Interview with Beauty Pie’s Marcia Kilgore

Beauty Pie is a buyer’s club for luxury make up, without the markup. To illustrate the concept, founder Marcia Kilgore holds up a lipstick sample she received from a supplier.

Winner Interview – Au Vodka

The chemistry swots among you may find it fitting that this year’s fastest-growing company is named after the chemical symbol for every winner’s favourite element, gold.

GX winner AU Vodka has dazzled the drinks industry with its signature gold bottles – concealing often startlingly-coloured spirits – and its highly effective social media and influencer marketing.

Lior Shiff, CEO, Tripledot Studios

Companies that monetised games through in-app purchases, like the business I co-founded in 2007, Product Madness, used to look down on companies that monetised through advertising, because the revenue per player was much lower.

Interview with Fairfax & Favor’s Felix Favor Parker

Appropriately enough for a brand that began with leather footwear, Fairfax & Favor was thoroughly bootstrapped. Founders Marcus Fairfax Fountaine and Felix Favor Parker funded the Norfolk-based business through its early days by working summer jobs in the local pub and delivering fireplaces. They kept their stock in Parker’s mum’s attic.

Storal Learning: Striving for improvement in early years education

Founded in 2016, Storal Learning is a community of day nurseries born from a belief in the power of early years education. The company is growing steadily through acquisition: with five new sites in the last 12 months, it has increased in capacity for children and staff by almost a third.