The Entrepreneurs

Stephen Ying is the founder of Spinbox, a company making portable turntables with the aim of bringing music on vinyl to new audiences. Ying is a classically trained musician who also tours the world as DJ QuestionMark. By creating Spinbox he was hoping to introduce more people to a DIY style of making and sharing music. Spinbox is made with a durable, waterproof cardboard shell and includes built-in speakers and an amplifier.

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Julian Hearn is the founder of nutrition brand Huel, one of the fastest-growing companies in the UK. Hearn sold a previous business for a tidy sum in 2011 before launching Huel in 2015 with input from nutrition expert James Collier. The company has sold more than 40 million meals in more than 80 countries. Huel’s drinks are created to be a complete meal, with a balance of protein, carbohydrate, fibre, fat, vitamins and minerals.

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Tom Warner is the co-founder and director of Warner’s Distillery, the UK’s largest independent gin brand. It’s based on a 200-year-old farm in Northamptonshire that has been in the family for generations; now it boasts a two-hectare botanical garden, more than 400,000 bees and bountiful berries that go into a newly released raspberry gin.

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Luis von Ahn is co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, the world’s most popular language-learning tool, teaching more than 35 languages to 300 million people globally. Presented like a game, the platform plays to our competitive nature: a passive-aggressive owl called Duo reminds users to practise daily. The company is also expanding into literacy: new app ‘Duolingo ABC’ is aimed at helping people who can’t read or write to learn their mother tongues.

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Monocle’s Alexei Korolyov meets Masha Dabelka, a Russian DJ, artist and founder of Turntablista, a school in Vienna teaching the art of turntablism and nurturing women DJs. Dabelka launched the project after winning a contest and bursary from Vienna Business Agency’s creative centre Departure. The school gives students an opportunity to play music live through its collaboration with an independent radio station.

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Folk’s creative director Cathal McAteer founded the streetwear label in 2002 after moving to London from Glasgow. Known for their lush materials, wearable feel and smart details, Folk’s clothes have cult status worldwide. The brand recently launched a low-impact partnership with retail giant John Lewis called It’s All Good Folk.

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Kathryn Duryea is the CEO and founder of Year & Day, the San Francisco-based tableware company making ceramics, cutlery and glassware. In creating a brand that helps people connect around the table at home, she set out on her own, finding partners in Italy and Portugal to craft the necessary pieces.

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Norma Kamali is the New York-based fashion designer whose career spans five decades. She has always been ahead of the trend, whether that’s re-using parachute silk, designing the sleeping bag puffer coat that made her name, becoming obsessed with personal health and wellness or championing gender-neutral clothing. Along with her flagship retail space on West 56th Street, Norma has designed pieces for Whitney Houston, Farrah Fawcet, Bianca Jagger, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.

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Hiro Shinn and Ty McLaren are the founders of KOA, a New York-based men’s skincare brand inspired by the natural beauty of Hawaii. They started their careers together in investment banking but quickly decided that they were more interested in building a brand of their own.

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Emily Brooke is the founder of Beryl, the cycling company behind a new bike-sharing scheme in London with sharp mint green bikes. Emily is also the inventor of the green laserlight integrated into hire bikes around the world. Emily launched the company, originally Blaze, in 2012 off a successful crowdfunding campaign and went on to raise more than £1M in the first few years, while being recognized with an MBE for services to transport and the economy.

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