23 entrepreneurs win place on accelerator programme designed to champion diversity in entrepreneurship in Wales

Twenty-three entrepreneurs have secured a coveted place on a new accelerator programme, which will help them overcome the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic while championing diversity across the Welsh business start-up landscape.

The business founders beat entrepreneurs from across Wales to secure a place on the Excelerator Programme, which will see people from under-represented groups take part in a Welsh Government-funded 12-week immersive accelerator programme. The aim is to help them launch and grow their business idea or scale an existing business.

The virtual programme will include a series of expert masterclasses for founders, as well as mentorship and professional coaching from business start-up and scaleup experts. It is being delivered as part of the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. 

The entrepreneurs taking part are:

• Firuj Ali, founder of Ariana Design, a children’s clothing range.
  

• Sweeta Durrani, founder of SOHA, an online import and export business for countries such as Afghanistan where access to online shopping is limited.
  

• Patience Bentu, founder of Pay Talks, a talk show on topical issues that will provide a platform for motivational speakers.
  

• Amy Sinha, a classically trained singer and founder of Amy Sinha Ltd, a professional voice-over agency.
  

• Dr Youmna Mouhamad, founder of Myana Naturals, a detangling technology for black women with natural hair.
  

• Rohit Kulkarni, founder of Log 6, a range of natural, safe and powerful disinfectant products that are a credible alternative to bleach and alcohol-based hand sanitisers.
  

• Kamal Ali, founder of My Audio Islam, an app specialising in Islamic audio content.
  

• Emma Hopkins, founder of Lifeshaper, a coaching business specialising in stress management.
  

• Vanessa Willes, founder of Mangle & Wringer, a manufacturer of eco-friendly cleaning and laundry products free of single-use plastics, palm oil and petrochemicals.
  

• Ranjit Ghoshal, founder of One Million Steps, a web and app package for charities or businesses to launch health and well-being fundraising challenges at scale, locally and internationally.
  

• Anita Davies, founder of Freedom 2 Be, a virtual admin and training agency providing full back office support to small and medium size businesses.
  

• Sally Brooks, founder of Brooklands People Development Services, a development company helping people and employees to achieve their full potential.
  

• Tony Thomas, founder of Data Mining, which looks at animal and human health data to seize the unprecedented opportunities that big data provides.
  

• Martina Fabricci, founder of CRISPR Biotech Engineering, an e-learning platform for scientific research across different cellular engineering, biotechnology and genome editing domains.
  

• Gurinder Randeva, founder of Glamdeva, an online platform to easily compare prices, book and pay for hair and makeup services anywhere in the UK.
  

• Ed Willes, founder of Rcollections, a peer-to-peer fashion rental market helping people save money and the planet.
  

• Jessica Leigh Jones, founder of iungo Solutions, a career tech platform that aggregates and connects millions of employability factors to create step-by-step career routes.
  

• Oliver Smith, founder of Solus Supply, an online resale shop and sustainable streetwear clothing brand.
  

• Catherine Williams, founder of O'Honni, a luxurious lingerie brand for women who have had mastectomies and lumpectomies.
  

• Fabian Niavarany, founder of My Local Hub, which aims to create a network of local hubs for online deliveries which could be highly disruptive for the UK parcel industry.
  

• Nicola Perkins, founder of FE HR Hub, a human resources hub for professionals working in the further education sector.
  

• Louis Cochrane, founder of Deliverbuzz, an on-demand delivery, click & collect and table service for local shops, supermarkets, food and retail businesses.
  

• Jennifer Barnfield, founder of PEPP Ltd, which creates bespoke card packs with positive communication and language to empower customers. She also delivers training to support other entrepreneurs to create their own card packs.

The Excelerator Programme will take entrepreneurs on a step-by-step journey from business idea to paying customers and a sustainable business model. It will also support participants to develop their core business skills and a ‘success mindset’. 

Swansea-based Dr Youmna Mouhamad, who has invented a detangling technology for black women with natural hair, said she is looking forward to taking part in the Excelerator Programme:

“I am so honoured to have been chosen to be part of this Programme. I know that having a good idea is one thing while turning that idea into a high-growth business is another challenge altogether. I believe that access to experts in this field will really help me take my company to the next level and I can’t wait to start learning and putting my new skills into action.”

Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates, said:

“I wish to congratulate these business founders for being selected to take part in the inaugural Excelerator Programme. We recognise that women, young people, those from a BAME background and people living with a disability are significantly under-represented when it comes to business start-ups in Wales, and we want to help change that.

“This Programme is part of our £40 million investment in delivering on our ‘Covid Commitment’. This funding is there to ensure anyone over 16 in Wales can access advice and support to find work or pursue self-employment. Encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship will a big part of this commitment, so this programme will help entrepreneurs with high-growth potential access the expertise they need to take their companies to the next level.  

“This presents a fantastic opportunity for the 23 entrepreneurs taking part, who will receive expert support to develop a sustainable, robust business model. The programme will provide invaluable access to a network of experienced mentors and peers, who will work with them to develop a clear growth plan.”  

For further information on the Excelerator Programme see www.businesswales.gov.wales/growth/agpexcelerator

How accessing Business Wales AGP support secured a future for growing care company

Back from the brink: How accessing Business Wales AGP support secured a future for growing care company

“Business Wales AGP has been of immense help, providing both moral support and targeted advice through the difficult times we have experienced.”

Care providers have been under immense pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic. Beyond the current crisis, the sector has some longer-term obstacles to overcome, such as finding skilled staff and dealing with shrinking margins.

Pineshield Management was established in 2002 and provides care for older people with dementia and adults and children with disabilities.

The company, led by chairman James Dwyer, has been through some significant changes and challenges since its inception, and has shown remarkable resilience. The firm accessed the expertise and support of

Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme (AGP), which provides targeted support for ambitious growing firms. The programme is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. The firm says this support has been invaluable to securing its future.

Here, James Dwyer tells the story of the company and offers advice to others leading a business through challenging times.

Tell us about Pineshield Management
We should start at the beginning, about 18 years ago in 2002, when I set up the business. Back then it was a domiciliary care franchisee, and that lasted for 14 years or so, when we bought out the franchise and became Pineshield. Now, we have 45 staff and about 80 customers.

In 2011 we established a sister company called Menter Training, which focused on providing training and apprenticeship funded qualifications to the social care sector as well as health and safety training. My wife Catrina has been the managing director of Menter for the past three years.

But the future isn’t plain sailing and the last few years haven’t been either. We have faced multiple threats to the viability of the business. And the sector as a whole has been facing a general decline in margins in social care over the past 10 years, which we have seen reflected in our own margins over that time.

We had also slipped into a poor culture within the business, which led to a significant turnover of staff at the end of 2019 due to a morale crisis within the care workforce.

The quality of the service we provided suffered as a result, and our revenues fell by 20% from its peak. I felt strongly that all of this was a result of management failure, and that we required new management to turn this around. I’ll explain more about that later. We have been working hard to turn things around, we’ve definitely proved our resilience and now have a team who believe in the business and who we believe in as well.

We’ve recently seen a marked improvement in the morale of the staff. In August we had to isolate 50% of the workforce after two care workers tested positive for Covid-19. The other 50% pitched in to make sure the workload was covered. It’s fair to say this wouldn’t have happened back in 2019.

We’ve also seen a large reduction in the number of calls cancelled by us because of a lack of care worker availability. I think this demonstrates that our workforce is much more motivated now, and we all want the business to succeed.

What are your proudest moments in business so far?
One of our care workers is featured in the We Care Wales advert, which is currently running across various media channels. In it she explains how she is helping a client with dementia during Covid-19. It encapsulates everything that’s brilliant about our staff and our sector. And despite all the struggles we’ve had, care is at the very heart of what we do and it’s why we’re in this business.

What challenges have you faced in business?
We’ve faced plenty! The last 12 months or so have been particularly difficult. But we’re overcoming them, and, as I said earlier, our staff are more invested in the firm and its future now.

In January 2020, we faced a cash flow crisis, after the buyout of our former managing director who owned 33% of the business. We experienced a reduction in revenues as well as a number of significant costs including dealing with performance issues within the workforce.

On top of this, our funding bank refused to refinance to help us deal with this situation, due to our lack of profitability. And we were unsuccessful with an application for an overdraft facility with our commercial bank.

The company was propped up by my life savings. It wouldn’t have kept going otherwise.

Then, in late January 2020, I suffered a series of devastating personal issues. I was admitted to intensive care with H1N1 flu, my sister passed away while I was in intensive care and my mother suffered a heart attack. My mother eventually died in April after we managed to visit her in Australia, just two days before the lockdown of her care home started.

All this happened just before the Covid-19 situation occurred. As that escalated, we saw revenues drop a further 40% due to the cancellation of care calls due to fear of transmission of the virus. Meanwhile, PPE costs increased.

We sought help from the various support schemes out there, and initially we weren’t successful with the Business Interruption Loan Scheme which we planned to use to refinance our current loan. We didn’t fall into the criteria for business rates relief and our landlord wasn’t prepared to renegotiate the rent.

Menter Training saw its training business collapse to almost zero overnight thanks to Covid. We already knew there was little prospect of ongoing funding for the apprenticeship qualifications due to funding pressures faced by colleges. Menter owed Pineshield and its directors a total of about £130,000 which would have caused a collapse in Pineshield if it wasn’t able to repay a substantial amount of those debts.

All this was against a background of huge change within the business. From late 2019 we’d focused on improving the working culture to address low staff morale.

A new Operations Director, Jayne Holloway, joined us in September 2019 along with newly appointed Project and Quality Officer Jo Sulman. They worked together to make sure our staff were better supported and recognised. This also involved setting clear standards and boundaries. Interestingly, some of the most vocal critics within the workforce embraced the change and have since taken more central roles in the business.

This became important during the Covid situation when our care staff truly stepped up to the challenge of providing care during worrying times. They appeared to gain strength in being recognised as key workers and contributing to the wellbeing of their clients. Since then, we have built on this by establishing a five person-strong management team where previously there was none. We have implemented clear business objectives which cascade down to team and personal objectives.

From a business perspective, the only strategy open to us as Covid bit, was to focus on Government funding. We successfully applied for the Bounce Back loan, which finally allowed Pineshield to refinance our existing loan under much better terms.

We were also able to pick up some funds from phase 2 of the Business Resilience Fund for Menter Training. We also put people on furlough.

The biggest support, however, came from Cardiff Council who agreed to fund care that was cancelled due to clients being concerned about their exposure to the virus.

There has been lots of change and the business has had to be restructured. I managed to secure a quick sale of the Menter Training business to another local training business. We achieved this in about two months from the start of negotiations.

This allowed us to protect one job, which was transferred over to the new business. Together with the Covid support, the sale of the business was enough for Menter to repay most of its debts to Pineshield. We’re also looking to transfer the remaining two staff to Pineshield once furlough is completed

The main issue is that we now have excess real estate space which is unlikely to be sublet in time for the end of lease in November 2021.

If you were starting again, what would you do differently?
I would not have bought my business partner’s share when I did. Having said this, the cultural change that was required to turn the company around would have been delayed until the management transition had taken place.

How has support from Business Wales AGP helped your business?
Andy Bird of Business Wales AGP has been of immense help, providing me with both moral support and targeted advice through the difficult times we have experienced.

At one point in this process, I was considering winding up the business and Andy was able to arrange a call with someone who was able to give advice that brought me back from the edge.

Andy and his contacts have helped with accessing government funding and gave me the heads up on all new developments. More recently we have engaged a Business Wales AGP consultant to re-engineer our recruitment process which will be key to our growth.

Back in January 2020, Andy arranged a study of the UAE market, which helped prepare me for taking part in the Welsh trade visit to the Arab Health conference in Dubai.

Unfortunately, this is when I contracted H1N1 flu and was admitted into intensive care for a week. We’ve put this project on the back burner for the time being as we cope with the other pressures facing us, but it’s something I hope to revisit soon.

What advice and guidance would you give other businesses starting out?

• Be persistent and resilient. Everyone goes through tough times. If you can survive those, you can take advantage of the good times. If you give up, you’ll never be able to do that.

• Your business is a reflection of your staff. Respect, clarity around job roles and positive, can-do attitudes have a huge impact on your business.

• Surround yourself with great advisors.

• Great networks really help your business in good times and when things are tough.

To learn more about Pineshield visit here.

Further information on the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme

Fashion brand Mabli finds exciting future in Japanese market

"Business Wales AGP helped shape the path and structure of the firm, and helped us to think like a business”

Wales has a strong track record of producing and nurturing high quality fashion labels. Many world-leading brands having either been founded or have a manufacturing presence in Wales – Laura Ashley, Toast, Burberry, Hiut Denim and JoJo Maman Bébé to name just a few.

Following in that tradition is Mabli a Cardiff-based brand finding success in overseas markets.

Here, founder Lisa Roberts tells us how she turned her vision for a fashion label into a thriving business that exports globally, and shares lessons she has learned along the way.

Tell us about Mabli.
OK, first a bit about me. My background is creative and I was working as a fashion designer when I decided I really wanted to lead my own company with my own vision, making things I design.

It seemed like a natural thing to do. I had a strong vision about what I wanted my own brand to be - a high-end children’s knitwear clothing firm which used quality natural yarn. Central to its identity was Wales, as being Welsh has been a constant source of inspiration for me and I wanted that to be a part of the company’s DNA too.

I had no experience in business, so I’ve had to learn as I’ve gone along. It’s early days for us, but I’m pleased that we have found a global appetite for our products. People like the traceability, and the provenance of our range. It’s something that’s helping us build our name in international markets. So, some of our products are made in Wales, at Corgi Hosiery in Ammanford, and in Scotland. We’d love all our manufacturing to be UK-based but it’s just not possible to get the products made here and sell them at our price points.

We’re now jumping into a new growth phase as Japan has become a major new market for us. We’ve had a lot of help to get here, especially from Business Wales AGP. This is hugely exciting for me, and I’m learning Japanese to help as we explore the potential of this huge market. 

It’s been incredibly hard work, but hugely rewarding too. Since I started the company, I’ve had two children (along with the one I already had!) so home and work life are quite busy and have their own competing challenges. But everything has been worthwhile to see my brand grow and develop, and to see products which I’m proud of sold alongside other fashion brands which I admire I’m really excited about the future!

What are your proudest moments in business so far?
We have won accolades, for example we recently won gold at the Junior Magazine Design Awards for best UK Fashion. And that’s brilliant. Winning things, being recognised for the work we’ve done is something which means so much to me.

But I think the thing that I am most proud of is knowing that people love the things I design. And our products are in shops alongside brands I’ve always looked up to. It’s difficult to properly imagine that happening when you set out in fashion on your own, but achieving it makes it so rewarding.

What challenges have you faced in business
COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the way we operate. When the pandemic hit the UK, we decided to bring fulfilment back in-house and build a bigger team here. Our summer shipment arrived on the same day, so it meant we were extremely busy, handling 10,000 items of stock! Our traditional customer base quickly became very quiet but then a new market in Japan opened up for us and we’ve quadrupled sales compared to last year. 

It’s been a very different year, with no trade shows and the market is moving online more and more. The sector has been very dynamic through 2020, and we have had to reflect that dynamism in the way we operate too.

If you were starting again, what would you do differently?

If I think about it, there are a million things I could do differently – but if you don’t try things you never learn. I would say that you should get advice as early as possible though. 

 How has support from Business Wales AGP helped your business?
In so many ways, the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme has been crucial to our company history. Working with Business Wales AGP helped shape the path and structure of the firm and helped us to think like a business and develop growth plans for Mabli.
I had no real idea how to scale and formulate a business when I turned to Business Wales AGP. The programme supported me with good coaches – who helped with structuring, pricing employing staff and e-commerce.

I manage all the design, supply chain, marketing and distribution – so I’m pretty busy, but I am now building a team. I have a strong vision for Mabli, and Business Wales AGP has given me focus.

What advice and guidance would you give other businesses starting out?

• If you believe in yourself, focus on what you want to do. Good advice I received early on, is that if you are creating things you believe in that the profitability will follow. Focus on your vision first.

• Take advice – but remember it’s still you who feels the consequences of that action on your business.

• Exporting has become really important for Mabli. If you think that your business will benefit from access to international markets, learn how best you can exploit the opportunities out there.

To learn more about Mabli Knitwear visit its website here.

Further information on the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme