Insider's North West 42 under 42 Event 2024
Robyn Hewson catches up with current and former 42 under 42 members at the annual dinner, this year hosted at the AO Arena.
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00:00Yeah, so we're the co-founders of the Spirit of Manchester Distillery. Started back in
00:162016, very sort of humble beginnings, started distilling in our dining room, have grown
00:23sort of...
00:24We did 25,000 bottles in our dining room in the first 18 months.
00:29It was awful.
00:30It was hell.
00:31But now we've got a full city centre, I'm pointing because it is that one, a full city
00:36centre distillery that does tours, restaurant, bar, and yeah.
00:41It does restaurant.
00:42It does restaurant.
00:43It does restaurant.
00:46We also have, as well as gin, which we started with, we now have vodka, rum, and more recently
00:51English whiskey in our portfolio.
00:53Yeah.
00:54Hi, I'm Charlotte and I'm from Future in Finance.
00:56So Charlotte, you're being inducted into the 42 Under 42 today.
00:59How does it feel?
01:00Yeah, really exciting.
01:01I've just done the round table event and it was so insightful.
01:04I've learnt a lot, met a lot of nice people.
01:06Yeah, I'm really excited.
01:07This is the first time I've done something like this because my business is still relatively
01:10new so it's been a real eye opener.
01:12So what exactly does your business do?
01:15I teach people who want to become mortgage advisors how to pass their qualifications
01:20to get into jobs.
01:21So I do it all online.
01:23They can either join me on Zoom or they can download a pre-recorded course and I coach
01:27people, hold their hand until they're qualified.
01:29Amazing.
01:30And you said it's quite new.
01:31So how long have you been doing it for?
01:33About a year.
01:34So the business idea started because I could not get qualified.
01:38So I could just not pass the exams.
01:40I'd used a couple of different providers to try and help me along the way and still couldn't
01:43get over the line and thought, I can't be the only person that can't do it.
01:47So purely out of spite, really, me and my best friend got a bottle of wine and a really
01:51cheap microphone and started a podcast and within weeks of the podcast launching with
01:55an Instagram account, people messaging me and asking for coaching and as they say, the
02:00rest is history.
02:01Hi, I'm Helen Quayle and I own a company called Laser HQ.
02:06We are award-winning laser clinic across the UK and I am thrilled to be in the 42 under
02:1242.
02:13Honestly, it's such an achievement and to be besides so many amazing businesses and
02:19entrepreneurs.
02:21So seven years ago, I started in the back end of a tiny room in a salon and fast forward
02:26to seven years, we are one of the leading laser brands in the UK.
02:31We work with massive companies like Harvey Nichols and Sinclair.
02:35I am a leading trial blazer in the laser industry and yeah, we change people's lives every day
02:41with services like laser hair removal, tattoo removal, et cetera and we do amazing campaigns
02:49that help women on their hormone health programs.
02:52Hi, I'm Jane Booth, I'm from UBS Global Wealth Management.
02:57We look after some of the most well-known, high-profile entrepreneurs in the Northwest
03:03and help with their personal finances and all their planning after they leave their
03:08business.
03:09Fantastic and UBS is actually a sponsor of our 42 under 42 event and campaign.
03:14So why did you want to get involved with it?
03:17So we've been admirers of the 42 under 42 brand for a long time, principally because
03:23there are some amazing entrepreneurs who are at the younger end of the spectrum and it's
03:28so interesting seeing their journey as they go through their business career and some
03:34of the past winners have been phenomenally successful Northwest entrepreneurs and it's
03:39really exciting for us to be able to engage with people and support at an earlier stage
03:43and really enhance the community in the Northwest.
03:48So I'm Sid, I'm the founder and managing director of SpexCart, SpexCart today is amongst
03:52the fastest growing eyewear businesses in the UK and what we do is we make prescription
03:57glasses and what we're trying to do is change the way people think about glasses.
04:03So glasses are not a sight correction instrument or they're not just a sight correction instrument
04:08or a medical accessory.
04:09They sit right on our faces, so they're a fashion accessory.
04:12So what we think is just like, you know, I'd have multiple pairs of shoes.
04:15If I'm going to the gym, I'm going to wear a sports pair of shoes.
04:19Then similarly, if I'm going to the gym, I should have a different pair of glasses and
04:22if I'm wearing a suit, I should have a different pair of glasses.
04:25So that's where we have to change that consumer perception and we're doing this by improving
04:29three things, prices, customer experience and lead time.
04:33So at SpexCart, you can shop for a pair of glasses, which will be 70% less than high
04:37street and you can come in our stores as well.
04:40The way that our stores are laid out, it's a completely modern environment.
04:44They're free to try on.
04:45They're not locked behind rails.
04:48When you're waiting for your eye test, you can have a game of bar football or you'll,
04:52you know, in the sports section, you'll see a bicycle hanging from the ceiling.
04:55So our stores are not like GP surgeries or other opticians.
04:59On another note, for e-commerce customers, they can order up to four frames free of charge
05:04and we'll deliver to the customers just to try them on.
05:06And they'll have a prepaid returns label so they can send them back.
05:09If they like anything, they can order with their prescription.
05:12If they don't like, they can do another trial as much as they want.
05:15It's always free.
05:16And if they order glasses from us, we deliver them in 24 hours, which is faster than a speeding
05:21bullet in our industry.