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We’re insanely excited to be part of The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 for 2015, this is a huge accolade for us and something we are very proud to be a part of. As a printing company starting from humble beginnings we have prided ourselves on our hardworking ethic and determination to get where we are today.
The list has seen an array of successful businesses over the last 18 years of which we have chosen our favourite 3 to showcase their stories – we are definitely among some great company!
1. Innocent
They have graced the list a whopping 6 times since first hitting spot 3 in 2004. They have such a great story behind their brand starting from 3 Cambridge university graduates. To decide whether they would make the grade to start their small business they pitched up at a London jazz festival and asked passers-by if they should quit their jobs and make smoothies for a living. With a bin for ‘Yes’ and a bin for ‘no’ people voted with their empties. They’ve had many different names including Fast Tractor, Nude and Naked but finally settled on Innocent. Since then, they have grown massively to increase their offerings from the smoothies they started with; they’ve added noodle pots and ready meals to their growing menu. Their office ‘Fruit Towers’ is also pretty cool with AstroTurf grass and a picnic breakout area.
2. Graze
Popping up in the list in 2013 and 2014 you may know this company for their yummy snacks delivered in a neat package to your home or office. The London-based company was set up in 2007 and have now even launched their service into America. They want to be the most innovative company in the world and view themselves as a sophisticated tech company – not just a food company. By having their own in house system, they use custom robots and patented algorithm called DARWIN this assigns products to peoples boxes according to ratings, preferences and variety of textures. It’s the first of its kind to merge technology and food in this way which has propelled them into some serious growth.
3. Missguided
Missguided was born when founder Nitin Passi came up with the idea after his father started to wind down his UK fashion business. He initially took out a £50,000 loan to make his dream a reality and after working in every area of the business to make it a success, they hit a £100,000 turnover in the first year after his first website went live in 2009. In 2014 they made it into The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 and their success is set to continue. Nitin’s strategy is to test, react and maximise. He always used a multichannel approach to his marketing and realises that their customers do not use just one channel of media.
Some cracking stories there. We hope that’s given you some inspiration for your small business!
