PROFILE
TEES UP !
Name : Age : 37 Born :
Shak Asghar
In the Boro
Lives : After a bit of wandering , I ’ m settled back in Boro
Organisation ( s ) & Job title ( s ): Chief Nudl ( CEO at Nudl )
When I was at school , I wanted to be … A basketball player .
The best business decision I ever made was … Using my Nudl and starting up Nudl !
The worst business decision I ever made was … Getting my Nudl in a twist for far too long and delaying the launch of Nudl .
The best part of my job is … Putting the fun into funding to help businesses grow and succeed . I love meeting the people behind each business , and find it so interesting and diverse !
The biggest downside of my working life is … I ’ m so passionate about my business that I work as much as I can , so that means less time to spend with friends and family .
If I could change one thing to help my organisation it would be … Visibility ! I ’ d love every business in the UK to know who we are and what we do . Luckily , we ’ ve got an excellent team working on that objective for us .
Four words to describe me are … ( This is worse than a dating profile !), I ’ d say : Quirky , Fun , Creative and Committed .
My business mantra is … Know your worth and know your vision . If you commit to both of these you will be successful .
My greatest achievement is … being able to help others , every penny to help a business is an achievement in my eyes .
The advice I ’ d give to business start-ups is … Be brave and take the leap , but plan as much as you can , ask for help and most importantly , believe in yourself . Or , just use your Nudl !
The biggest character on the Tees business scene is … There are so many good people here in the big TV , but I think it ’ s people like Charlotte at Harvey & Hugo and Clover at Wander Films that are really inspirational . They are smashing it out there , have taken big risks with fresh ideas and approaches , and inspiring more diversity in business which is really important to us at Nudl , as well as myself personally . I believe diversity is the key to innovation so hope to see more business owners from a range of backgrounds – regardless of sexuality , religion , race or otherwise - set the world alight on Tees Valley in coming years .
Teesside ’ s a great place for business because … Tee-Tee-Teesiders ! We have such great people here with a grit and determination to succeed no matter what gets chucked at us . In the past we have helped to literally build the world , now it ’ s a great place to build your business .
My biggest frustration about Teesside is … The way we can be perceived externally . There have been some great steps forward , but it ’ s down to us all to bang the drum so that we attract even more top-class business , market our ingenious companies and show the world how amazing Teesside is .
My favourite local charity is … There are a few really great organisations , but I ’ ll go with Teesside Hospice .
64 | Tees Business