Blue-rinse entrepreneurs make millions
By Kate Pritchard
They started out selling their home-made chutney to the WI and school fetes. Now two mums-turned-mavericks have clinched a big-bucks deal with Waitrose to supply their luxury range of Anglo-Indian sauces.

Why school stinks
By Kate Pritchard
Starting out with just a tool kit and a van, Charlie Mullins has built a £15m-turnover plumbing business, unblocking drains for the likes of Jonathan Ross, Eric Clapton and Gordon Ramsay. His biggest regret? “I left school when I was 15. I wish I’d escaped much earlier.”

The science of hiring good employees
By Rebecca Burn-Callander
There’s no precise formula to hiring good people,” says Jason Stockwood, international MD of Match.com. “But I do have one piece of advice.”

Entrepreneurs and FDs go hand in hand
By Catherine Woods
Employing a good finance director to keep a watchful eye on costs is the most important thing a fast-growing company can do, according to Vtesse Networks founder Aidan Paul.

Internet franchisor's recruitment advice
By Kate Pritchard
Entrepreneur Nigel Botterill has just hired an MD to take over the day-to-day running of thebestof.co.uk, his £7m-turnover franchising business. But finding the right man for the job was a tough task: “It took me nine months to replace myself.”

SMEs walk First Mile to greener businesses
By Carryn Dewing
Eco-entrepreneur Bruce Bratley’s business collection service for waste electrical and electronic products and batteries has already attracted 200 clients less than three months after its launch.

Sainsbury's surgery entrepreneur Jiva: Tesco turned me down
By Carryn Dewing
Mohammed Jiva, the doctor entrepreneur who is behind the trial of the in-supermarket surgery in Sainsbury’s that opens today, says Tesco and Asda weren’t interested in the idea when he approached them.

Print entrepreneur takes "sensible price" for business
By Catherine Woods
Charterhouse CEO Gary Mahoney chose not to compromise the ownership of the business in return for more cash when the entrepreneur took external investment in the print management company.

Millionaire plumber bans builder's bum
By Kate Pritchard
Charlie Mullins has built a £15m-turnover plumbing business and counts celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey and floppy-haired actor Hugh Grant as his clients. So what’s his secret? “I set strict rules of appearance for my employees. No one wants a sloppy bastard with his arse hanging out his pants wandering around their house.”

TMTI builds “gadget doctor” business
By Kate Pritchard
Entrepreneur Crispin Thomas’s TMTI has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing companies by teaching customers how to work the bewildering features on their mobile phones and other gadgets.