Eureka moment

After being made redundant and having to sign on the dole at 25, I set up my first business Tic Watches [1] from my bedroom in Darlington in 2007. I did this with the help of my mum who I lived with, after losing my dad aged 16.
The redundancy was a very low moment but it gave me fuel to become a better person and start a business I was passionate about.

Finance

I received a loan from The Prince's Trust to help me launch the company website in 2007, but it was lonely and difficult at the start, only selling three watches in the first month of trading. However, as our social media following and reputation grew, the money started to come in. Tic Watches successfully completed its first year of trading with an £83k turnover. The expected 18/19 turnover (end of July) is over £6m through UK and international sales. I now also run a bed and mattress company called Bed SOS [2], which is going from strength to strength.

Regrets

I wouldn't say I had any regrets but made mistakes. You need to learn from these mistakes to make the business even more successful in the future.

What would you have changed?

I wish we had set the business up even earlier to be honest.