Tom Hutchings & Dave Seymour Alive and Kicking

Agua De Madre is a natural, sparkling lowalcohol water kefir. Its drinks are made from elemental Tibicos Mother Culture discovered over 2,000 years ago.

Brew By Numbers is a microbrewery based in Southwark in London, met while rock climbing in China. They have created a range of over 350 different craft beers.

Joelle Drummond & Sarah McNena Drop Bear Beer Co

Tom Jordan & Jesse Wilson Jubel

Drop Bear Beer Co,is a low-alcohol craft beer that vows to ‘push the boundaries.’ The pair started out with just one big saucepan and a jam thermometer.

Jubel is a gluten-free, vegan and naturally infused craft beer brand.

It is stocked in over 600 stores in four countries with a lower ABV than most craft beers.

Paddy Cavanagh-Butler & Charlie Hobhouse Punchy Drinks

Ben & Tamara Arbib Rebel Kitchen

Punchy Drinks, a range of canned, natural fruit punch drinks. It offers ‘Hard Punch’ alcohol and ‘Soft Punch’ alcohol-free options. All are glutenfree and low in sugar.

Rebel Kitchen is a range of healthy alternatives to cow’s milk, milkshakes and coconut water. All its products are organic and plant-based and are free from refined sugars and additives.

Ellie Webb Caleno

Josh White, Ariel Booker & Perry Alexander Fielding CanO Water

Duncan O’Brien & Dan Broughton Dalston’s Soda Co

CanO Water is the still and sparkling water brand created in response to the damaging impact that plastic bottles have on the environment.

Dalston’s Soda Co is a brand of alcohol-free gin and tonic drinks. Its flavours are created using quality, real ingredients and less sugar than mainstream fizzy drinks.

Stuart Forsyth & William Rixon Minor Figures

Rich Goldsmith & Charlie Leet-Cook MOJU

Kara Rosen Plenish+

Minor Figures is a brand of long-life milk and coffee goods. Along with a range of quirky merch, they offer long-life oat milk, chai tea concentrate and cold brew coffees.

MOJU is a range of cold-pressed juice shots. MOJU’s shots are designed to deliver vitality and energy, with nutrient-dense and natural ingredients.

Daniel Khoury, Olivia Ferdi & Rory Casey TRIP

Hugh Thomas & Joe Benn Ugly Drinks

TRIP is a range of CBDinfused light, sparkling drinks. Each canned drink contains 15mg full spectrum CBD and zero sugar. It contains natural ingredients to boost focus.

Ugly Drinks is a range of sugar-free sparkling drinks. Each of its flavours are made with real fruit to give an authentic taste, and are made without sugar.

Caleno is a tropical, non-alcoholic drink inspired by Colombian spirt. After a trip visiting her family’s South American heartland, Ellie spent a year in her kitchen experimenting.

Plenish+ is a range of organic, plant-based juices and milks. Plenish+ products are packed full of natural ingredients to offer the best possible health reward, and they taste great.

Pritesh Mody World of Zing World of Zing, a brand of mocktails and cocktails made using the finest spirits, handmade liqueurs and bitters.

They sell sauces and salts, bottled cocktails and pre-batch cocktails.

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Oliver Nicolini, Adrian Frankin & Anders Krohn Aula

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

Aula is a social learning platform that works with universities to make it easy for educators to engage students, even when they’re not on campus.

Nathan Perry & James Lacy Denzel’s

Bejay Mulenga Bejay Mulenga Beejay’s most recent venture, Supa Talent, is a fast-growing Training and Employer Brand Consultancy. Supa Talent helps companies work on, and deliver, their diversity campaigns.

Omari McQueen Dipalicious

The duo came together with the help of Nathan’s dog Denzel to create healthy snacks for dogs based on human health trends, they are now sold in over 600 stores.

Omari started Dipalicious at eight years old after launching a YouTube channel where he filmed himself making his very own vegan pizza. He now has a selection of dips, snacks and juices.

Alex & Tiff Burns LuckyTrip

Sarah Ashcroft SLA the Label

Creating handcrafted gin from start to finish, the two brothers and two sisters opened a distillery next door to the family brewery in their home town of Cheltenham.

Starting off as fashion blogger ‘That Pommie Girl,’ with a growing social media reach, a successful YouTube channel and campaigns, she launched her own label in 2019.

Phoebe Hugh Brolly Brolly, a London-based AI-driven insurance assistant. Brolly has partnerships with some of the major UK insurance companies including AXA and LV=.

Gavin Bell Gavin Bell Gavin speaks to audiences of more than 300 people, and has attracted 2.5 million views across social media on how to grow a business through digital marketing and advertising.

Anna Lowe Smartify Smartify, a multi awardwinning app which helps people make meaningful connections with art. Described by the New Scientist as ‘the Shazam and Spotify of art.

Rafael Michali & Renato Circi Caura

Hugo Tilmouth & Hakeem Buge ChargedUp

Caura founders use biosensing technology and analytics through a continuous and effortless tracker for glucose and lactate to optimise users training regimes.

ChargedUp is the UK’s largest phone charging network with 1000 power bank vending machines in venues nationwide. No one ever has to run out of battery again.

Amna Akhtar & Kiran Kaur GirlDreamer

Charlotte Pearce Inkpact

GirlDreamer is an empowerment platform for the next generation of women of colour. The idea for the business started between the two friends in 2012.

Zanna van Dijk & Natalie Glaze Stay Wild Swim Stay Wild Swim, a premium swimwear brand which uses regenerated ocean plastic to create their own pieces.

Charlotte wanted to bring thoughtful human interaction into business communications. Inkpact allows brands to connect with their customers through sending handwritten notes.

Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson YourKeys Yourkeys is the first platform to offer a completely integrated solution to accelerate the time to exchange whilst giving every stakeholder the ability to track the purchase.

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FAMILY BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURS

Jacqui, Hollie & Amelia Brooks Audenza

Harriet Hastings & Stevie Congdon Biscuiteers

Audenza is a homeware boutique which sells quirky furniture, art and decorative pieces designed with the purpose of adding ‘edge, style and interest to people’s homes’.

Biscuiteers, a stylish and personalised gifting solution under the ethos of ‘why send flowers when you can send Biscuiteers?’. Every single biscuit is made by hand.

Kevin & Elizabeth Cole Cole & Co

Wally & Debbie Fry Fry Family Food

Cole & Co, a luxury range of original, fragrant products such as candles and soaps, which have contributed to the company being recognised as a household Welsh brand.

Fry Family Food is a nutritious plant-based food company that crafts meals to look, taste and feel like meat. His wife, and inspiration for the business, Debbie joined soon after launch.

Alex & Tiff Burns LuckyTrip

Thom & James Elliot Pizza Pilgrims

LuckyTrip is a travel app backed by Lastminute. com founder Brent Hoberman. LuckyTrip allows users to set their budget and leaves the destination up to the app.

Pizza Pilgrims, which serves slow-proved Neapolitan pizza in its 12 pizzerias and at events across the UK, was inspired during a pilgrimage across Italy.

Arminder & Gurminder Dhillon Boot Buddy

Rupert Smith & Marita Lietz Bubble&

Boot Buddy is a portable device used to clean sports footwear quickly and easily, even removing the most stubborn of dirt. Inspired by their childhood bringing mud into their house.

Bubble& is a restaurant centred on the traditional English dish bubble and speak. Winners of two Great Taste Awards, they are also the stars of BBC’s Million Pound Menu.

Naynesh, Jake & Neeyantee Karia Jake and Nayns

Piers Buck & Taslim Ho Little Freddie

Jake and Nayns is a convenient snack company that harnesses the vibrance of taste, appearance and smell of street food. It sells in stores right across the UK.

After finding baby foods didn’t meet what they wanted for their son Freddie, the pair set out to create an alternative that is ‘always organic, always nutritious and always delicious’.

Sam Feller & Laura Jackson Popcorn Shed

Hannah, Cleo & Kitty Sadler Snugburys

Popcorn Shed is the UK’s first super-premium gourmet popcorn brand.

Passionate about the potential of the snack by mixing popcorn with nuts, chocolate and dried fruit.

Snugburys, a luxury ice cream shop based at their family farm in Cheshire. Launched in 1986 by their parents, Snugburys offers a range of more than 55 flavours.

Ben & Rebecca Reynolds Carousel Lights Carousel Lights, a neon lighting company that offers bespoke creations to customers of all shapes and sizes. The UK’s only official “Cool Brand” for lighting.

Dan Marsden & Melanie Paradise Lounge Underwear Lounge is a lingerie and loungewear brand. Dan and Melanie wanted to create a brand that offered comfortable underwear without compromising on sex appeal.

Angela Morris & Keith Spilsbury The Wool Packaging Company The Wool Packaging Company and Woolcool is a wool-based superior insulated packaging for temperature-sensitive goods.

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HEALTH & FITNESS ENTREPRENEURS

Hellen Bowey Alcove

Alice Liveing Alice Liveing

Alcove is a care-tech company which provides the installation of motion sensors and software to enable elderly and disabled people to help them live independently.

Alice Liveing is a health and wellbeing influencer, bestselling author and personal trainer who rose to fame with her series of Clean Eating Alice recipe and fitness books.

Dan Reardon & Sam Decombel FitnessGenes

Dr Kerstyn Comley & Suzi Godson MeeTwo

FitnessGenes is a DNAtesting service designed to provide tailored and unique nutrition and fitness guidance by analysing people’s genetic information.

MeeTwo is an alternative, safe social media platform designed to improve the wellbeing of young people in the UK. Fully moderated to eliminate judgement.

Sumi Wang SunTech UK

Guy Hacking, Tom Stancliffe & Robert Martineau Tribe

SunTech UK, the company behind eFOLDi, a folding, portable mobility scooter she invented alongside her father after he became disabled in 2012.

Tribe, a brand of 100% natural, vegan and gluten-free energy and recovery products.

Incuding protein and energy bars and shakes.

Jennifer Irvine Balance Box Balance Box is a subscription food plan service which delivers all your meal requirements to your door. Designed for weight loss, the boxes are freshly prepared by nutritionists.

Elettra Bianchi Dennerlein, Dr Elena Touroni, Dr Tom Pennybacker & Vasileios Touronis My Online Therapy An online platform which gives users easy one-to-one access to psychological therapies.

Galahad & Asher Clark Vivobarefoot Vivobarefoot is a footwear brand designed to end the ‘shoe-shaped public health scandal’ and ‘reclaim your feet from the shoe industry’. Design is based on scientific and physiological evidence.

Tania Boler & Alexander Asseily ELVIE

Jim Law Find a Player

Elvie, the producer of the world’s first silent and wearable breast pump. Focused on female-first innovation.

They also produce the Trainer for pelvic floor.

Player is an app designed to take away the pain of finding and playing sport. It allows users to find teams, clubs or other individuals and build a sporting network.

Charlotte Roach Rabble

Ben Barker & Sam Hill Run an Empire

Rabble is a sports club with a difference.

Inspired by playground games like British Bulldog and capture the flag, Rabble mixes high intensity training with fun and social vibes.

Run an Empire, an appbased strategy game powered by runners and walkers. Turning runs into adventures, Run an Empire allows users to conquer new virtual land and compete against rivals.

Will, Jack & Sam Latus & Ben Thoy Whey Box

Dan Williams & Sam Kitching WIT Fitness

Whey Box is a no nasties, vegan and gluten-free whey protein brand created with three things in mind: convenience, variety and taste.

WIT Fitness is a training and lifestyle brand and multi-brand retailer.

WIT offers training consumers the selection they want and the choice they deserve.

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CREATIVE INDUSTRIES ENTREPRENEURS

Anthony Geffen Alchemy Immersive Alchemy Immersive is a BAFTA-award-winning company that has created virtual experiences for Titanic Belfast and David Attenborough, using augmented, virtual and mixed reality, and AI.

Hector Macleod Glassworks Glassworks, an awardwinning visual effects company with over 20 years’ experience working across advertising, films, streaming content, music videos and digital media.

Rupert Rixon Perspective Pictures Perspective Pictures, started as a YouTube channel when Rupert was 16, is now a digitalfirst video agency that creates cinematic stores for brands in the digital and social age.

Alex Book, Simon Hobbs & Jonathan Meggitt Arcade Arcade is an augmented reality practice that brings real-world experiences to life through play. Arcade has created experiences for the Welsh National Opera. and Sea Life London.

Amy Williams & Daniel Winterstein Good Loop Good Loop is an ethical advertising company. It never forces someone to engage with an ad, but donates 50% of the advertisers’ revenue to a relevant, charitable cause.

Matt Mower, Jude Ower & Martin Grenfell Playmob Playmob, a developer of ‘small but mighty’ minigames based on science and fun. Playmob reaches and engages audiences through the games they already play every day.

Jane Tranter & Julie Gardner Bad Wolf

Alex Jobling & Maddy Raven Burstimo

Bad Wolf, is an independent production company based in Cardiff, London and LA. Bad Wolf recently led the production of His Dark Materials.

Burstimo is a marketing agency dedicated to musicians. Utilising modern approaches, Burstimo develops full end-to-end strategies to help artists secure greater exposure.

Tom Robinson & Jon Cockley Handsome Frank

Kostas Koukoravas & Michael Michelis intelistyle

Handsome Frank, an illustration agency that represents some of the world’s leading contemporary artists. It has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands.

intelistyle is an artificial styling service for fashion retailers.

Addressing the needs of people who want styling advice online or in-store.

Emily Forbes Seenit

Karoline Gross Smartzer

Seenit is an enterprise video crowdsourcing platform that allows its users to direct employees through an app. It enables customers to curate, film, edit and publish video content.

Smartzer is a video platform that allows audiences to interact with and shop for products seen in its content. Users simply click on a product while watching a video to explore and purchase.

Dr Gareth Edwards Cubic Motion Cubic Motion is a real-time model-based computer vision and digital animation agency.

It brings ultra-realistic characters to life in films, broadcast media and immersive technologies.

Saul Klein, Yonatan Raz-Fridman & Alex Klein Kano Kano is a platform that teaches people of all ages and abilities to code, using Star Wars, Disney Frozen 2 and Harry Potter-themed coding kits.

Joe Steel & Ross Dannmayr Visualskies Visualskies is an aerial tech company providing HD 3D mapping, photography, video and visual effects for the film, TV, heritage and construction industries.

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DISRUPTIVE ENTREPRENEURS

Alex Chesterman OBE Cazoo

Safia Qureshi CupClub

Cazoo is the new way to buy used cars.

Customers browse and make their purchases online with the vehicle delivered to their door within 72 hours.

CupClub is an end-toend service that replaces single-use plastic cups with reusable alternatives.

CupClub picks up used cups, cleans and returns them to reduce the use of single-use plastics by 47%

Virginia Gardiner Loowatt

Tom Adeyoola Metail

Loowatt is a futureproof, patented technology provides a high-quality waterless flush that locks in odour and disease without using scarce and highvalue water.

Metail is the creator of the EcoShot plugin, which makes it possible to simulate 3D garments on photographs of real people with ease. Designers get a quick sense of what their designs will look like.

Ben Knowles Pedal Me

Stephen Fitzpatrick Vertical Aerospace

Pedal Me is a pedalpowered passenger and cargo service. Currently operating in central London, Pedal Me offers a fun, fast, convenient and clean way of travelling in the city.

Vertical Aerospace is a tech company revolutionising the way people fly by making it personal, on-demand and carbon-free. Dubbed the ‘Uber of the skies.’

Felix Leuschner & Matt Varughese Drover Drover is an alternative to leasing, hiring or buying a car. It combines the car, maintenance, breakdown cover and insurance into a flexible monthly payment.

Stephanie Alys, Shanshan Xu, Soumyadip Rakshit & Robert Weekly Mystery Vibe Mystery Vibe is, a company that invents pleasure products that combine the best of humanity and technology.

Portman Wills & Peter Briffett Wagestream Wagestream is a financial wellbeing platform that gives staff access to wages as they’re earned, actively encourages saving, reduces workplace stress and boosts engagement.

Ben Peters, John Redford, Simon Walker, Stan Boland & Steve Allpress Five AI Five AI develops software to power shared, selfdriving vehicle services across Europe.

Laila Dupuy Kitchin Table Kitchin Table, a coworking platform that allows users to host and book workspaces at their homes. Designed for female freelancers and sole traders who are tired of working at home alone

Husayn Kassai, Eamon Jubbawy & Ruhul Amin Onfido

Philip Mundy, Barney Gilbert & Lydia Yarlott Pando

Onfido is an ID verification tool that uses biometric technology to allow users to verify themselves online anywhere, anytime.

Pando is a communication platform for the health and social care industries.

It connects healthcare workers so they can share important information quickly and securely.

Chris Sheldrick, Jack Waley-Cohen & Mohan Ganeesalingam what3words

Stephen Voller Zap&Go

what3words is a company that uses three randomly assigned words to locate and identify every 3m square in the world.

Zap&Go is a tech company developing the next generation of batteries beyond lithium.

It excludes all rare earth materials and anything that can catch fire.

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Elena Dieckmann & Ryan Robinson Aeropowder Aeropowder is an award-winning start-up creating novel materials from the 10,000 tonnes of waste feathers produced every day.

ECO ENTREPRENEURS

Anna Foster E.L.V. DENIM By minimising waste, water and carbon footprint, E.L.V. Denim gives a second life to fabrics that would be destined for landfill, with the aim to transform discarded vintage jeans.

Eliza Walter Lylie’s Lylie’s is a sustainable jewellery business made from Salvaged Gold and Salvaged Silver. It is the only jeweller in the UK sourcing materials from urban mining.

Dr. Carmen Hijosa Ananas Anam Ananas Anam is a developer and manufacturer of Piñatex, the innovative natural material made from pineapple leaf fibre, an idea Carmen came up with in the 1990’s.

Santiago Navarro & Joe Revell Garçon Wines Garçon Wines has set a new sustainable benchmark as the manufacturer of advanced packaged wine, creating a flat wine bottle that can fit through your letterbox.

Tessa Clarke & Saasha Celestial-One OLIO OLIO connects neighbours and local businesses with each other to share food that would otherwise go to waste. Simply open the app, browse the listings near you.

Lewis Robling Cocabana Providing 100% natural and organic products, Cocabana aims to reduce the carbon footprint of single use plastics and embrace nature with their eco-friendly alternatives to everyday products.

Francesco Majno, Edoardo Imparato, Andrea Di Nardo & Guglielmo Gori CRICKÉ High in protein, CRICKÉ are insect-based savoury snacks enriched with cricket powder.

Alec Mills & Celia Pool DAME Spotlighted as one of the UK’s most innovative sustainable brands, DAME designs tampons to help improve women’s health and prevent more plastic waste ending up in landfills.

Alessandro Rocchi Georganics

Darren Wilson Kabloom

Georganics stocks dental supplements, eco toothbrushes, chewing gum and toothpaste tablets made from organic and natural high quality ingredients.

Inspired by nature in an urban environment, Kabloom makes fun and innovative products that are environmentallyfriendly. His Guerrilla Gardening grenade is a crowd favourie.

Library of Things is an online catalogue where people can borrow useful items for their home, projects or adventures to minimise the need to buy brand new items.

Aaron McLaughlin & Nick Marsden OOSC Clothing

Anna & William Brightman Upcircle Beauty

Pawan Saunya & Rishi Gupta Zero Waste Club

OOSC Clothing was inspired by a ski trip and some vintage outfits from eBay. The brightly coloured ski wear brand uses recycled polyester fabrics and plastic bottles.

Upcircle Beauty provides high performing skincare products, sourcing and reusing by-products from other industries, and taking an innovative approach to waste.

From travel-size bamboo combs, to a waste wood ladle and newspaper pencils, all of Zero Waste Club’s products are made from sustainable materials in plastic free packaging.

Emma Shaw, Sophia Wyatt & Rebecca Trevalyan Inkpact

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It’s for you...

And you...

And you...

And you...

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And you!!!

Great British Entrepreneurs The online community for business owners We’ve been planning on launching an online community for entrepreneurs to showcase what they’re doing, making or disrupting for quite some time.

Use this community to:

At the centre of one of the largest networks of entrepreneurs via The Great British Entrepreneur Awards, we know how tough it is right now for entrepreneurs at the helm of small businesses.

Therefore, with the current pandemic we have worked around the clock to get this up and running quickly. It’s been a torrid time for many entrepreneurs and small business owners. While of course there are some businesses and industries that are less affected, and perhaps even flourishing, there are many that are really struggling and incredibly concerned about getting through these tough times.

We believe that the appetite to buy local and support small will be accelerated and emphasised due to recent events and so this online community is a place for entrepreneurs to showcase their endeavours, expertise and USP’s.

•

Showcase your expertise

•

Display your products & services

•

Publish events & initiatives

•

Tell your entrepreneurial story

•

Generate leads

•

Network with peers

•

Find collaboration opportunities

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Put yourself front and centre of a community that wants to support entrepreneurs

Plus, get access to exclusive member only content via our ‘Ongoing Entrepreneur Development’ programme featuring guides and expert led content on topics including Finance, Marketing & HR. Find out more here.

Set up your profile here.

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haysmacintyre is an award winning firm of chartered accountants and tax advisors based in Central London.

We specialise in working with fast growth, entrepreneurial businesses supporting them as they scale in the UK and internationally, often up to and during the point of an exit event.

Our team delivers many areas of expertise to help our clients succeed, including: Audit and assurance Tax compliance and advisory R&D tax credits and other creative tax reliefs Share incentive schemes (S)EIS VAT Employment tax Outsourced accounting Company Secretarial Transaction support International expansion Contact: Natasha Frangos Partner, Head of Corporate nfrangos@haysmacintyre.com Laura Mott Partner lmott@haysmacintyre.com Jon Dawson Director jdawson@haysmacintyre.com www.haysmacintyre.com 020 7969 5500 @haysmacintyre

GREAT BRITISH ENTREPRENEURS Join the fastest growing community of entrepreneurs Find out more

GET INVOLVED WITH UNIVERSITY COLLEGE BIRMINGHAM MSC ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT

MSC FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING

If you are thinking of enhancing you our Enterprise Management course has been developed in partnership with industry professionals to give you the business knowledge and work experience you need to advance in management positions in the enterprise service sector.r career in the business sector,

Our Finance and Accounting course is ideal for you if you are thinking of changing career or want to further develop your skills and knowledge having previously studied a different discipline. You will gain the skills you need to be a strong decision maker in an increasingly complex global financial environment

MENTORING & OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS

Many of our University College Birmingham graduate start-ups would love someone with experience to mentor them..

Via Hired many UCB students are looking to do placements, internships or volunteer. If you can offer any opportunities for. our students email hired@ucb.ac.uk for further details.