Alex and Richard had been friends and colleagues for over 17 years. Both were trained as engineers with particular experience in the tool-making industry, whose expertise meant they were perfectly positioned to look out for potential gaps in the market:

They opted for a consultancy based business model as it would allow them to do the thing they loved most: "both of us are passionate about blue sky thinking and problem-solving, but at the same time we wanted to stay grounded in the grass roots level of engineering."

Be flexible and dynamic! Make sure your business is structured in such a way that it can adapt to rapid economic change and market demands.

Alex Pullman & Richard Barnes - ts design

The pair began investigating potential areas of support for new business ventures and immature start ups, which is when they came across Business Support Wales. They were helped to apply for a Graduate Start-up bursary, which enabled them to cover their initial set-up costs, and they were also assigned their own business advisor who provided them with some useful contacts and pointed them in the direction of other free business support.

"Not only were Business Support Wales instrumental in our success to date, they have enabled us to build for the future. They’ve made what could have been a difficult uphill climb a lot easier!"

"We spotted a weak link in the area of New Product Introduction (NPI). Our idea was to work with other businesses in a consultancy capacity to give them the benefit of our years of experience whilst doing something we enjoy."

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