Success stories

Eco-friendly household cleaning brand, Clevelli Bay, has been launched by a neurodivergent entrepreneur, inspired by Richard Branson’s stories about dyslexia and success, with the help of a £25,000 Start Up Loan from the British Business Bank.

Learn how Jane Henderson Forrest started their business Zig and Zag Handmade with help from a loan from Start Up Loans.

Francis Harwood, founder of Limitless is a Start Up Loans recipient. Francis took out his first loan of £10,000 via Let’s Do Business group when he was 23 years old. He took out a second loan of £5,000 in October 2023, when he was 24 years old.

In 2023, with the help of a £10,000 loan from Start Up Loans, my manifestations came into fruition and Filmmaking Planner was born.

Best friends of 22 years Fabian Clark and Rohan Radhakrishnan co-founded the business in 2021 after seeing a gap in the existing all-or-nothing booze market. The low-alcohol, low-calorie gin product gives customers a great tasting alternative, without the possible side effects of the higher-alcohol options.

Gaëlle Chatelard took out a £25,000 loan in August 2021 through delivery partner Virgin StartUp to help get her brand ETHOSA off the ground. ETHOSA is an innovative sustainable waterless personal care brand.

Matt Everett borrowed £10,000 in July 2023 to grow into Dragonfly films. Dragonfly films is a London-based video production company using state-of-the-art equipment and modern techniques to deliver high-end video content for businesses nationwide.

Learn more about Kindhaus Family Club, a “home away from home” for modern families that combines indoor play for the kids with coworking space for busy parents.

Funmi Lalwal, 55, London originally came to Start Up Loans back in 2013 to help her set up a business teaching the elderly learn Microsoft skills. She created Clip Knix, a brand offering adapted fastening underwear for women in 2018 to solve a problem that she had noticed after suffering from ill health.

Chloe Bruce took out a loan of £12,500 to launch the Chloe Bruce Academy in 2020, a business offering virtual martial arts classes and tutorials.

Cherisse Brown took out a £10,000 loan to launch Urbee, an e-shop aiming to raise awareness about the importance of bees and other pollinating insects and the need for their conservation.

Ben Caspary launched Booheads in November 2020. His company makes sustainably made and biodegradable bamboo toothbrush heads for consumers seeking an alternative to the disposable plastic versions that end up in landfills.

Melissa Sinclair took out a Start Up Loan to open Big Hair + Beauty, a natural haircare brand for afro and curly hair.

Arabella Hill and Flavia Paterson took out two loans of £25,000 in January 2020 and £10,000 in June 2020 to set up Paterson and Hill, a clothing brand for women working in manual jobs.

Jeremy May secured Start Up Loans funding through Virgin StartUp in February 2020. He had worked in the food and drink industry and came up with the idea for NICE after discovering an American brand of canned wine on Instagram and became immediately obsessed with the concept.

Sam Elsdon took out a Start Up Loan to open The Cheese Collective, selling artisinal small-batch cheeses that you won’t find in supermarkets.

Formerly a police officer of six and a half years, Alex Habachi founded his e-commerce business Vinkind in 2016 with a £6,000 Start Up Loan via delivery partner X-Emergency Services (X-ES).

Ryan Palmer took out a loan of £25,000 in 2014 to launch the London Sock Company, a premium sock brand founded with the mission “to inspire everyone to Walk Brighter, embracing that uplifting moment when you pull your socks up each and every morning”.