The Entrepreneurs

Dr Carmen Hijosa is the founder of Ananas Anam, which produces a leather alternative made from pineapple-leaf fibres called Piñatex. Hijosa is originally from Asturias in northern Spain and a career designing and manufacturing leather goods took her around the world, including to the Philippines where the idea for Piñatex was born. Carmen’s work developing the product led her to a PhD on the subject and a business that she continues to grow today.

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Rupert McKelvie is the founder of Out of the Valley, a cabin design and manufacturing company based in Devon, southwest England. The idea was born of necessity: he built his first cabin as a place to live. Today his team creates bespoke cabins for use as studios, garden offices, saunas and wilderness retreats.

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Trained architect Michelle Toney and former fashion designer Stephanie Cleary are co-founders of Morrow Soft Goods, the Los Angeles-based homeware brand they launched in 2016. The aim was to move away from too-perfect home interiors that didn’t really feel lived-in, taking inspiration – and borrowing a colour palette – from California’s wilderness. Morrow started in bedding and has expanded into other soft goods for the home, from towels and table linen to rugs and pillows.

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Cole Rosentreter is the founder and CEO of Pegasus Imagery, an Alberta-based start-up making drones to fight forest fires. With their 4-metre wingspan, these can collect data and manoeuvre more easily than helicopters.

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Much of our personal and business finance is now managed through apps, with fintech platforms available for everything from payments to savings. We meet Marty Bell, co-founder and CMO of Nude, to learn more about the platform helping you invest for a dream home. Plus: CEO and founder of Overflow, Vance Roush, tells us about his career and why he’s making it easier to donate stocks.

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Robyn Simms is the co-founder of Square Root, a soft drinks brand she launched with her partner, Ed Taylor, in 2012. Using seasonal fruit, they make sodas and non-alcoholic cocktails at their factory in east London.

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Shiza Shahid is the co-founder and co-CEO of Our Place. She launched the Los Angeles-based brand in 2019, hoping to create a line of cookware that would simplify home cooking while catering to a wide range of culinary styles and traditions – a goal she achieved with the bestselling Always Pan. Born in Pakistan, Shahid is also the co-founder of Now Ventures and the Malala Fund alongside activist Malala Yousafzai.

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Cathryn Woodruff and Julie Schott are the co-founders of Plus, a personal care brand making soap and body wash in dissolvable packaging. The just-add-water idea brings together Woodruff’s passion for sustainable and purpose-driven brands, and Schott’s years of experience covering the beauty industry at ‘Elle’ magazine, where she noticed a huge waste problem in packaging. Schott is also co-founder of Starface, a top skincare brand for tackling acne, alongside Plus’s other partner Brian Bordainick.

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Bryan Chua is the founder of Wonderhome Naturals, a company based in the Philippines with a line of home cleaning and personal care products made from coconuts and plant probiotics. The packaging is made from recycled ocean plastic, which is then smartly packed and shipped in a modular system to reduce the carbon footprint of transporting the range.

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Christian Layolle is the UK head of The Mills Fabrica, which recently opened a new location in London’s King’s Cross. Aimed at bringing sustainable innovations to scale, it’s the long-awaited expansion of the Nan Fung Group’s business-incubator concept launched in Hong Kong in 2018. Plus: we head to Connecticut to meet John Walker, head brewer and co-founder of Athletic Brewing Company. The brand is a leader in bringing life – and taste – to the buzzing non-alcoholic beer sector.

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