Carl Hopkins: Secret Millionaire, Elvis obsessive, direct marketing guru and Lifetime Honorary President of Easington Miners’ Brass Band…
Steph Cutler was working as a fashion designer when her sight began to deteriorate, inspiring her to set up Image Intelligence.
Blue Ventures is a pioneering marine conservation and development organisation, set up by Alasdair Harris and based in London and Madagascar.
Simon was working in the charity sector when he decided that images of Africa ought to come from a local perspective, as well as providing employment and training opportunities for people who lived there.
Pro Active Sports aims to reduce health inequalities in young people by promoting physical activity and sports to primary school children who do not have a dedicated PE teacher.
Ed Bartlett used his passion for gaming to create a unique opportunitity for advertisers: to "engage new worlds" with in-game advertising.
Oliver and Nicola set up Natural Magic in 2005 as a new high-end organic beauty brand using all natural ingredients. After one month online, Selfridges wanted to stock Natural Magic candles; after six months both partners had quit their day jobs in private equities and media, to focus on the venture.
One of the first dot com millionaires and Channel 4’s first Secret Millionaire is now focused on developing technology with social and environmental aims.
"Whenever anyone looks at me for a job all they see is a rather wibbly wobbly person who seems to have a lot of things done for them. Hardly anyone asks me what I can do. And believe me, I can do a lot more than you can imagine. I just do it differently."
Sally loved travel, but wasn't so fond of the effect that mass tourism has on local people and the environment. So she set aside a planned legal career to develop ethical travel website Your Safe Planet.
Jerome Touze (right) and Peter Ward established travel social networking site Where Are You Now? (WAYN) in September 2002. WAYN helps travellers stay in touch with their friends but also publishes reviews of hotels, restaurants and tourist sites.
Launched in 2006, Tribe Wanted is a concept created to develop a sustainable eco-community and interactive online community on the 200 acre island of Vorovoro in Fiji.
“There is only one place you will find success before work and that is in the dictionary,” says Nat Peat, founder of the Safety Box.
Rubber Cheese’s success is built on hard work, real world experience and valuable contacts.
Sabirul believes profoundly in the power of positive role models. He himself was inspired by a teacher and his cousin early on in his business career, and has written a book that aims to inspire others.
Ndiho was born in Rwanda and arrived in Britain in 2000 as a refugee. Now, as founder of Obedihs Enterprises, he has recently launched YnotPlast, Britain’s first multi-ethnic first aid products.
Frustration with employers and the desire to fulfil their full potential led Philip Churm and Caroline Moore to form Securit GB Ltd, British manufacturers of simple, solid secure storage units.
Tina Gharavi, born in Iran, produces films exploring issues of identity, migration and equality. Her work has been screened internationally at major film festivals and broadcast on television in the UK, the US and afar.
Elevation Networks brings the power of networking to a wider audience, presenting new opportunities to students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Whether she’s creating bags made from seat belts or replacing Valentine’s roses with snowdrops, Cyndi Rhoades is helping one person at a time live a more sustainable life.
