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Revenue is generated from design, manufacture, distribution and sale of the own branded goods. The UK is the primary market for the business at present, but international expansion is on the agenda.
Detailing the concept to Real Business, Arthur said: ?Not much has changed in goalkeeper products in the last 15 years. Our products are design-led, focusing on functional innovation ??the combination of these two aspects are allowing us to develop a forward-thinking reputation in this marketplace. ?Our long-term strategy is to use the reputation developed for goalkeeper-specific products to diversify into other mass market sports.? The growing business has been expanding with the help of accelerator programme Entrepreneurial Spark (E-Spark), which Arthur summarised with one word ???brilliant?. ?The support in place from enablers is a phenomenal resource and, although challenging, facilitates clarity of thought and clear decision-making,? he said.?The partners on board are essential to scale the business ? RBS and KPMG providing financial and strategic advice and support, with Harper Macleod assisting with all the inevitable legal concerns of a startup. ?The culture within the organisation is empowering, with the go do mindset cascading down through all the chiclets [incubators] that join. This has allowed us to develop a clear vision for the future and put in place strategy to achieve our goals.? Having learnt from E-Spark, Arthur said his advice to rising entrepreneurs would be to validate any assumptions before pumping capital into a venture. He said that the biggest setback the company experienced was a batch of stock that was completely damaged. ?This almost sunk us,? admitted Arthur. On a more positive note, he revealed his biggest highlight so far: ?Having grown up watching Match of the Day on a Saturday night, it was a somewhat surreal experience to see our gloves worn by a top league goalkeeper on this iconic show.? As for his hero today, Arthur pointed to James Kerr, author of the book Legacy, which details a behind the scenes experience with the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team. To that end, he added his goal within the next five years is to be a good role model to his daughter, with hopes that he?ll remain grounded and happy.
Another great story of growth is that of Darceys Candles Online, a handmade candle business based in Scotland. We heard from founder Jackie Dalziel who told us that a fire burning down the company and all of its products only made it stronger.
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