James Taylor, 27 Web: www.sport-stars.co.uk
Focus: Sports coaching for children
James Taylor started SportStars with £1,000, given to him by his parents on his 21st birthday. He quickly secured five contracts, and his business now works with 25,000 children each week in 100 schools, offering sports coaching to cover teachers’ planning, preparation and assessment time and also school holidays. The business turns over more than £1m, and Taylor is about to embark on a nationwide rollout of the model, before setting his sights on expanding overseas. Diversification into other development areas, such as drama and music, is also on the cards.
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Scott Fletcher, 35
Company: ANS Group
Web: www.ansgroup.co.uk
Focus: IT hardware, software and managed services
Scott Fletcher started ANS Group at age 17. The firm, which raised £1.5m on its flotation on PLUS in 2000, now comprises three other companies, including Smart Identity, an identity management software development firm founded by Fletcher, and two acquired businesses. ANS Group is a gold partner for Cisco and Microsoft with over 400 clients. The firm turned over £12.4m last year, making £1.3m profit. Fletcher, who also has personal investments in Godel Technologies and Viapost, says further acquisitions are likely over the coming year.
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One for 2010 - Julie Diem Le, 32
Company: ZooBug
Web: www.zoobug.co.uk
Focus: Children's eyewear
Founded by former eye surgeon Dr Julie Diem Le, ZooBug produces sunglasses and optical frames aimed at children aged three to 15, with 100% UV protection. The stylish and sturdy design of ZooBug’s products has helped secure distribution in more than 21 countries worldwide, with stockists including Harrods and Selfridges. The range can also be found in UK airports and leading opticians, and is even sold through airline Virgin Atlantic. Newspaper coverage has helped Diem Le’s cause, pushing turnover this year up to £800,000. Expansion into travel retail is now on the cards.
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Angus Hewlett, 32
Company: FXpansion Audio
Web: www.fxpansion.com
Focus: Music software development
Faithless, The Cure and Deadmau5 are just a few of the musicians, recording artists, composers, producers and engineers using Angus Hewlett’s music software. His products are licensed by 30 companies across the globe, including Avid, Numark and Yamaha, as well as being used by a number of academic institutions and more than 500,000 individual users. FXpansion’s BFD 2.0 drum machine software sold 4,000 units during its first three months of release. Hewlett now has big plans to diversify his business into new product categories and new sectors. These include consumer entertainment and video games.
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Source: Growing Business
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