5 Founders To Watch

Our mission is to help 1,000,000 people start and grow a business of their own. We know it's been a crazy and challenging year for us all, but it's amazing to see all the incredible founders starting and building their businesses. Be sure to keep your eyes on these founders as they keep disrupting the startup world in 2021!

1) Gracie and Sophie Tyrrell, Founders of Squirrel Sisters

They launched the business in 2015 after Sophie was diagnosed with a potentially life threatening heart condition, which led to her giving up sugar. Gracie started making snack bars for her so she could enjoy something delicious without the added sugars. Together as sisters, they've been campaigning for healthier diets with their NO ADDED SUGAR products. Five years on from launching and they're both proud to be the ONLY brand in the UK with a whole range of snacks that has no added sugar.

Advice: "Running a full time business takes a lot of hard work and you need to stay motivated. Passion is crucial; you have to be passionate about whatever it is that you are doing because if you don’t have the passion and the belief then it won’t work. It’s all about passion, persistence and patience."

Support Squirrel Sisters and purchase a bar today.

2) Samantha Messias, Art-prenuer 

Samantha does hyper-realistic pencil drawings for the rich and famous, even though her Artwork may look like high resolution photographs they are indeed pencil and charcoal drawings.

Advice: "If you have something to offer the world then share share share, the worst thing for any Entrepreneur is living in obscurity, you could have the best idea or product but if no one knows about you it’s useless. Be authentic and trust the process, success doesn’t happen overnight, but I tell you this if you keep taking consistent positive action towards your goals you will achieve them. Don’t compare yourself to others, it’s your journey not there’s, the energy you give comparing yourself to another focus that on working on yourself, personal development definitely has taken my business to the next level and I’m so grateful for it on a daily basis. Know your worth, find the courage to reach out and connect with your audience and ideal client and count your blessings along the way."

Check out Samantha's amazing drawings here.

3) Zoe Abbott, Financial Success Consultant and Entrepreneur

Zoe is a Financial Success Consultant and Entrepreneur. She works with individuals and families to help them feel happy about their finances through debt resolution strategies, budgeting, investments, life insurance and tax advantaged retirement plans. Zoe additionally trains other entrepreneurs to become licensed Financial Consultants and has a team of agents all over the nation. Together with her team she has eliminated over 50 million dollars of debt and helped thousands of clients gain control of their financial situations so they can live happier lives. 

Advice: "The first step of any course of action or goal is always the decision to make it. You have to decide what it is you want and then step by step work daily to get yourself there. It may not happen overnight and sometimes things will occur that will knock you off track, but keep putting that decision there every day newly. Vital for me has been to build a team. You are not an expert in everything. Find people whom you work well with and lean into them for support, advice and to fill the functions that you are not an expert in. With a good team, hard work and an honest purpose to help and succeed, any goal or dream is possible to achieve."

Show some support to Zoe and follow her on Instagram and check out her website.

4) Chadd Black, Founder, Brand/Talent Manager, Business Ambassador & Author

Chadd Black, famously dubbed as “The Mogul in the Making” has worked as a strategic brand manager alongside major corporations such as RCA Records, Interscope, Sony Music, Epic, and Atlantic Records. He has done entertainment and campaign consulting for major networks such as VH1, WeTV, and BET. He started one of Houston’s top talent agencies, the 713 Agency in 2018. The agency has become a city favorite as it has attracted some of the city’s top local talents utilizing services from music management to career consulting, public relations as well as music production and songwriting services, to name a few. In Getting Black to Business: Persevering to Success Amidst Inevitable Setbacks, Black offers some suggestions as to how those struggling to obtain success can overcome hurdles that are serving as excuses as to why they can’t obtain their goals. He offers practical solutions while sharing testimonies of his own past struggles, setbacks, and hurdles that he had to overcome to succeed.

Advice: “As I celebrate my first decade in serial entrepreneurship and the release of my debut book entitled “Getting Black To Business”, I want every individual who aspires to birth a business in the near future to know that although it will definitely be a labor of love, the feeling of fulfillment that comes along with being a self-made entrepreneur is truly incomparable!” 

To find out more about Chadd, purchase his insightful book today.

5) Toni Desrosiers, Founder & Inventor of Beeswax Food Wrap

Toni has been keeping food alive since 2008 when she invented Abeego, the world’s first reusable beeswax food wrap. Abeego is made from beeswax, jojoba, tree resin, hemp and cotton and has a loyal following of those who love to “Abeego it” when it comes to their fresh foods, leftovers and meals on-the-go. A nutritionist-turned-manufacturer, she has developed a zero-waste production process for her line of Abeego products. Together with her hard-working team of Abeego makers, she has found innovative ways to repurpose even minimal amounts of excess materials into new products like Abeebits (beeswax twist ties) or promotional items like business cards. She is on a mission to promote the powers of beeswax and get natural and reusable food storage into kitchens everywhere.

Advice: "My advice to entrepreneurs is to build a support circle of other entrepreneurs. Soliciting advice from friends and family can at times leave you discouraged and misunderstood. With their best intentions at heart, friends and family will always protect you. Entrepreneurs understand risk in a way most don't. Their advice is less emotional, rooted in experience, and essential to forging ahead."

To learn more about what Toni is doing, check out her website.

If you're struggling to start or grow your business, hopefully by reading about the companies above and the advice they're giving other entrepreneurs will inspire you, to not only support them on their journey but to start one of your own. Just remember, you aren't alone.