Employee to Entrepreneur

Introduction

It was April Fool’s Day 1996 when we started our business. Less than two weeks earlier our employer had appointed a receiver and we were made redundant. It seemed strangely appropriate to be starting a business on such a day given many would have considered it a foolhardy move in the circumstances. Yet it worked. Just over four years later we were turning over in excess of £100m and employed 130 people. And, still to this day, we celebrate April Fool’s Day.

There is a lot of attention paid in the media to entrepreneurship these days. Often this focuses on young mavericks with innovative ideas and an eye for personal publicity, irrespective of whether they have proven financial success. The reality is somewhat different; the majority ...