The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 2: Winter 2016/17 | Page 18

INDIE BUSINESS Bath’s bright young things We met with two of the city’s most inspirational young entrepreneurs to find out more about their business story and how they’re going to make an impact in 2017 and beyond. Tom Tigwell, MissionJuice 22-year old Tom is the founder of social enterprise project MissionJuice. An ex-Ralph Allen School pupil, Tom based in Combe Down has a business with a mission- to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues. Sticking to the norm isn’t Tom’s philosophy in life, rather than following the herd he likes to do something different. Instead of choosing to go to university in the UK, after completing his A Levels, Tom chose to relocate to America for his studies and attended Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Florida. He chose Northwood because it was a business school, with a great reputation for sports too and allowed him to keep playing football at a high-level whilst completing his business management degree. Tom said: “Whilst studying I heard about the TOMS shoes brand and its ‘One for One’ business model. For every pair of TOMS shoes purchased a pair of shoes is given to a child in need. This powerful business has provided 60 million pairs of shoes to those in need since 2006. “I read the founder Blake Mycoskie’s book, Start Something That Matters and it made a real impact on me. Before reading it, I just wanted to climb the corporate ladder and was very money driven. Now, I want to do something with a purpose and that was how the idea for MissionJuice was born. One night I was struggling to sleep after returning from the USA and suffering from jetlag. In the early hours of the morning it came to me, that juices I’d been buying every day could have a greater impact than just my health. They could help people and the planet.” For every bottle of MissionJuice sold, 5% of the products profits will be donated to charity. Tom has been working hard on the business model for the last six months, establishing the brand’s identity, target market and how he’s going to raise the funds to make the project a reality. MissionJuice which has been trademarked in the UK will launch its crowdfunding campaign to raise £75,000 on January 24, 2017. Tom said:“The idea is to soft-launch in the South West first and I’m currently looking for stockists in the local area. Once established, my aim is to get MissionJuice stocked in all of the major supermarkets. “I’m excited to say there’s been international interest in the brand already, so there’s so much scope.” Tom’s idea for MissionJuice was recognised by Richard Branson earlier this year in his Virgin Boom 2016 competition. Out of 10,000 entrants MissionJuice was shortlisted as one of 80 finalists. Tom pitched to both the MD and FD of Virgin. He said:“The experience and exposure was brilliant. Sadly I didn’t win, but Virgin Atlantic have shown an interest in the juice, so watch this space!” To find out more about the crowdfunding campaign and to register your interest visit: www.missionjuice.co.uk or email Tom: [email protected] For more info: www.missionjuice.co.uk @missionjuiceuk Claudia May Lingerie New Bath-based e-commerce site aspires to be the Net-A-Porter of the lingerie world Claudia May Lingerie is a high-end lingerie site, launched with a simple quest, to seek out the very best lingerie around the world and bring it to women in the UK. The business is the brainchild of young entrepreneur, Claudia May, who was just 19 when she incorporated the company. Launched in September 2016 the website stocks some of the world’s most desired brands including Aubade, Chantelle, Maison Lejaby and Tallulah Love. Before setting up, Claudia worked as a sales assistant