David Barker, 26 Founder of 4D Data Centres Twitter: @David_4D
www.4d-dc.com
1. Give us an elevator pitch for your company
4D Data Centres enables companies to remove the cost and headache of running their own in-house data centre by providing managed, secure and reliable colocation facilities in the South East.
2. How did your entrepreneurial journey begin? When I was 12 I launched a school magazine called PC Reboot. Simultaneously I got into website design and launched my first website called 4D Network, an online search engine and content portal which then incorporated web hosting. That was in 1999 when I was 14. The hosting
part of the site grew faster than the web design and advertising revenues so I decided to focus on that and officially launched 4D Hosting. From there it continued to grow. Then, with angel investment in 2007, I opened our own data centre when I was 21 in Byfleet, Surrey.
3. Where do you see your company in 5 years?
In five years I expect the company will still be growing. I see us opening our second data centre and for revenues to hit £10m per year and I would expect us to have opened a London sales office, as well as doubling our current staff numbers to around 50.
4. What is the best advice you’ve been given? Too many start-ups fail because they don’t manage their cash flow. It’s worth taking the time, even if it’s just a single page, to work out the basic financials of a project before you commit to it.
Rob Blythe, 23
Co-Founder of Instant Impact Twitter: @InstantImpactUK
Facebook.com/InstantImpact1
1. Can you describe your company and the service you provide? Instant Impact unites fast-growing SMEs with the very best students and graduates. We take all the time out of recruiting and work to really under- stand our client’s needs, rigorously screening candidates’ CVs, holding phone interviews and finally meeting candidates face-to-face before recom- mending potential employees.
2. How did your entrepreneurial journey begin?
Neither my co-founder Felix Mitchell nor I wanted to start graduate schemes like our peers when we graduated from Cambridge University. We had both found the time we spent doing work experience in small companies really interest- ing and felt there must be other candidates like us who would like to find opportunities with SMEs.
3. What has been your biggest achievement so far? Setting up a successful business straight out of university. With no prior recruitment experience we have had to learn by doing and have found success by doing things differently.
4. What is the best advice you’ve been given? Always be ‘constructively dissatisfied’ - never be happy purely to hit targets; always strive for the next improvement.
53 entrepreneurcountry
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