Best of 2023: The top Enterprise Nation member stories
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Posted: Tue 19th Dec 2023
It’s been yet another super year for Enterprise Nation’s fantastic community of small business owners.
Fortunately, over the last 12 months, we’ve had the opportunity to speak directly with many of Enterprise Nation’s most popular and vibrant members, providing them with a platform to share their experiences and journeys so far.
Have a look at five of the very best member stories of 2023.
1. Hannah Williams, Scribble Inc.
We kick off with Hannah Williams, illustrator and founder of visual communication business Scribble Inc.
Hannah has a unique set of skills that she first discovered at university by sketch-noting her lectures. She realised she recalled details with greater clarity than she did with just typed notes. In 2018, Hannah took this insight and founded Scribble Inc., helping professionals in marketing, HR and comms to supercharge the value of their events. She explains:
“Scribble Inc is driven by helping teams tell interesting, relatable and clear stories that engage everyone – making spoken word memorable and tangible in over 14 industries.”
2. Zoë Chapman, Kiddiwhizz
We caught up with Zoë Chapman about her entrepreneurial journey starting Kiddiwhizz – the revolutionary portable toilet for kids – and landing a deal at Dragons' Den.
She also chats about her extensive experiences with Enterprise Nation, and how the platform has significantly boosted her fortunes. She says:
"Enterprise Nation has played a massive part in my journey. The Enterprise Nation newsletters are so good because they showcase Lunch and Learns, for example – which are just brilliant sources of bite-sized information.
"I ended up doing a Lunch and Learn myself about inventing a product, and I loved doing that. What then really helped as well was Enterprise Nation’s partnership with Google and its Digital Garage."
3. Tammy Whalen Blake, Go To Yellow
Tammy Whalen Blake is the founder of the life coaching and personal development business, Go To Yellow.
We spoke to Tammy about the influence her childhood and previous career in corporate sales had on her starting her own business, which helps founders with issues such as productivity, problem-solving and personal growth.
She also explains how attending Enterprise Nation events and joining as an adviser member has boosted her business. She explains:
"I first heard about Enterprise Nation when I went to a StartUp Saturday one-day business class in Bristol. It was an amazing event. Truly fantastic. I cannot give Enterprise Nation any more kudos.
"After the event, I started to embrace the Enterprise Nation platform. It’s a system that helps start-ups, entrepreneurs and micro businesses. That built trust and credibility with it because it follows my values exactly. It was a moment of 'we absolutely must work together', so I became an adviser member."
Read our interview with Tammy here.
4. Oliver Tyler, Shroot
In November 2022, Oliver Tyler bought Shroot after it acquired a substantial loss over two years. The eco-friendly, biodegradable greeting cards are a gift, card, experience and snack all in one.
Oliver was also one of the winners of the Enterprise Nation Fund in the entrepreneurial category and will be mentored by pioneering entrepreneur Timothy Armoo. He says:
"Winning the Enterprise Nation competition feels unreal! It's a huge nod to the hard work we've put into Shroot and our dedication to a greener future.
"This prize isn't just funds – it's belief in our vision. We're buzzing with excitement and can't wait to see where this journey takes us next."
5. Katie Prescott, founder of Abridge Academy
Katie Prescott started Abridge Academy in 2018 as a social enterprise running educational and cultural exchange programmes in Asia for students, young people and teachers.
After a successful summer camp launch to China in 2019, she officially registered the business in January 2020 and a few months later the world shut down with coronavirus.
The pandemic forced Katie to switch her business model to online training, a pivot which proved successful as Abridge Academy never went back to organising in-person programmes again. To learn new business skills, the entrepreneur also signed up for free e-learning as part of the Amazon Small Business Accelerator. Katie says:
“We had one great summer before COVID made us switch from in-person education programmes to online. It was the absolute worst time to be launching an educational travel business.
"It was challenging but we haven't looked back and are now helping over 30,000 teachers worldwide.”
Inspired by these member stories? You can become one yourself here!
