Gott Technical Services, a company based in the North East of England will be hoping to maintain its position as one of the market leaders in motor equipment suppliers this year.

I recently caught up with director, Ian Gott as we spoke about how he got involved in the business and how he has managed to grow the business so far.

Can you give you some background information about yourself, were you the entrepreneurial type growing up?

I was quite a thinker rather than a doer as a child, but I always wanted to find easier and better ways of doing things. I suppose some might say I took the easy route to a career by joining my father’s business but I joined it when it was in its infancy so I enjoyed the buzz of seeing something new take shape. I joined because the company needed a stores and purchasing system to be set up and I offered my services to develop this.

Once this was running smoothly I looked for the next challenge and volunteered to go out selling for the company. After these early bursts of enthusiasm, there was a long period where I was simply ‘following in my father’s footsteps’ but as I matured I refocused and set myself goals to achieve personal success within the business. I often think I have lived my life in reverse compared to most people because I have become more enthusiastic, energetic, innovative and demanding as I have got older.

Tell me how Gott Technical Services came about?

My father was sales manager for an industrial lubrication equipment manufacturer, when he decided he could do a better job, he went off and did it on his own. With agreement from his employers he left and set up Gott Technical Services as a distributor of the product range for which he had previously been sales manager.

In the early years the company’s target market was mining companies that worked at the open cast coal mines in Northumberland, various industrial and manufacturing companies and farming businesses. Basically, any company that required pumping and compressed air equipment to maintain mechanical plant and machinery. I then recognised our products and services could be useful to the vehicle repair trades and started to target these markets with my sales activity, developing and growing our product range to suit.

What is Gott Technical Services?

A family based business, based in the North East of England that supplies, installs and maintains garage workshop equipment.

Why vehicle maintenance equipment?

Our involvement with these products grew from our involvement with industrial lubrication equipment. Not many people know what garage equipment is but it is an essential part of everyday life.

Our equipment is used to keep refuge vehicles, fire tenders, ambulances, police cars, school buses, army vehicles, supermarket delivery vehicles and family cars maintained and on the road. Our MOT test equipment checks that vehicles are safe and meet environmental legislation.

What would you say was the hardest part of taking over your family business?

Trying to establish my own identity and authority and make my parents feel safe knowing that the business can run effectively without them.

How have you been able to fund taking the business forward?

We have always had great support from our bank and over the years we have received funding from Business Link and more recently the North East Growth Fund to support the business growth.

Would you say the initial idea for the company, or that the business model has changed since the company was founded?

The original goal was to distribute industrial lubrication and compressed air equipment and as such our target markets were open cast coal sites and manufacturing industries. With the decline of these industries in the area it was necessary to expand our range of products and services and grow into the automotive market.

In recent years, with the onset of recession, we knew our clients would have less money to spend on the purchase of capital equipment but also knew they would need to keep their equipment maintained. We grew our business by listening to our clients’ needs and developing packages to suit their requirements.

What would you say Gott Technical Services does differently from other vehicle maintenance equipment suppliers out there?

We are straightforward, honest people who take the time to find out exactly what our customers want and we give genuine advice – simple as that. There are so many equipment suppliers and maintenance providers who do not find out enough about their customers’ problems so do not necessarily provide the right solution.

Whilst we have a preferred product line and established maintenance packages, we are prepared to tailor these to suit our customers’ requirements. Many of our competitors seem to think the only way to get business is to supply the cheapest products possible but we believe in supplying value for money products. We do not sell the cheapest products because these will be unreliable or will not last very long. Despite this country’s economic downturn in recent years we continue to grow our business through recommendation because we are known for supplying high quality, reliable equipment.

How big is your team now?

There are twenty-one of us.

What would you say has been some of the most crucial achievements that you’ve done to build the company to this level now?

The key achievements that I have made since taking over the business are, assembling a strong team, securing funding for growth, securing contracts with most local authorities, emergency services and national garage groups.
As well as securing distribution agreements for market leading products and ensuring that all our engineers are accredited to the latest trade and health and safety standards.

What is your business model?

Sell high quality products at competitive prices, whilst providing a first class aftersales service.

Is the business profitable?

Yes.

What’s been your most memorable moment so far on your entrepreneurial journey?

Various contract wins, as well as taking the business from being ‘one of many’ to being the recognised market leader in the North East of England and establishing a national presence.

What pieces of advice could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

I’d say, be decisive. Go with your gut instinct. Genuinely care about people – both staff and customers. Have a clear plan and set stretching goals.

What can we be expecting from you and Gott Technical Services in the future?

Continued expansion and the introduction of new products and services.

Searchmetrics is an business intelligence company which provides search and social analytics software to support search marketers across the globe. The company provide clients with softwares which delivers data to help them analyse, track, measure and improve their marketing campaigns and to automate a variety of processes so they can work more efficiently.

I caught up with the founder and CTO of Searchmetrics, Marcus Tober.

Can you give you some background information about yourself, were you the entrepreneurial type growing up?

I wasn’t necessarily the type of person who thought about starting a business at school. When I was young my real passion was history.

Tell me how the idea for Search Metrics came about?

It happened gradually. As part of the thesis for my computer science degree I had created a set of free SEO tools which I published online on my Linkvendor web site in 2005. At the time, Berlin, where I was living, was a hotbed for web design and search agencies and Linkvendor got a lot of hits and was at one time getting up to 30,000 users a day.

Later when I set up my own search agency, SEOSolutions, I developed some tools to help me work with my own clients. And In 2007 I was approached with an offer from Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. They had heard about what I was doing and suggested that we create a new company to develop and sell software tools for search, as well as to continue providing SEO services. Holtzbrinck Publishing provided the financial backing to start Searchmetrie which eventually became what is now Searchmetrics. Now we also have other investors including Neuhaus Partners and Iris Capital.

What were you doing before you started the company?

My initial career choice was medicine and I actually joined the army after school, where I started my medical training. I was an army paramedic trainee for four years which included a spell in the Kosovo war. This experience had a lasting effect on me as you can imagine and I eventually left the army and decided to switch careers. I went on to study web design and computer science while working for a number of web design and search agencies in Berlin.

What is Searchmetrics?

Searchmetrics is essentially a business intelligence company. We provide search and social analytics software to support search marketers across the globe. Our software delivers data to help them analyse, track, measure and improve their marketing campaigns and to automate a variety of processes so they can work more efficiently.

What are you trying to solve with Searchmetrics?

The data and insights we provide are key business intelligence which helps marketers address knowledge gaps related to search and these insights allow them to develop and improve their search marketing campaigns

Talk me through the first few months of running the business? What would you say was the hardest part of starting the business?

Actually, for us it wasn’t that hard, we were doing good work and our reputation spread quickly. We got business through referrals. We had the typical problems associated with growing very quickly – having to move to bigger offices as we expanded, and finding ourselves having recruiting staff to handle specific areas such as HR and finance – which we’d not really needed before.

Perhaps the one thing I found difficult to get used to at first was the detailed reporting I had to do for the investors. Holtzbrinck Publishing rightly needed to have updates about how the company was being run and what we were doing. However I wasn’t used to preparing those meticulous, time consuming reports and I did become a little frustrated with it. But it’s obviously all part of the job!

Would you say the initial idea for the company, or that your business model has changed since starting the company?

We are true to the original idea, in that we are still providing online business intelligence to support search marketers. But search has now evolved to include a social dimension, so the range of data we provide now also encompasses social insights.

What would you say has been some of the most crucial things that you’ve done to build the company to this level now?

I think one of the most important decisions we made was to become focused on the software business. In the early days of the company, I would find myself doing anything that clients needed; developing web sites, running the SEO and developing content if required. But we had to make the conscious decision to focus on the software side. And that is what our businesses is now known for.

Another crucial decision happened last year, when, against other advice, we made the decision to launch our Searchmetrics Essentials software. Previously we had focused on one product – our Searchmetrics Suite product, a powerful enterprise solution which is designed for larger agencies and in-house search departments. But Essentials is designed for smaller organisations and even includes a lot of complimentary data that anyone can access without registering. It allows a much wider audience to experience our data and has made a big difference in our awareness, with lots of positive feedback and reviews on social networks. Essentials is great for our visibility and reputation.

Is the business profitable?

The business is growing healthily. We are VC funded and today we are in growing mode – which means we need to spend the money to get market share. Once we have achieved market share, we know there are profits to be made. So our plan is not necessarily to be profitable at the moment.

What’s been your most memorable moment so far on your entrepreneurial journey?

To be honest there have been too many memorable moments. My life is a blaze of emails, I’m always in working mode and I’m always thinking about new ideas and new product features. This is my life….and it is too difficult to pick specific moments.

What pieces of advices could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

My main advice is that, first and foremost, you must focus on the product or service you are offering. This is more important today than ever because information spreads so far, so quickly. If you don’t have a good product or you have some problems, then this bad news can quickly be known internationally. And likewise if your product is outstanding – then this positive reputation can quickly spread, far and wide. Keep focusing on the product; if it’s really good, you can generate a viral marketing effect.

What can we be expecting from you and Searchmetrics in 2012?

In the second half of the year we plan to release a new version of the Searchmetrics Suite. This is not just the old Ssuite with a few new features, this will be a completely new product with a new architecture. It’s going to be extremely cool.

Also because there is now a high and well known correlation between search and social, we will be launching some exciting new social data products later in the year. However, it’s important to remember that we’re primarily interested providing in data about how social effects search, so our products will not be competing with mainstream social media monitoring products.

Mitesh Patel is the Founder and Managing Director of Fifosys, a company he started 10 years ago after completing a Masters in Computer Science at University of Hertfordshire. Fifosys delivers IT support and solutions to clients from a wide range of sectors based all over the world, their key services include cloud computing along with tailored ITsupport, budget planning, auditing and project management.

I recently had a little chat with Mitesh and this is our full conversation.

Hi Mitesh, How are you doing, great to have you on YHP?

I’m fine thanks– thank you for inviting me to YHP

No problem, great to have you here.

Could you quickly give us some background information about yourself? Tell me about yourself growing up?

I grew up in Kent and studied in Victoria before going to University in Hertfordshire. Okay I have missed a few rebel years in Tooting but it was all good learning and allowed me to develop those essential personal skills.

In 1992 I took a year out to become a dancer and lived in India although upon returning to the UK I realised this was not my passion.

How did you get into business? Were you exposed to entrepreneurship as a child?

I started the business at the age of 22 in my University Library, where at this point I had just completed my master’s degree in Computer science.

Who was your inspiration growing and why?

My father was my inspiration as I saw the way he maintained a positive attitude at all times during his challenges in raising our family. He made sure that no matter what we were always smiling.

So tell me about Fifosys and how the idea came about?

The idea actually came about with two friends I studied my Masters with whilst in a university computer centre. Whilst all our colleagues were looking for jobs, we decided to start up an outsourcing business developing applications in India and providing the consultancy in the UK. The model has developed and unfortunately I have no partners, but the message to support businesses in using technology still remains.

Starting up any business the start is always a struggle and I started with very humble growth in an office with no windows and no heating. When the staff left the office on a Friday I would stay behind and clean the office throughout as we could not afford a cleaner. Starting from the bottom up has taught me a lot.

What was your biggest challenge during the startup phase?

Finding someone willing to believe in what I say as I had nothing to show them.

How have you been able to fund the business?

I was able to fund Fifosys from my savings which were from working whilst at university. The £3,000 was the starting point to what Fifosys is today.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

· Delivered to clients what we said we were going to deliver
· Made our service transparent
· Employed the right people
· Acquired a competitor

What makes you different from other players in your sector?

In a crowded market for “IT Support”, Fifosys needs to be different, therefore we provide the link between IT and the business, and ensure that the IT strategy meets the ever changing business requirements. It also helps us explain to clients the risks associated with poor IT decisions, and how good IT decisions can make a big difference. We do this by taking time to understand clients’ businesses and then understand what their users need from their IT.

What is the business model?

Deliver measure and charge for time.

What would you say has been the highlight of your entrepreneurial journey so far?

There have been so many highlights with Fifosys and I personally feel the ability to employ people and help them feel part of a journey of your vision is priceless.

Meeting great people and constantly learning and developing is a lot of fun.

What can we be expecting from your company in 2012?

Another acquisition and larges share of mid-market.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

· Challenge your idea by testing it thoroughly
· Have a plan that you are HAPPY to stick to
· Take your own advise

With the emphasis now placed on branding, many companies are investing tens of thousands on cross-platform marketing initiatives. These deep pockets often edge out the smaller competition. But if you look closely, they’re compensating for quality with quantity. As you’ll see in the ten examples included below, many startups are using the opportunity to innovate – producing increasingly creative brand personalities that easily separate them from almost any other competition.

By using affordable web-based platforms like Free Logo Services, your startup can create a professional logo with a free logo design that incorporates the highest quality images and an endless variety of fonts, colors and sizes – equal to or better than any of the examples you’ll find below.

Now let’s take a quick look at the 10 best logo designs to emerge from startups in 2011 and the first half of 2012.

1. Lytro – One of the simplest yet most effective of the logos in this list, this innovative photography website has taken their name and replaced the “o” with the same shaped lens as the camera they offer.

2. Fab – With a name like “fab,” you might expect something over-the-top. But the creators of this classy design inspiration site have formatted the name in a modern sans-serif font and then tacked a subtle heart image in sub-script at the end. One of the highlights of this design is that it works equally well on any format, free of the need for color printing.

3. Goodsie – Created for those looking for an easy way to set up an online storefront, Goodsie put a slight retro feel into the font they selected, recalling the signage of vintage shops from the 1950s and 60s. Again, they’ve maintained a very simplified design that is crafted from white lettering against a black background, enabling them to add colors to the font for a variation on the brand.

4. Chloe + Isabel – Offering a wide range of jewelry and fashion accessories, this boutique online retailer has produced an enticing combination of text and art, formatting their names in a script-based font beneath two tiny birds perched on a branch (a design similar to some of the necklaces and other jewelry available through the site).

5. Sojo Studios – With its unique platform for youth-oriented education that’s centered around making learning fun, the Sojo Studios logo features four vibrant colors to evoke the playful theme of the brand and further accents their sense of whimsy by staggering their placement on the horizontal plane.

6. TaskRabbit – Hiring help seems to take on a certain expediency when you look at this inviting logo for TaskRabbit. Featuring a determined-looking hare and the company name formatted in italics, every element of this logo implies speed and efficiency.

7. SONALIGHT – An innovative new app that lets you text hands-free through voice recognition, SONALIGHT includes both a succinct tagline (“Text by voice”), their name and two graphic elements that are commonly associated with software applications and, in particular, audio or speech. This provides an interesting example as the tagline is actually formatted to be more noticeable that the name of the product, which is a good thing. Because without the tag, this logo wouldn’t be nearly as effective.

8. Lore – Formerly known as CourseKit, this web-based platform is designed to collate classroom material and assignments for students. With the letters L-O-R-E stacked into two columns and formatted into a more traditional serif-based font, this simple logo is set against a red circle, mimicking many of the same circles that appear on countless fill-in-the-blank standardized tests.

9. Percolate – Acting as a content curator, this unique service harvests content from around the web for publication in social media. In line with their brand personality, they’ve selected the shape of a liquid drop and have followed it with their company name, formatted in a serif font as often found in coffee shops and cafés. Even the colors they’ve selected, orange and dark gray, reflect the rich tones of coffee, tea and similar brewed beverages.

10. Rocketr – Pardon the pun, but this logo is a blast. Featuring a simple yet easily-recognizable rocket and the brand name highlighted in italics, this is another logo that has effectively used all of its elements to imply speed, efficiency and the enhanced productivity of its core offering.

Dylan Mazeika is an online writer with a background in marketing and small business. He enjoys writing articles and guest posts on the latest business and design trends, and helping small business owners with free logo design.

Emma began designing at age of 13, launched her own clothing company at age 14. At 16, she currently runs a clothing company, a magazine and a discount card called ThriftPass. Emma is currently preparing for her GCSE’s this summer.

I recently spoke to Emma as she talks me through her businesses, proving doubters wrong despite her young age and her plans for her businesses in 2012.

Hi Emma, How are you doing, great to have you on YHP?

I’m great! Thanks for having me.

Could you quickly give us some background information about yourself? Tell me about yourself growing up?

I’m only 16 so I guess I still am growing up! I was always a very determined growing up, always wanting to be the best at what every I was doing and I guess that has helped me get to where I am today. I use to play a lot of sport which has taught me a lot of skills that I have applied to my business including team work, patience and hard work.

As I said before I am still just 16, currently working towards my GCSEs this summer whilst running a number of businesses. I currently run a clothing line called Sketch&Stitch (www.sketchandstitch.com), a magazine about design called PixelBatch (www.pixelbatch.com), a discount card called ThriftPass (www.thriftpass.com/) and I also occasionally do some freelance design work.

How did you get into business?

Since a young age I was always selling old items on sites such as eBay and Amazon to fund new purchases. When I reached around 13, I had found my passion – design. I was frustrated as who was going to give a 13 year old design work so I decided that a great way to utilize my passion for design was to launch a clothing brand. And I did just so at the age of 14 – I launched SeamlessApparel. This soon progressed to be my main focus and at the beginning of 2012 was rebranded as Sketch&Stitch. I have also since then begun working on two new startups – PixelBatch and ThriftPass with both launching in the summer of 2012.

Who was your inspiration growing and why?

I never really had anyone that I looked up to or admired growing up but since starting my businesses I have met some amazing people in the last few years who have inspired me more than I could have imagined.

So tell me about Sketch&Stitch and how the idea came about?

I had found my passion which was design and wanted a platform for my work. Apparel just seemed the perfect way to do so. In 2011 I launched SeamlessApparel – I opened with just 4 tees designs but these quickly sold out and I went on to release a second line of 8 items. Near the end of 2011 I decided that I wanted to rebrand SeamlessApparel. I sold the remaining items and started work on Sketch&Stitch. I have just launched Sketch&Stitch this April with products ranging from tees, hoodies, cardigans, posters, mugs, notebooks, scarfs to necklaces. So far Sketch&Stitch has been great and lots more is to come!

What was your biggest challenge during the startup phase?

I would say one of the biggest challenges was getting people to believe in me. Many seemed to say that because I was 14/15/16 years old I couldn’t do it. I hope I have proved some of them wrong today!

How have you been able to fund the business?

I initially set up SeamlessApparel with my own money. Sketch&Stitch was launched of the profits from SeamlessApparel. Both ThriftPass and PixelBatch will also be funded by myself.

What would you say has been the highlight of your entrepreneurial journey so far?

Again, it has to be the people I have met and the experiences I have had in such a short amount of time. I have got to talk to people I would never have thought I could have and I have been able to do things I couldn’t have even imagined a few years ago!

What can we be expecting from Sketch&Stitch in 2012?

We have only just launched but have already begun work on new products. Expect lots more designs, clothing and accessories.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

I would only have one piece of advice for entrepreneurs starting out and it is to follow your passion no matter what anyone says. If you find a passion, pursue it and you will be able to make it work – even if everyone on they way will tell you that you can’t do it.

Lately, I’ve been doing my fair share of things to help with energy consumption – like switching off my lights before I sleep, no more over-night charging of the phone, I now switch off my laptop before bedtime, I stopped playing music all night just to sleep. I’m proud to say It’s now a time of the past. I probably can be doing a lot more, hopefully that will happen sooner than later.

I recently spoke to someone that does more than switch off his laptop before bedtime, someone really hoping to make a difference in the world or at least starting from the UK. His company Onzo, helps consumers reduce energy consumption, curtail carbon emissions and in the process helping us reduce our bills.

Here is my interview with Joel Hagan, CEO and co-founder of Onzo.

Hi Joel, How are you doing, great to have you on YHP?

I’m good thank you. Hoping that I have some hidden potential.

Haha! of course you do.

Could you quickly give us some background information about yourself? Tell me about yourself growing up?

I’m a scholarship boy, son of a state school teacher, who was lucky enough to get a very fine education pretty much for free. I only ever worked as hard as I could get away with though.

How did you get into business?

When I left university, the people I knew went into banking, the law and management consultancy. I went into management consultancy and it gave me an opportunity to look at a lot of different businesses and different departments within them.

Who was your inspiration growing up and why?

Doctor Who. Because he used his brain to solve problems and save the world. I’m very glad they brought him back, and in style. I now watch with my children.

What were you doing before you started working at Onzo?

I was running a barristers chambers, trying to change an area of business that time seems to have forgotten.

What is Onzo? What are you guys trying to solve?

It’s a company that takes information on home energy use and does as many useful things with that as possible. Like Doctor Who, we’re trying to save the world.

What was your biggest challenge during the starting up phase?

Raising money. It’s become a lot more difficult than it used to be. I’ve talked to literally hundreds of potential investors. At first I found some people who trusted me and put in small amounts of money. I then found a VC and an energy company. I’ve since found more VCs and energy companies and family offices.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

Recruit excellent people. Build relationships with clients. Solve their business problems. Raise more money. Simple as that!

Would you say the business has changed from the first initial idea?

Not very much. Because the management team consists of people with commercial experience, rather than inventors, we were pretty clear early on what we were trying to achieve (rather than on developing a technology and looking for a problem to solve with it). We always felt that the long-term driver of value would be data. And everything that’s happened since supports that view.

What would you say has been the highlight of your journey so far?

Finding out that our products deliver the benefits we designed for, anticipated, and promised. People using our products have reduced their energy use by 8% on average, and shifted their usage off the peak by a further 5% (which means fewer emissions). People using our products also stay twice as long with their utility than the average customer. So everyone’s happy.

What can we be expecting from Onzo in 2012?

We’ll be expanding sales of our energy display for smart meters globally. And we’re working on v2 of our system that gathers, returns, and processes energy use data to deliver benefits to utilities and their customers. All hush hush for now. But it promises to do more and better things for more people than v1.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

Don’t start a small business, start a large one. If what you do is good then it deserves to be everywhere. Otherwise it’s a hobby.

Start by knowing what problem you’re trying to solve. It will tell you who will pay, why, how much they’ll pay, and what to build.

Be prepared for it to be tough, and don’t give up.

After getting into Oxford University, James realised there were other kids like himself who would love to study at some of the most prestigious universities in the UK, so he created Oxbridge Applications which helped bright people with their applications to top universities.

So it only made sense when he decided to take the next step, taking graduates from universities to employment but not just any kind of employment, but giving top graduates the opportunity to work with/for some of the biggest companies in the UK.

Bright Network, a membership-only network that works exclusively with the brightest graduates and undergraduates in the UK and Europe.

I recently spoke to him about the company, what they are trying to solve, their business model and advice for young entrepreneurs.

Hi James, How are you doing, great to have you on YHP?

Thanks for having me.

Could you quickly give us some background information about yourself?

I studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at University of Oxford (1997 – 2000), and ever since I’ve been helping bright young people to achieve their potential – first by helping them with their applications to university, and, since I founded Bright Network in 2007, by helping connect them with remarkable career opportunities.

Tell me how you got into business? Were you exposed to entrepreneurship as a child?

I founded my first start-up at 14. This business was selling sweets at school from my locker – against the rules but still a success!

So tell me about Bright Network and how the idea came about?

In 1999, while I was at university, I founded Oxbridge Applications – a start-up which helps bright people with their applications to top universities. Bright Network was the obvious next step – helping those people with their careers beyond university.

What is Bright Network and how does it work? What are you trying to solve?

Bright Network is where the brightest get noticed. We are a membership-only network that works exclusively with the brightest graduates and undergraduates in the UK and Europe. In order to join, members must have attended either a Times Top 20 or Russell Group university or have achieved at least AAB at A Level.. 

We are trying to solve two problems – firstly, the fact that, despite tough economic times which mean a lot of young people in the marketplace, firms are still struggling to find top quality candidates for their opportunities. We invest the time to get to know our members well and give our clients the opportunity to meet them face to face at networking events where they can find out more about them than they could from an online application form. Secondly, the fact that bright undergraduates, graduates and young professionals often struggle to differentiate themselves in the jobs market. At Bright Network we help them establish personal connections to get noticed for the right opportunities.

What is your business model?

We connect our members with exceptional job opportunities, remarkable organisations, and exclusive networking events to help them with their careers. And through our membership-only peer-to-peer bounty referral platform, our members work alongside our super in-house headhunters to identify and recommend bright minds who have the potential to work at some of the most sought-after organisations. 

From Goldman Sachs to Innocent Drinks, Slaughter & May to Mind Gym, we work with firms, big and small, blue chip and entrepreneurial – all united by one thing – the desire to find the best. 

In terms of our business model, our client firms pay us to help them access the people they need to find to grow their business, meaning our support is free for members.

What makes Bright Network different from any other Recruitment platform out there?

Firstly, as a membership-only platform with strict academic criteria, we have carved out a niche for giving firms access to the academic platform. Secondly, and most importantly, rather than being a recruitment consultancy, we are a social network which establishes long-term relationships with our members. Our ‘Bright Bounty’ referral system, where members earn money by referring their bright friends for our clients’ opportunities helps to keep them engaged even when they aren’t job hunting – and them keeping in touch helps us maintain the quality of the data we have.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

We are completely relationship driven and spend time with our members and our client partners so we know what they want and how we can help them.

Would you say the business has changed from the first initial idea?

All businesses develop over time. We started with London and we’re now covering the whole of UK.

You raised £300k last year – how was the whole fund raising process and what are some of the key things that you took away from that experience?

Raising money for your business can be time consuming, however it really makes think about what you’re doing, what resources you need and what you want to achieved. Our investors are superb – they are completely bought into our mission, have great experience and give us some fantastic connections.

What tips can you give upcoming entrepreneurs looking to raise money to grow their startups?

The key bit of advice is that investors back people more often than ideas. It’s common knowledge that an investor would rather invest in a ‘A-team’ with a ‘B-grade idea’ than vice versa. So if you’ve got a great track record of delivery to show potential investors what you’re capable of achieving when you put your mind to it, that will take you a long way.

Also, spend money on great people – sometimes they come with a high price tag, which may feel difficult when you’ve got limited financial resources, but ultimately having a great team in place means you’ll have a product and a client base that shows you are worth investing in.

What can we be expecting from your company in 2012?

Big things! We’ve just launched our new site, the culmination of a 14-month project… we expect to work with even more top-notch clients and attract more bright people on to the network. We’re also planning a huge careers festival (our Bright Festival) this September… watch this space.

What has been your most memorable moment so far?

Launching our new site! It was great to see the months and months of planning and hard work by the development team pay off. It was a big project with some challenging moments, but we got there.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

1. Manage your risk profile. All entrepreneurs have to take risk – i.e. going into ventures where they don’t know the outcome. However the good entrepreneurs always make sure that is things don’t work out as planned and hoped for, they survive. My motto is ‘never bet what you can’t afford to lose’. Take risks, but make sure you can live to fight another day if it doesn’t work out.

2. Get going! The best way to learn about a market is to get started. Sometimes bright graduates can be too analytical and delay for too long. Once you start trading you get a whole load of new information about your business (e.g. what do customers really like).

3. Hire great people. Trust your gut but don’t rush into things and be slow to hire and quick to fire if things don’t work out. Your business is only as good as the people who are working in it.

I’ve been trying to get hold of her, like forever, a few weeks ago she was at the Natural and Organic show in london and quickly apologised that she was all tied up and was too busy and couldn’t do the interview. Running a startup can be like that, especially when you are the only employee in it and you’re also raising two kids.

Fiona is someone I’ve been following since she won the £50,000 in Barclays take one small step competition in 2010 and have been so impressed with her progress, which was one of the reasons we named her in our YHP’s Top 20 Young Entrepreneurs to watch out for 2012.

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to speak to to Fiona Wood about her company – Naturally Cool Kids, being a mum, challenges she faced when starting up and advices for other mums out there.

Please introduce yourself to the YHP readers?

I’m Fiona Wood creator of Naturally Cool Kids, a natural winter and summer skincare for children.

I am married to David and we have two children Rhys 17 and Finlay 5 years old. I live in Cleckheaton West Yorkshire and in the last 12 months have gone from stay at home mum to business woman.

How were you able to fund the business at the start?

I won the Barclays take one small step competition in 2010 which provided me with £50,000 to make my business idea a reality. I created the whole business from formulas to branding. I pride myself on it been a wholly made in the UK business that cares about the environment and the little people within it.

Tell us about your products?

I wanted to create a range that were free from nasties, I was fine with my everyday skincare products for my children, but when it came to coughs and colds in winter and sun cream for protection in the summer, I felt let down by the lack of great products that don’t just appeal to mum but that the children actually want to use. The innovative stick packaging is great for little people and is fun and parents have the piece of mind that they are safe and less likely to react as with using a chemical version.

What was the next step for you after creating the products?

I launched in March 2011 and John Lewis were the first stockist to take the range. We only had two meetings with them and they loved it and placed an order straight away, then along came lots of independents and Tesco Nutri Centre and Amazon. After a whirlwind year I thought how do we top that in year two, we celebrated our birthday three weeks ago the big 1 year, and yes we continue with plenty of health food shops and now pharmacies stocking us. We have worked with the UKTI and we are now exporting and selling in Sweden, Malta, Gibraltor, Poland and South Africa are sights are now set on Australia where the British Embassy have taken a look at the range.

What can we be expecting next from you and Naturally Cool Kids this year and years to come?

We are working hard to take on as many retailers as possible in the UK and also setting ourselves in other countries too. I would love to see everyone using Naturally Cool Kids and will work hard to achieve it. I am still juggling the business alone and doing the school run but it’s the best decision I have ever made and wouldn’t change it.

What would you suggest other stay at home mums go about starting a business?

I think a lot of mums have ideas but feel there is no way they could ever follow it through and that is such a shame.  I would encourage anyone with a great idea to take the first step which is scary but every step after that becomes so much easier is to look at their competition visit consumer or trade shows, take photos of what you see, chat with people aske them what the industry is like or any tips they may have.

Is there a company in the industry that isn’t in direct competition that you can make friends with and ask advice and help from. Helen and Polly at Cuddle Dry were great with me I visited them at the trade shows and they gave me valuable advice about how to save money and the does and don’ts, we forget that people love helping others and by asking you can learn so much.

I would also suggest buying magazines about your idea and looking at websites and you tube at what other people are doing and how they have done it, there is a wealth of information only a click away.

The one thing I didn’t take on board which many people said was “just think how difficult it will be working for yourself and that you will put more hours in than any employed job” I didn’t believe anyone I thought it would fit in perfectly and I’d get round it.  I have worked around it but it’s a damn site harder than I ever imagined it would be don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t change it for the world but be prepared for some long long days.

You also need maximum support from your partner as there are times when you really do need someone to fall back on be it the house work, shows to attend etc and they need to be able to just take over from you.

What were your main challenges starting up and how have you managed to get around them?

Time and lack of it, I need an extra couple of days in a week just to get even.  It’s also difficult when you have meetings with manufacturers or retailers then its show time and you have to be out at different times of day and away for days at a time.  It is hard as I am very maternal and don’t like leaving home.  I do get around it by making sure we take the kids with us wherever possible or that I am not away for more than two evenings.  I would say this is one of the hardest parts of running your own business.

Another challenge I would say is juggling the amount of work there is to do, as my company is only 12 months old I still do the majority of the work myself, this is everything from marketing and PR to building our customer base both with consumers and retailers and then also arranging the orders and having them shipped, I then have all the follow ups and exhibitions to arrange too, it can be very demanding at times and you do think at extreme times how will I get through this or I can’t cope anymore but that is such a normal feeling and it does pass and you get back on with it.

How is your work/life balance now?

I am one year in and we are starting to get a routine flowing a little better than it has been.  I don’t think you can ever get the right balance but I try my best.  If I need an afternoon off for home life then I work my way up to it and prepare to cause as little disruption to work as possible, if we have a few days away then I will make sure that I work for an hour or so when the kids are in bed or if my husband takes them to do an activity, just so that I don’t fall behind.

I am always there to take the youngest to school and pick up, I would never miss a school pantomime or anything like that as you never get those precious moments again. You have to also remember to embrace them while they are young and growing as it doesn’t last very long then they are off doing their own thing and you wonder where the time went.

As an artist, Adam travelled a lot, he would travel extensively for his exhibitions. He would occasionally give talks at the local art or design schools about his profession, but after finding it difficult to connect with the audience, he decided he needed a better way to tell his story – he wanted them to see the big picture. He decided to do something about it, he created Prezi and that was over 10 years ago.

Today, Prezi has over 10 million users on its platform

Can you give you some background information about yourself, were you the entrepreneurial type growing up?

More like the innovator type. When I was five, I never ate any sweets I got right away. I wanted to eat a little every day – but my brother and dad always snuck up on my sweets! So, I built a small mechanical alarm system that protected my goods. In my studies in architectural design, I actually focused much more on possibilities of interactivity in architecture than on building plans. Later, I became an artist, and worked with radio waves and heat instead of traditional materials.

What were you doing before you founded the company?

I worked as a media artist. I was also a founding member of an innovation lab called Kitchen Budapest. Examples include Reorient, a space made of thousands of electronic toys, Ping Genius Loci- a field of outdoor analogue pixels, and Brainmirror- a mixed reality experience presenting MRI through a mirror..

Tell me how the idea for Prezi came about?

As an artist, I travelled for my exhibitions extensively, and, often, I would give talks at the local art or design schools about what I do. Frankly – I found it very hard to develop my story on slides— they felt so disconnected, it was hard to see the big picture, and to craft a good thread for the story. So, I built a simple zooming canvas, just for personal use for my presentations. This was about 10 years ago. So, Prezi really came about to answer a personal need.

Then, I met Peter Halacsy, now CTO of Prezi, who liked the idea, but wanted to create an easy-to-use tool for it. I think he was interested in it for himself actually, as he was teaching a lot. Then came Peter Arvai, CEO, who pushed us to become a global product, and SaaS, beyond our personal use

What is Prezi?

Prezis are zooming presentations, that were fun to create. People can create them on prezi.com for free, and already 10 million users have chosen to do so. Because you see you ideas next to each other, prezi helps you to think through what you want to say for the audience, prezis create memorable experiences. Beyond the 1st ‘wow-moment’, actually seeing texts, images, videos on a large canvas, helps you to memorize them much better.

It is like that old technique for learning words – you put them on stickies in your room, and your brain will associate them with a location. same happens in prezi. people associate ideas to location on the zooming canvas, and they remember more.

What are you trying to solve with Prezi?

Sharing of ideas should be both fun, engaging, and efficient. Today people present and email slides for this purpose. I really don’t think that is the best humanity can do.

Talk me through the first few months of running the business? What would you say was the hardest part of starting the business?

Understanding that some people don’t think exactly like we do – to keep track to this, we incorporate user research, user testing, and statistical data for the usage of our product tightly into our core values.

How were you able to fund the business?

Before we launched our product, and were running in private beta mode, we sold single prezi presentations for large events. We delivered the technology and the design too. Luckily after we unveiled prezi to the public, we have always been cash flow positive. Later, we raised capital investment with TED Conferences, in 2009, and then in 2011 with Accel Partners.

How has your market changed in the past few years? How has your business changed to keep pace?

The idea of zooming is becoming more common, people are more accustomed to it thanks to smartphone browsing. This really helps our learning curve.

Would you say the initial idea for the company, or that your business model has changed since starting the company?

Our business model is still the same, a freemium model where privacy of content sets the packages apart.

Our product has matured massively, and we understood that it does not only work great at ballroom presentations, but on daily meetings, and as a remote delivery as well. Prezi also has become very popular in education, given that it is really good for explaining complex matters.

What would you s has been some of the most crucial that you’ve done to build the company to this level now?

Sharing and thinking in a team. Now we are 70 people, and each one is fantastic professional— who know more than us, the founders, in their respective professions! Attracting this talent by giving them intellectual space was crucial.

Is the business profitable? What is your business model?

Yes, prezi is cash-flow positive. Our business model is Freemium. Anyone can use the public Prezi license for free. Paid (Prezi Pro) users receive the desktop app, as well as a private option for their online prezis.

What’s been your most memorable moment so far on your entrepreneurial journey?

Every fews days I receive an email, from someone I’ve never met, from the US or Asia, anywhere, thanking me for doing prezi. They say that they feel creative, happy, and became successful thanks to our tool. This fuels a never ending, and truly fantastic drive to work harder and make prezi better every day.

What pieces of advices could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

- Try your idea as early as you can. get feedback from people, reality.

- Don’t be afraid to change

- Believe in and respect others, who join your journey.

What can we be expecting from you and Prezi in 2012?

Lots of new features, with an even simpler workflow so you can create a fantastic prezi quickly– just before you need to give the talk. (I already do this for my conference talks )

Imagine if, instead of spending hours lost in a crowd of weekend shoppers trawling the shops for the latest fashions, you had somebody that did it for you. And imagine if that somebody was actually a team of fashion experts including Grace Woodward, Louise Roe and Arabella Greenhill. Well that’s the fresh idea behind the London based fashion startup Stylistpick which aims to provide the latest accessories without the expensive price tag.

Upon signing up with Stylistpick you are required to take a short quiz to determine your style, and then every month accessories are handpicked and sent straight to your door for just £39.95. If you’re not happy with the accessory picked for you simply send it back for free and receive a full refund.

Founded in 2010 by Felix Leuschner, the company have achieved a large amount of growth and have now signed an exclusive deal with Cheryl Cole who has designed her own range of footwear solely for Stylistpick.

In December 2011 Stylistpick received $8million in Series A funding from Index Ventures and Accel Partners, followed by $11million in Series B funding only three months later. Leuschner explains that the funding has been used to fund expansion into Europe.

Leuschner says that he had seen the subscription model in other areas such as wine clubs and DVD clubs, and he became inspired by the success of personalisation such as this which pushed him towards Stylistpick. He explains “when entrepreneurs see something working well in one market, they will be eager to test it in others. The reason I developed this model was because I saw subscription models in general being successful”. Thus the UK’s first fashion subscription club was born.

From March 2012 Stylistpick have offered customers an alternative payment method to the full membership subscription, a ‘pay-as-you-go’ option which is available at the checkout; the company was also offering customers 25% off their first purchase. Shoedazzle, Stylistpick’s main competitor, announced its upcoming closure after just four months operating in the UK.

Leuschner remains confident of his company’s potential: “We live in a world where there is a lot of communication being pushed in people’s direction and there is too much choice and not enough time. Having a platform that is personalised, curated and at one price point makes sense”.