Start-up mentored by veteran entrepreneur

Paula Wynne launched Remote Employment, an online job board for remote workers, earlier this year. When she stumbled across the Mentor Competition, which could give her access to some of the most successful entrepreneurial brains in Britain, she jumped at the chance.

“The MAD [Make a Difference] women on the panel were really exciting,” she says. “Karen Darby was my first choice. She grew SimplySwitch.com to a turnover of £22m before she sold it to the Daily Mail. I knew her advice would be invaluable to taking my business forward.”

Wynne got her wish. At the Oscars-style awards ceremony at the BT Tower last week, she was awarded Darby as a mentor for the next six months. “I got up on stage to meet her and she told me that I was her first choice too!” says Wynne. “We skipped across the stage.”

Remote Employment currently features 100 jobs on the site. Wynne is looking to triple that figure, and boost their advertising revenue. “We want the website to be a one-stop shop for remote and home-workers,” she says. “Karen’s contacts and connections will be really useful in getting into the top corporate firms and accelerate growth in the business.”

Wynne will be telling Real Business all about the highs and lows of building a business with Karen Darby over the next six months. Keep your eyes peeled.

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