Finding my “purpose” has been a journey filled with more twists and turns than i care to document. I mean, come on, who really wakes up every day thinking, “Ah, yes, my purpose awaits me”? But if you boil it down, having a purpose means having something that gets you out of bed each morning and keeps you pushing forward. So, yeah, I wanted that.
Now, I don’t want to bore you with a dramatic tale of being born into a family of entrepreneurs, but guess what? Here comes the tale anyway. Dad was the trailblazer, the guy who ditched his comfy gig at GE Financial Services to dive headfirst into his own business, providing finance to small businesses across the UK. Fast forward a decade and a half, and he’s selling shares, starting new ventures, and casually picking up an online Art Diploma along the way. Talk about entrepreneurial drive. Then there’s my sister, Hannah, who decided to conquer the world of events at the ripe age of 23, eventually becoming the Marketing Head honcho at one of the world’s top Online Booking platforms. Needless to say, they’ve been my rocks through this whole “launching my own business” thing.
Somewhere in between Dad’s lectures to my sister (with me awkwardly lurking in the background), a lightbulb flickered on. This whole entrepreneurial gig? It might just be my jam.
Now, my career path reads like a game of Career Roulette: Sainsbury’s, Hollister, the hallowed Halls of Parliament, an extra in movies and a stint in finance… You name it, I’ve probably tried it. But no matter where I landed, one thing was crystal clear: I suck at being an employee within a rigid system. I needed to be the boss of me. Call it arrogance, call it self-awareness, but I had this nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, I could do things better than the folks in power.
And thus, the seed of starting my own business was planted. Enter stage right: Oscar Phillips, the man with legally two surnames but now practically only one (thanks, banking bureaucracy). We both cut our teeth at Sonovate, our former employer, who have been absolute MVPs in supporting us on this wild ride. Seriously, going back to them as clients was like walking into a family reunion — nervy, sure, but ultimately heartwarming. So, armed with a half-baked idea and a healthy dose of mutual respect, Oscar and I embarked on this crazy journey together.
Six months later? Well, here we are, folks. Say hello to Bread.