Page 7 - Start Up Special: The Star January 2019

Wednesday,January23,2019 www.thestar.co.uk NINS 17
START-UP SPECIAL
In association with
Hawa Talbot gave up her civil service job to start Fula Flavour
Hot chilli sauce is the spice of life for Hawa
Vertical farming, a new technology where plants are grown indoors under LED lighting, promises to revolutionise food produc- tion by greatly increasing productivity.
And ‘smart growth chambers’ packed with tech and plugged into the inter- net are the best way to do it, according to the boffins be- hind Grobotic Systems.
But don’t just take their word for it, Innovate UK, part of the Government, has just approved a £570,000 grant to help them set up a project, hire engineers and secure more funding to ac- celerate commercialisation.
Co-founder Dr Alexis Moschopoulos, said: “2019 looks like it will be an excit- ing and busy year.”
The plant geneticist established the company with electronics whiz Rich- ard Banks after talking for
years about how bad cur- rent growth chambers are. They finally got the op-
portunity to do more than talk when they were accept- ed onto the ‘Y Accelerator’, part of the City Region’s Growth Hub, in January 2018.
They quit their jobs and received three months of in- tensive business training, winning Best Pitch at the final event in March.
They spent the summer building prototypes at their Fusion@Magna office in Rotherham.
In the autumn they met scientists designing a novel camera for measuring crop health and together submit- ted a funding bid to Innovate UK.
Their hi-tech chamber aims to help farmers quick- ly identify the best growth conditions, leading to great- ly increased productivity.
Vertical farming helped by seed capital injection
Growing up in Guinea, Hawa Talbot had hot sauce with al- most everything, so it’s no surprise she missed it when she came to the UK.
Fortunately she had learned West African hot chilli sauce recipes at a young age from her mum, who had learned them from her mum.
She started making them at home for herself, then close friends and family. The compliments poured in - at a time when she was no longer enjoying her civil service of- fice job - so she quit and Fula Flavour was born.
Hawa said: “My aim above everything was to add flavour
to food rather than just heat. Winning a runner-up prize at the Sheffield Hallam Enter- prise Awards in September 2018 was one of my proudest moments - but there is still more to come.
“Challenges include facing the competition, a saturated market and the
struggle to fit in to build a brand. I suppose this makes it fun, as no-one said it would be easy.”
Hawa trades at farmers’ markets, food festivals and regularly at The Moor market in Sheffield.
http://www.fulaflavour. co.uk
Alexis Moschopoulos, left, and Richard Banks
Laura gets very animated
Tutors Leap into action
Laura Blackburn’s three- year-old son is her biggest fan and her harshest critic - fortunately he loves her col- ourful character animation, the superhero Limpet man.
But Laura’s appeal is much wider thanks to her 15 years of graphic design experience.
And since she went solo in September, launching B Animated based at Barns- ley’s Digital Media Cen- tre, she’s been really busy. Promoting brands and prod- ucts through animation is something she’s passionate about.
Laura Blackburn
Within a month she was listed on advertising and design bible The Drum Rec- ommends register and has three freelancers on the
books to keep up with de- mand. She also has plans to hire her first employee this year.
Laura said: “I’m delight- ed with how things are going. One of the biggest challeng- es I’ve faced so far has been finding the time to market the business as well as work on projects. But clients have been contacting me through Google, LinkedIn and word of mouth, so it’s been great people have been approach- ing me to work together even though I haven’t actively marketed the business yet.”
Banimated.co.uk
Tutoring is big business, but there’s still room for an inde- pendent among the national chains and franchises, espe- cially when they build confi- dence as well as knowledge.
Leap Tutoring, which provides maths and English tuition to primary school children, is based opposite Marks & Spencer on Ec- clesall Road, near schools, shops, cafes and gyms, mak- ing it easy for parents to reach, according to manag- ing director Gerard Norris.
He said: “We are a local and independent business, competing with big nation-
Caroline, left, Hannah, and Gerard Norris of Leap Tutoring
al chains and franchises, so making people aware of our brand and how much more we can deliver can be tough. Thankfully, when parents try us, they are impressed with our quality and value.
Plus, it is the children who ask to come back.
“Judging by the feedback we have had so far, we have succeeded in making our tuition enjoyable and valu- able. One of the successes we are particularly proud of is the feedback from parents telling us what a difference we’re making to their chil- dren’s confidence. When our learners say they want to come to Leap every day we know we’re on to a winner.”
Leap Tutoring is also Of- sted registered and had a ‘positive inspection’ in the summer, he added.