Since the 1950s with many of the ways people live and work today Bearing Little Relation today Bearing Little Relation to that bygone era. But amidst all of the change is a remarkably similar issue, of an economy rocked by runaway prices and widespread worries over the soaring Cost Of Living. So, whats it like starting a business facing todays headwinds. How is the good ship Great Britain and Northern Ireland helping hub the good news Great Stories of tomorrow . To find out, ive been discussing that with four up and coming entrepreneurs, there they are, one from each of the four parts of United Kingdom, england, scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales, scotland and Northern Ireland. Wherever youre joining wherever yourejoining me, a big hello and a warm welcome to the show. All the way back in 1953, the coronation of the former Queen Elizabeth ii, britain was a very different place. The pomp and pageantry of installing the new monarch is held against a backdrop of United Kingdom still very much recovering from the second world war. A peoplejust emerging from rationing with some meat and Dairy Products are still restricted. Millions clustered around tvs for the first time watching from towns and cities still pockmarked after the devastation of six years of war. Written victorious but hugely depleted from the war effort was still a major Global Economic power with manufacturing playing a much bigger part than today. Fuelled on coal and fed by materials from a colonial system that was in the midst of breaking up, the population was younger, smaller, far less diverse and the wealth was spread around much more thinly. Todays uk may have been unthinkable back then, bring down the global Pecking Order as it has with a smaller economy than of former colony india. But the long postwar period that saw real incomes skyrocket has made most britons richer, living longer, more on lives. The economy has expanded hugely. If you look at the economic output per person in real terms taking inflation into account, in 1953 it was about 10,000, rising to some 45,000 about 10,000, rising to some 115,000 bucks per person must year. Meaning in purely material terms uk citizens are much better off and people are living much longer to spend it with Life Expectancy up from 69 to over 80 today, but some of theissues to over 80 today, but some of the issues facing the new king are remarkably similar to that of his late mother, whose accession to the throne back in 1952 was amid soaring price rises just shy of 11 , slightly more than the just over 10 facing the new king. As it stands the current british economy is largely stagnant, just bumping along, facing striking workers across a range of vital jobs striking workers across a range of vitaljobs as peoples Living Standards are fully across the board. The uk like many other countries relying on Small Businesses to drive it forward but talking about things like local shops and small tech firms, up and coming enterprises that make up the vast majority of the economy, providing the green shoots of growth, innovators taking the leap, entrepreneurs turning ideas into reality, creating jobs and wealth. So whats it like to be starting out on that journey in the new era under King Charles Iii . To find out, ive been speaking to some people doing that from the four parts of the United Kingdom, and we start in england with the co founder and Big Boss Of Epoque by a designer, a Company Using cutting edge science to break down Waste Plastic into reusable chemicals. Jacob nathan, a pleasure having you on the show and im going to start with this. Look very young to be a ceo. How did it start for you . Start for you . First of all, thank you start for you . First of all, thank you for start for you . First of all, thank you for having start for you . First of all, thank you for having me i start for you . First of all, i thank you for having me on. Start for you . First of all, thank you for having me on. Im 22, Ifinished Up School A thank you for having me on. Im 22, i finished up school a few years ago and i was working on a Research Project during my final year of high school, i was interested in if there were ways we could use biology to solve the problem of Plastic Waste. I went looking for microbes and nature that could break down Plastic Waste. I went into major and took samples and brought them back to the lab and the early results were exciting but i wasnt quite sure of how to progress the science from there somewhere met my Co Founder Professor of systems and synthetic biology, geico douglas calc, and we went ahead and start of the company together. And start of the company together and start of the company touether. G. ,. ,. ,. , together. Jacob, explain how the company together. Jacob, explain how the company works. Together. Jacob, explain how the company works. At together. Jacob, explain how. The company works. At epoque together. Jacob, explain how the company works. At epoque we desiuned the company works. At epoque we designed enzymes the company works. At epoque we designed enzymes to the company works. At epoque we designed enzymes to break the company works. At epoque we designed enzymes to break down | designed enzymes to break down Plastic Waste that otherwise go to level or incineration epoch. We get Plastic Waste from our partners and they send it to us for processing and we then turn those plastics into Chemicals Using our enzymes and then we sell those chemicals to a variety of different applications, everything from new Polymer Manufacturing to heat coatings, fertilisers, cleaning products, a whole variety of different industries, and this is a way to make the exact same molecules that we make today using Fossil Carbon but instead we make it from Waste Plastic. Is there potential for other substances . Imjust is there potential for other substances . Im just wondering what these, you know, how far these enzymes can go. These enzymes can go. Yeah, enzymes these enzymes can go. Yeah, enzymes are these enzymes can go. Yeah, enzymes are inherently enzymes are inherently programmable. Not always predictable but you can programme them to do Different Things and so, nature has created a set of functionalities to enable life to happen but those arent necessarily the same functionalities that humans may want to get rid of a whole bunch of different pollutants or other things we put out into the world. We can programme these enzymes to break down everything from plastics too persistent organic chemicals and also use them to manufacture really all of the chemicals and products that we need to make the world go around. G. ,. ,. ,. ,. , around. Jacob, how have you found the around. Jacob, how have you found the uk around. Jacob, how have you found the uk as around. Jacob, how have you found the uk as a around. Jacob, how have you found the uk as a place around. Jacob, how have you found the uk as a place to i found the uk as a place to start this business . Of course, the uk has a very Strong International reputation in science. Im wondering if that opens offers you . The science. Im wondering if that opens offers you . Science. Im wondering if that opens offers you . The uk has a really strong opens offers you . The uk has a really strong academic opens offers you . The uk has a really strong academic base, i really strong academic base, Amazing Research coming out of the universities and only first out of the company, we were able to access things like eis and ncis to make it easier to raise capital. We found that support from things like r and d tax credits has diminished, its been difficult to find labs space to move into so we had to build things ourselves and while i think the uk has all of the ingredients needed to make it really an amazing place and sandbox to build these types of companies, it remains to be seen i think at least if there are improvements in the uk ecosystem for companies to be scaled and built two very large size over time. , ~. , � built two very large size over time. ~. , �. , time. Talk about brexit, of course the time. Talk about brexit, of course the uk time. Talk about brexit, of course the uk outside time. Talk about brexit, of course the uk outside of i time. Talk about brexit, of. Course the uk outside of the eu. As it had any effects on your company . Im wondering are there any advantages for your sector, away from some of the regulations, the red tape . Yeah, so certainly for us, brexit represents a really great opportunity to, for example, Build New Legislation around Genetic Modification and foods, Love Grown Foods into the type of thing. Not necessarily bound by the European Unions rules. At the same time, its a lot harder to hire european talent. There are some amazing centres of excellence in europe where e at epoch hire from in much harder to get them over from the uk. It was a shame i was not able to vote in the referendum. I was too young. Definitely, i would say this has made it a lot harder to build the type of company we are building. Let me end on this company we are building. Let me end on this because company we are building. Let me end on this because you company we are building. Let me end on this because you are end on this because you are still relatively new at this game but im sure youve learned an enormous amount. If you are starting out again today, what advice would you give yourself . {30 today, what advice would you give yourself . Today, what advice would you give yourself . Go to america. Go to america. Give yourself . Go to america. Go to america. Thats give yourself . Go to america. Go to america. Thats it . Give yourself . Go to america. Go to america. Thats it . A i go to america. Thats it . A very short answer. Why america . Theres a lot more investment there. Theres a lot more appetite to build and scale are really Large Company and ultimately as well the conditions that we have today in america, our products are subsidised by the Inflation Reduction Act in a way that they are not in the uk and europe, so instantly makes our company that much more competitive. Company that much more competitive. On that point, jacob nathan, competitive. On that point, jacob nathan, the competitive. On that point, i jacob nathan, the cofounder jacob nathan, the co founder and the Big Boss Of Epoch Bio design, pleasure having you on the show. Good luck with everything and i will check in with you soon. Everything and i will check in l with you soon. One with you soon. Thank you. One ofthe with you soon. Thank you. One of the biggest with you soon. Thank you. One of the biggest influences with you soon. Thank you. One of the biggest influences still l of the biggest influences still being found in the economy is covid. The time of lockdowns that shot many businesses. But it was also a time when many began. So for the next stop on a uk tour, we will go to wales with the founder and ceo of mellows beauty, a cosmetic company born out of the uk pandemic. Company born out of the uk pandemic pandemic. Laura mellows, pleasure pandemic. Laura mellows, pleasure having pandemic. Laura mellows, pleasure having you pandemic. Laura mellows, pleasure having you and i l pandemic. Laura mellows, i pleasure having you and i will start simply with this. How did you come to set up your company . Thats the big question. I had really bad acne and really bad anxiety and i wanted to create a beauty brand that made a difference. I kind of spent all of my money on these Beauty Products that promised me they were going to make me look perfect and were promoting these perfect models. And i realised thatjust wasnt achievable, so i wanted to create a Beauty Company that instead of making you feel insecure because you didnt have perfect skin, making a difference and saying that actually, you know, imperfections are normal and youre beautifuljust the way youre beautifuljust the way you are with your scars, acne, whatever, and thats kind of how i started. We whatever, and thats kind of how i started. Whatever, and thats kind of how i started. We saw a lot of eo le how i started. We saw a lot of people starting how i started. We saw a lot of people starting up how i started. We saw a lot of people starting up companies| people starting up companies during lockdown. Its tough. How did that play out for you . I kind of had to go back to the Drawing Board and start my plans in thing all over again, my business i had left lying in london, moved to wales and i thought right, we was not a Skincare Business and i am good at selling, arranged all of these big retailers and, of course, i could not do that because they were not buying any new ranges because it was so much uncertainty. So i had to, even though i was, at the time, very, like, insecure, not confident, going to social media and telling my story and the reaction was actually incredible and thats why im here today, is because of social media. Here today, is because of social media. ,. ,. ,. Social media. You also launched ust as social media. You also launched just as new social media. You also launched just as new rules social media. You also launched just as new rules came social media. You also launched just as new rules came in social media. You also launched just as new rules came in with l just as new rules came in with brexit. Did that have an impact on the company . Brexit. Did that have an impact on the company . Theres so many legislations on the company . Theres so many legislations and on the company . Theres so many legislations and we on the company . Theres so many legislations and we have on the company . Theres so many legislations and we have loads legislations and we have loads of customers in the eu which we then had to come were not allowed to sell to. It started at huge expense to everything, it is added. We have to get separate testing for everything and pay for someone to access a cosmetic bottle in the eu and uk so it is kind of doubled our workload, made everything super complicated. Made everything really expensive. So complicated. Made everything really expensive. Really expensive. So have you been supported . Really expensive. So have you been supported . Weve really expensive. So have you been supported . Weve been| been supported . Weve been massively been supported . Weve been massively supported been supported . Weve been massively supported by been supported . Weve been massively supported by the l massively supported by the welsh government. They help us with really tricky conversations have actually flown us out to dublin and set p flown us out to dublin and set up meetings with different partners from the eu. And america. Theyjust helped us non stop, really, so it really helped me get off the ground. Laura, social media. A big part of your company. Laura, social media. A big part of your company. Yes. Butjust of your company. Yes. But ust how important is i of your company. Yes. But ust how important is that i of your company. Yes butjust how important is that your business . I how important is that your business . How important is that your business . ,. ,. , business . I genuinely would not have a business business . I genuinely would not have a business if business . I genuinely would not have a business if it business . I genuinely would not have a business if it was business . I genuinely would not have a business if it was not have a business if it was not for tiktok. Tiktok is just incredible. I mean, its catapulted my business. The sales we get from tiktok are insane. I mean, i do tiktok live once a week and on one of them i did £30,000 so i can pretty much do more than my shop did in two hours on tiktok, the shop sales a month, hours on tiktok. Its incredible. Hours on tiktok. Its incredible. ,. , incredible. Laura, can i ask ou incredible. Laura, can i ask you this incredible. Laura, can i ask you this incredible. Laura, can i ask you this what incredible. Laura, can i ask you this what was incredible. Laura, can i ask you this what was your i you this what was your biggest stake . In setting up . I think my biggest mistake which has cost us a lot of money is actually believing the experts, even when you dont think theyre right. Theres a lot of occasions where i was trusting the experts, even though my gut and my mind was saying this does not feel right, this does not sound right. And, yeah, now im always following my gut, following my instinct and trusting and believing in myself because experts arent always right. And you know your business better than anyone else. ,. , else. Let me end on this. What advice would else. Let me end on this. What advice would you else. Let me end on this. What advice would you give else. Let me end on this. What advice would you give to else. Let me end on this. What| advice would you give to others may be starting out or thinking of taking their own business journey . Mr; of taking their own business ourne . G. , of taking their own business ourne . G. ,. , journey . My top advice would be startin a journey . My top advice would be starting a business journey . My top advice would be starting a business with starting a business with something you absolutely love inside ou