Mr M was born in Syria and when he arrived in England at the age of 11 he struggled to fit in both culturally and socially. Although school was difficult, he determined to do his best and graduated from Westminster University in 1993 with a BA Hons. He worked for seven years in television production and later in marketing and sales across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa for a large electronics company. Happily married to his long term girlfriend, life suddenly took a downturn when Mr M committed a serious offense and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. “This was a bleak time for me – my crime was an aberration and I had to work to understand why I had done this. This was a painful process but ultimately rewarding. I am a different man now and fortunately I was released early from prison due to exemplary behaviour.”

After leaving prison Mr M worked relentlessly to get paid employment but in common with many ex-offenders with a criminal record he found doors closing rather than opening for him. Having come across Startup while working with a charity that makes films for circulation in prisons, he decided to approach us for funding for a fledgling business idea. He had worked as a driver for a removal company and thought that with hard work and determination there might be an opportunity to make a successful business in this competitive area. Startup worked with Mr M to help him prepare for an Entrepreneur Day at HMP Wandsworth where he presented his idea and was successful in his bid to gain Startup’s financial and mentoring support. Startup helped him to get his marketing leaflets and business cards ready for a big marketing effort and also helped him to pay for a much needed service of his removal van.

Mr M is now working hard to make his business successful and is gaining more and more work each week. Just recently he delightedly reported to his mentor that he has won a 3-day a week contract with a major national charity in the UK. “I am ecstatic at the progress I have made. I love being my own boss and I want to be able to employ more people to come and work with me. I am also so grateful to the help I received from Startup – it would certainly have been much more of an uphill struggle to get where I am without them.”