in Profiles by Carryn Dewing. Permalink.
Mitesh Soma, founder Chemist Direct, on his beginnings as a shelf stacker at Waitrose.
Mitesh Soma - founder of Chemistdirect.co.uk
Name: Mitesh Soma
Age: 34
Company: Chemistdirect.co.uk
Company turnover: £10m
First job: Shelf stacker at Waitrose
Dream job: Being an entrepreneur
Car: BMW
Economy, business or first class: Business and economy
Most extravagant purchase: My honeymoon to St Lucia with my wife Krishna
Most-played song on your iPod: All of Toni Braxton's first album
Best business book: Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson
Worst business moment: In the beginning, when IT problems jeopardised our launch
Proudest business moment: When we employed our 50th employee and realised the business was not dependent on me anymore
Your business mentor: I look up to and try to learn from anyone who has worked hard to achieve something for themselves and others
Next big thing: In 2011, I want to focus on offering customers GP consultations where they can quickly and easily book an appointment with a registered doctor and get a fast diagnosis or advice online in a way which hasn’t been done before.
Launched in 2007, Chemistdirect.co.uk made its name by drastically undercutting high-street pharmacies. Today, it turns over more than £10m and has 300,000 registered users.