Simon Says

Sameer started his career as a Chef and opened his first restaurant at the age of 25. After running that for 5 years, he then relocated to West Africa to start and run a confectionery manufacturing business producing biscuits, candies, gums, and Chocolate.

Sameer grew the business very successfully over 12 years and left in 2016 after it was sold to a multinational. He moved back to London and wanted to effect change. He had his own kids, and wanted to give them better choices, he saw a gap in the chocolate market and sought to disrupt the industry and take on the big brands to show them that it can be done.

Andy Hooper, CEO of Global E-Commerce Experts, has been successfully expanding businesses into new markets for over 15 years. An accomplished specialist in e-commerce, Andy now works with companies around the world providing comprehensive gateways and solutions to new markets, especially US-based organisations transitioning into the EU.

Ryan and his Co-founder Josie have a combined 20 years of experience working for consumer goods brands, from Ecover and Method and Ella’s Kitchen to PepsiCo and Starbucks. Having both worked for larger cleaning brands for several years, we were aware of the fact that cleaning products are often 90% water and packaged in single-use plastic. Globally, homecare generates around 29.5 billion bottles each year, and in the UK less than one-third of plastic is recycled, according to Euromonitor.

Nick Webster is a Website Security expert and hosting specialist at GoDaddy UK. Understanding the topics discussed today is essential when starting a business and could save you millions in the future. The simplicity and speed of creating websites have increased in recent years. Business owners are now webmasters thanks to content management systems and support from experts like GoDaddy.

From a young age Timothy has been heavily influenced by business and technology starting his first company, Alpha Tutoring at 14 and his second EntrepreneurXpress at 17 which he ended up selling 11 months later.

Wizz is the founder of WIZZ&CO, a brand and retail strategy agency that helps brands scale and stand out in a crowded market. They work with established brands, global retailers and indie brands. Previously Wizz headed up beauty buying at Selfridges and was a buyer for accessories and lifestyle, she has an instinct for trends, how to build a disruptive brand and customer behaviour.

Ade Hassan knew she was onto something with Nubian Skin lingerie when she posted the first product photo on social media and gained one-thousand new followers in a week. It was 2014 and the photo went on to garner over thirty-five thousand notes on Tumblr and over twenty thousand followers on Instagram, in less than a month. The UK-born, London-based founder created the brand to satisfy her own need but the internet’s response let her know that she’d struck a chord.

Ben Law is a keen entrepreneur and is an advocate and mentor for micro-businesses. Before joining GoDaddy, he started a successful lifestyle e-commerce business, Liberty Grace, which he led for over 3 years. Running his own business allowed Ben to hone skills in creativity, innovation, design, and leadership, all of which enable him to hold a unique combination of expertise, centred around his passion for helping entrepreneurs succeed online.

Nick Webster is a Website Security expert and security specialist at GoDaddy UK. Understanding the topics discussed today is essential when starting a business and could save you millions in the future.

You as a business owner are in charge of maintaining the security of your website, but many owners are unsure how to do so. It should be a top priority to secure and protect a simple web domain for your business, create and host a website that helps your customers seamlessly travel through the process of going from a viewer to a buyer, and ensure that their personal data security is protected at all times.

Andy Evans is an investor, mentor and serial entrepreneur who has sold 3 companies. Andy was weaned on marketing as a child by his father who was a marketing manager and he was given his first computer in 1981 for Christmas, which his mother said was the first toy he ever had that he didn’t take apart. In 1985, Andy started his first business aged 15, selling concert tickets and trips. In 1999, He founded one of the UK's first digital publishing businesses & first vertical ad-network in the UK, Net Communities, and in 2015 sold it to Future plc. He also founded the UK's first Podcast production company in 2005.