We’re impressed by the entrepreneurial skills of these young people
Chloe Moss
Despite her home being in Chester, Chloe Moss’ jewellery company, ChloBo, perfectly encapsulates the bohemian vibes of a beach in Bali. Ten years ago, the entrepreneur was inspired to form her business after a trip to the Indonesian island where she watched a woman making bracelets on the beach.
Drawing on local iconography to inspire the charms of her range, such as the evil eye and Hamsa hand, she tracked down a local silversmith to discuss sourcing the best materials.
Chloe said: ‘Upon returning to the UK, I transformed my spare bedroom into my studio and began making bracelets to friends, parties and events.’
What’s so great about the business?
Since ChloBo first started, turnover has increased nearly 20,000%. The brand’s 2014 turnover has doubled on last year and the business woman also has an ambition to see her brand sold internationally within the next few years. ‘A ChloBo store would be amazing one day but it isn’t something that we will be looking into for the foreseeable future. We have outgrown our current offices and so are moving into a new studio in January which is very exciting!’
Why you should be impressed
This jewellery brand has a unique identity that is not only loved by the people of Cheshire, but celebrities. ChloBo’s bohemian jewellery has been worn by icons such as Elle Macpherson, Cheryl Cole, Kelly Rowland and The Saturdays.
Anna Jenkins
Halton’s Anna Jenkins originally had her heart set on becoming a fashion designer. However, when the 26-year-old University of Manchester textiles graduate watched a news bulletin highlighting the cost of flowers for funerals, she partnered up with her then boyfriend’s mother and trained florist, Linda Hale, to form Silky Bouquets in 2011.
What’s so great about the business?
Anna spotted a huge gap in the market for beautifully arranged, long-lasting silk bouquet designs for funerals. ‘No-one was doing it,’ said Anna, ‘So we thought we would and see what happens. It then snowballed on eBay and we just went on from there.’
The business is entirely self-funded aside from a £750 grant from the Prince’s Trust, and gradually Anna has expanded into every avenue you could need flowers for. After outgrowing the garage at home in 2013, Anna moved from solely online business and acquired a shop premises in Widnes. She now has four people working with her, including her mother and turned over around £250,000 last year, quadrupling turnover from the first year.
Why you should be impressed
The young business woman was chosen from hundreds as one of 16 finalists at the NatWest everywoman Awards 2014 and featured in Artemis category for a woman running a business aged 25 and under. Silky Bouquets also ship internationally and have sent orders as far as Australia and Ghana. ‘I just want to expand as much as we can; we’re just getting noticed more and more!’
Steve Westgarth
Steve Westgarth is the managing director at Footsqueek, a mobile app company. Created in 2011 and based in Chester, Footsqueek works with businesses and education establishments around the North West developing apps for smart phone devices.
What’s so great about the business?
Prior to Footsqueek, the 28-year-old worked as the informatics centre manager at the University of Chester for more than three years. With experience working in the education sector, he wanted a new challenge and approached head teachers to see how I.T. was used in their schools. Soon after, he created a workshop programme developing mobile apps with ten-year-olds at Delamere Primary Academy.
‘The pupils were obsessed with dinosaurs so they created a dinosaur facts app,’ said Steve. ‘We then went on to sell the app for 69p investing the money back into the school.’
Why you should be impressed
Steve was named the winner of the Cheshire Business Leaders Award for the Outstanding Cheshire and Warrington Young Entrepreneur at the High Sheriff’s Awards for Enterprise 2013/14. He received a prize of £500 to invest in his business as well as free mentoring and business support.
When starting the company, Steve initially took a £25,000 loan to allow the business to grow and take risks. He now has a solid foundation and this year had a turnover of £250,000. Over the next four years, Steve aims for a £1 million turnover and to create more employment in Cheshire.
Edge Bar
In 2013, Edge Bar Hire was created by Daniel Amaro, 20, Luis Lowe and Sean Savage, both 21. A fully licensed bar hire company based in Alderley Edge and Wilmslow, they were backed by The Prince’s Trust after attending a four day Explore Enterprise course to help prepare young people for self-employment and starting their own business.
What’s so great about the business?
The three friends and business partners cater for a range of events such as birthdays, weddings and festivals. When Sean and Daniel were made redundant from a clothing store, the trio brainstormed to create their own company.
‘We stayed up late most nights researching and planning,’ said Daniel. ‘It just snowballed from there and we became really inspired. A year ago it was all designs and ideas and now we have created our own bar and been hired for events such as the Alderley Edge music festival. It’s just a great experience and learning curve.’
Why you should be impressed
Edge Bar impressed The Prince’s Trust with their business proposition and this led to them being backed and supported by the youth charity.
Lee Davies, a programme executive for enterprise and awards at the Prince’s Trust, said: ‘They came to us for support and this ultimately led to them taking their business idea to our launch panel where they were offered a £2,100 low interest loan to get their business off the ground. They are also supported by a personal business mentor.’
Jonathan Kingsley
Manchester Creative Studio student Jonathan Kingsley, 14, from Macclesfield teamed up with fellow pupil Ryan Oliver, 15, from Kent, for a project commissioned by Virgin Media. As part of Virgin’s Switched on Futures initiative, the duo created KipstR, a wearable technology that automatically sets users’ TiVo boxes to record whatever they’re watching if they fall asleep in front of the television.
What’s so great about the business?
The teens, unable to join the aged 16+ Virgin Media Pioneer internship programme, impressed so much at a start-up and networking event that Virgin created a specially commisioned project for them. The pair helped to develop KipstR, the 3D printed wristband which uses a pulse-oximeter to sense if the wearer is asleep or awake. This then mimics the users’ TiVo remote control to pause, record or resume a show appropriately.
Jonathan said: ‘We have really enjoyed working alongside the innovation team at Virgin Media. It’s been such an interesting experience.’
Why you should be impressed
Despite being among some of the most digitally-skilled young people in the country, Jonathan enjoys downtime just like any other teenager. The tech-savvy student said he enjoys reading, skateboarding and is a keen cook. In the future, Jonathan would like to explore artificial intelligence and natural language systems, but the young entreprenuer is also in the process of setting up his own software development company.
