Helô yno! Or in other words, hello there!
When was the last time you looked to Wales in your hunt for business inspiration?
If the thought hasn’t crossed your mind, you may be missing out. Welsh successes often go amiss under the umbrella term ‘British’, but the fact is Wales is home to some of the brightest talents in the business world.
With an impressive talent pool from Graham Edwards, the CEO of Wales & West Utilities – to Anne Boden, the CEO of Starling Bank, and did you know that Rolls Royce hails from Wales? Pretty awesome, eh? We’ve not even covered podcasts, yet.
With their capital being the 11th largest city in the UK, it’s no surprise that they’re also home to some of the most revolutionary startups in the fintech world.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some inspiring Welsh entrepreneurs, business leaders and podcasts, of course.
Inspiring Welsh business leaders and entrepreneurs
Harri Helvon-Hardy, Most Inspiring Female Founder, 2022
Image Credit: Harri Helvon-Hardy
Harri Helvon-Hardy founded FABRIC: The Care Leaver Community in 2015. FABRIC is a social care agency and aims to provide homes to young people aged 16+ from underprivileged backgrounds and make sure they also get trauma informed support.
She was named Most Inspiring Female Founders in 2022 by f:Entrepreneur as part of their #ialso100 campaign. An inspiring accomplishment as the list features 100 amazing female entrepreneurs across the UK. It aims to showcase trailblazing female entrepreneurs who take on many roles – a nod to the portfolio career to showcase a new meaning of entrepreneurship.
In an interview with Barclays’ Eagle Labs, Helvon-Hardy shared how she built FABRIC from the ground up, learnt business skills along the way – and reveals that one of the challenges she thinks female founders have is how gender impacts access to funding.
She hopes to see more women on the board, and that we “reflect on the ways in which we are privileged.”
Anne Boden MBE, CEO of Starling Bank
Image Credit: Starling Bank
Anne Boden is the Founder and CEO of Starling Bank, the UK’s first mobile-only bank she founded in 2015 now valued at an impressive £2.5billion.
She’s been named by Forbes as one of the top 50 women working in tech worldwide and that’s not all – Boden was awarded an MBE due to her contributions to the fintech industry in 2018.
If you’re thinking of starting a business, Boden’s best piece of advice is to forget the fear. In a recent interview with the Breakfast Show’s Chris Evans, Boden shared priceless words of wisdom, “the only thing stopping you is your fear of failure.”
“When I said I was starting a bank, once I got over the fear of people thinking I was foolish, fear of people laughing at me, it was okay.”
Graham Edwards OBE, CEO of Wales & West Utilities
Image Credit: Wales & West Utilities
Wondering if you need to go to university to become a successful business leader? Graham Edwards is living proof that you don’t. Edwards was awarded an OBE for his services to business and community in Wales earlier this year. He heads a 1,300 strong gas infrastructure business and left school without any qualifications. In fact, he started his career as an apprentice.
Edwards completed a structural engineering apprenticeship in Llanelli in 1970 and went on to work for a number of SMBs across South Wales before getting an opportunity in junior management.
He told Wales Online that his apprenticeship, “was very influential in the way I have always approached work and how I engage with people throughout my career.”
“My years on the ‘shop floor’ made me appreciate the contribution of people at all levels in an organisation and helped me feel comfortable communicating with colleagues at any level across the business – be it boardroom or the workshop.”
Intro to HR Management
Julie Gardner and Jane Tratner, Co-Founders of Bad Wolf
Image Credit: Bad Wolf and James Stenson
Welsh based British television company Bad Wolf started in 2015 with backing from the government and minority investments from Sky, HBO and Access Industries.
It is a boutique television production company hailing from South Wales which has been scaling at a rate that saw them listed as Number 1 on Fast Growth 50’s annual awards designed to showcase the fastest growing companies in Wales. They also have a sister company Bad Wolf America run by Julie Gardner.
An inspiring achievement considering that many see the list as a constant reminder of the vast entrepreneurial potential that exists within the Welsh business sector. Notably, they’ve produced high-end dramas for broadcasters and networks such as HBO, AMC and Sky. Hailing from South Wales, they’ve since expanded to North America.
If you’re wondering what the media scene is like right now, with people having broader access to entertainment via television programmes and on-demand platforms such as Netflix and Disney Plus – Jane shared how she believes that “People don’t watch television anymore. They watch programmes. We have got to look now for shows that work in a box-set environment” in an interview with Tim Dams for the Royal Television Society.
Laura Ashley
Image Credit: Wales Online
Fashion giant Laura Ashley was founded in 1954 by world-famous Welsh designer – you guessed it, Laura Ashley. The company is known for their British sense of style and heritage, starting off as a clothing brand before expanding into homeware. Fun fact, it was said that sheep would wander into the office in Wales.
They became the first major retailer to go into administration as a result of the global pandemic, but have since made an epic comeback after being rescued by investment firm Gordon Brothers and striking a deal with fashion giants Next where they’ve reintroduced their famous homeware line.
Kelly Davies and Mandy Powell, The Goodwash Company
Image Credit: Just Entrepreneurs
Passionate about sport? Powell is an ex international hockey and touch rugby player for Wales, and Davies is a former professional footballer for Wales and award winning social entrepreneur. They teamed up together to form The Goodwash Company – an award winning Welsh skincare brand driven with a social conscience.
Impressively – just 3 years after they were founded in 2017, they’ve already been awarded Best Welsh Startup for two years running in 2019 and 2020, and Great British Entrepreneur of the Year for Wales in 2020.
Not bad for the dynamic duo who have “always wanted to be a strong Welsh brand that does good.”
The pair have some sage advice on failure considering their success in sport and entrepreneurship – they told Just Entrepreneurs in an intimate interview, “the biggest thing when it comes to failure is definitely how you choose to respond to it.”
“We have a very ‘just do it’ attitude and are prepared to respond to the actions of those decisions and learn from them, if they don’t quite work out as we’d hope.”
The wrap up
We hope that you’ve managed to find something to lean on from the stories of these successful and inspiring business leaders and entrepreneurs from Wales. Some are university graduates, some are not. Some have humble beginnings starting companies from their very own kitchen or living room.
One thing is clear: what makes someone a successful leader is their unique story and experience. They’re certainly no stranger to fear of failure either. They’ve just managed to find a way to overcome it that works for them.
Inspiring? We think so. Tan y tro nesa! Or in other words, until next time.
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