Insider's North West 42 under 42 Event 2024

Insider Media

Robyn Hewson catches up with current and former 42 under 42 members at the annual dinner, this year hosted at the AO Arena.

Transcript

00:00Yeah, so we're the co-founders of the Spirit of Manchester Distillery. Started back in

00:162016, very sort of humble beginnings, started distilling in our dining room, have grown

00:23sort of...

00:24We did 25,000 bottles in our dining room in the first 18 months.

00:29It was awful.

00:30It was hell.

00:31But now we've got a full city centre, I'm pointing because it is that one, a full city

00:36centre distillery that does tours, restaurant, bar, and yeah.

00:41It does restaurant.

00:42It does restaurant.

00:43It does restaurant.

00:46We also have, as well as gin, which we started with, we now have vodka, rum, and more recently

00:51English whiskey in our portfolio.

00:53Yeah.

00:54Hi, I'm Charlotte and I'm from Future in Finance.

00:56So Charlotte, you're being inducted into the 42 Under 42 today.

00:59How does it feel?

01:00Yeah, really exciting.

01:01I've just done the round table event and it was so insightful.

01:04I've learnt a lot, met a lot of nice people.

01:06Yeah, I'm really excited.

01:07This is the first time I've done something like this because my business is still relatively

01:10new so it's been a real eye opener.

01:12So what exactly does your business do?

01:15I teach people who want to become mortgage advisors how to pass their qualifications

01:20to get into jobs.

01:21So I do it all online.

01:23They can either join me on Zoom or they can download a pre-recorded course and I coach

01:27people, hold their hand until they're qualified.

01:29Amazing.

01:30And you said it's quite new.

01:31So how long have you been doing it for?

01:33About a year.

01:34So the business idea started because I could not get qualified.

01:38So I could just not pass the exams.

01:40I'd used a couple of different providers to try and help me along the way and still couldn't

01:43get over the line and thought, I can't be the only person that can't do it.

01:47So purely out of spite, really, me and my best friend got a bottle of wine and a really

01:51cheap microphone and started a podcast and within weeks of the podcast launching with

01:55an Instagram account, people messaging me and asking for coaching and as they say, the

02:00rest is history.

02:01Hi, I'm Helen Quayle and I own a company called Laser HQ.

02:06We are award-winning laser clinic across the UK and I am thrilled to be in the 42 under

02:1242.

02:13Honestly, it's such an achievement and to be besides so many amazing businesses and

02:19entrepreneurs.

02:21So seven years ago, I started in the back end of a tiny room in a salon and fast forward

02:26to seven years, we are one of the leading laser brands in the UK.

02:31We work with massive companies like Harvey Nichols and Sinclair.

02:35I am a leading trial blazer in the laser industry and yeah, we change people's lives every day

02:41with services like laser hair removal, tattoo removal, et cetera and we do amazing campaigns

02:49that help women on their hormone health programs.

02:52Hi, I'm Jane Booth, I'm from UBS Global Wealth Management.

02:57We look after some of the most well-known, high-profile entrepreneurs in the Northwest

03:03and help with their personal finances and all their planning after they leave their

03:08business.

03:09Fantastic and UBS is actually a sponsor of our 42 under 42 event and campaign.

03:14So why did you want to get involved with it?

03:17So we've been admirers of the 42 under 42 brand for a long time, principally because

03:23there are some amazing entrepreneurs who are at the younger end of the spectrum and it's

03:28so interesting seeing their journey as they go through their business career and some

03:34of the past winners have been phenomenally successful Northwest entrepreneurs and it's

03:39really exciting for us to be able to engage with people and support at an earlier stage

03:43and really enhance the community in the Northwest.

03:48So I'm Sid, I'm the founder and managing director of SpexCart, SpexCart today is amongst

03:52the fastest growing eyewear businesses in the UK and what we do is we make prescription

03:57glasses and what we're trying to do is change the way people think about glasses.

04:03So glasses are not a sight correction instrument or they're not just a sight correction instrument

04:08or a medical accessory.

04:09They sit right on our faces, so they're a fashion accessory.

04:12So what we think is just like, you know, I'd have multiple pairs of shoes.

04:15If I'm going to the gym, I'm going to wear a sports pair of shoes.

04:19Then similarly, if I'm going to the gym, I should have a different pair of glasses and

04:22if I'm wearing a suit, I should have a different pair of glasses.

04:25So that's where we have to change that consumer perception and we're doing this by improving

04:29three things, prices, customer experience and lead time.

04:33So at SpexCart, you can shop for a pair of glasses, which will be 70% less than high

04:37street and you can come in our stores as well.

04:40The way that our stores are laid out, it's a completely modern environment.

04:44They're free to try on.

04:45They're not locked behind rails.

04:48When you're waiting for your eye test, you can have a game of bar football or you'll,

04:52you know, in the sports section, you'll see a bicycle hanging from the ceiling.

04:55So our stores are not like GP surgeries or other opticians.

04:59On another note, for e-commerce customers, they can order up to four frames free of charge

05:04and we'll deliver to the customers just to try them on.

05:06And they'll have a prepaid returns label so they can send them back.

05:09If they like anything, they can order with their prescription.

05:12If they don't like, they can do another trial as much as they want.

05:15It's always free.

05:16And if they order glasses from us, we deliver them in 24 hours, which is faster than a speeding

05:21bullet in our industry.

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