The Entrepreneurs

Menswear designer Mehmet Ali was once the creative director of the venerated Savile Row house Hardy Amies. But he’s now left all that behind to launch his own brand called MEHM+ which focuses on innovative design and a strong sense of provenance. So why leave a cushy job to venture into the unknown? Ali shares his story.

In a former life, Robin Roberts studied zoology, was an officer in the British army and spent two decades at an executive search firm. It was then that he saw qualified executives consistently mess up job interviews. Robin decided to launch a company called ‘Rehearse it!’, staffed with theatre professionals, to help people prepare for critical moments in their careers. Robin and his casting director Michele Leach explain the story of 'Rehearse it!' and share their top interview tips.

Clover Lewis studied fashion design and worked as a costume assistant everywhere from opera houses to music tours. But it was after Clover experienced breast cancer that she was inspired to launch her own business – a stylish swimwear brand for women who’ve gone through breast cancer surgeries. She shares how she turned a recovery project into an inspiring tale of business success.

Raoul Shah founded the powerhouse communications agency Exposure in 1993. He’s since pioneered the art of product placement and represented big-hitting clients from Nike and Converse to Coca-Cola and Uniqlo. He explains how PR has changed over the past quarter century, shares the secrets to keeping clients happy and tells about that time he launched Jay Z’s luxury champagne brand.

Lana Elie is the founder of Floom, a London start-up that allows some of the city’s best florists to sell beautiful bouquets through a slick online interface. She quit her job to launch Floom just over a year ago – she tells us how she did it.

Fabien Riggall is the founder of Secret Cinema, a fast-growing company that organises complex large-scale productions of much-loved films, from ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’ to ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, in which the audience and performance come together as one. It’s all done with a healthy dose of secrecy: locations are hidden until the final moment and smartphones are strictly forbidden. So how did Fabien build a secret brand in an oversharing era? And what has he learnt along the way? He shares his story.

French entrepreneurs Laura Faeh and Cécilia Thomas share how they created their London-based lifestyle company Lapp – maker of the poptail: stylish ice pops made of fresh fruit and premium alcohol – and what they’ve learnt along the way.

Sharmadean Reid is the founder of London-based brand Wah Nails, which she started as a hip-hop magazine for girls while she was still at university. Reid has since built a business empire focused on nail art, with salons, products, pop-ups and a new virtual-reality experience that pushes the boundaries of technology in the beauty industry. This week she shares her top tips and tells us about mistakes made and lessons learnt.

Paul Noble was Monocle 24’s original executive producer, helping to launch our radio station. Since leaving he's fulfilled a long-held dream to create a physical place in which to experience, enjoy and celebrate good music. It’s called Spiritland, a one-of-a-kind café, bar, event space, shop and studio in London, built around one of the world’s best sound systems. How did he get the idea off the ground?

The green revolution has made its mark in offices, with science supporting the idea that greenery boosts wellbeing, but gyms are yet to catch on. This week we meet Matt Aspiotis Morley – whose fitness brand Biofit uses natural materials, lots of plants and zero technology – and find out how he plans to attract customers in a crowded market.