SUSIE WARRAN-SMITH CBE DL

Non-Executive Director | Entrepreneur | Mentor

FROM ZERO TO HERO

About SUSIE

Born into inner city poverty against a backdrop of racist and misogynistic 1960s Britain, Susie finally ‘made it’ becoming a self-made multi-millionaire at 59. Admittedly slower than some entrepreneurs, but she got there in the end.

After working for 35 years as a highly successful designer, illustrator and marketeer specialising in brand development, she decided to set up her own company with her best friend's daughter, Brady Last. They started in her small conservatory on two laptops and with a large stash of Yorkshire tea bags. The kids had left home and at 54 years old, so she thought she should do something risky for once in her life.

She put her entire savings into starting a business even though there were no clients in sight. Susie wanted to use her design and illustration skills to develop her own brand, one that had design and her quirky humour at its heart. She convinced Brady to join her in this one last hurrah.

The sector, which in her opinion had the least amount of wit and verve, was accountancy. The most visually boring area inside that? Tax. So naturally she set up a tax company. Bright orange and lime green instead of the industry standard of blue, blue and more blue, pervaded the office. Her own signature art plastered its walls. Marketing materials, social media and the website featured ducks (really) and steampunk instead of the cheesy stock photography of beautiful models pretending to be business people gazing out of expensive office windows.

Accountants laughed at them, banks wouldn't give them an overdraft (never mind a loan), and rivals tried to put them out of business. Five years later it was sold to EY, that big multi-billion pound turnover company who just loved the staff and the brand.

How did she build a buy-out in such a short time and from scratch? Hiring people with no qualifications. Designing the logo, marketing materials and website herself. Starting a radio show (wtf!), co-founding a women's business group, sponsoring charities and writing a book or two, among other things . . .

You can listen to her entrepreneurial journey via her free audio book on Spotify or Audible or find out how she could be your business mentor here.

PHOTO ALBUM
Speaking, broadcasting, winning awards and meeting truly inspiring people

Speaking at the TLA Global Summit | On BBC News with Huw Edwards | With Prue Leith | With Brady and Naga Munchetty after receiving another IoD award

With Kate Adie | Presenting FoodBytes International in London | Interviewing Maggie Philbin on TechTalk | On ITV News live in Liverpool

Recording FoodTalk | Presenting the Future Food Awards at Oxo Tower | On 5 News being interviewed by Kirsty Young | At the Every Woman Awards

On Sky News with Simon McCoy | With Monika Brinton of Brindisa | Arguing on air with Ollie Lloyd | Receiving the Director of the Year award from Declan Curry

On Granada News with Gordon Burns | With Russ Shaw CBE | With Brady receiving the national Tolley Award from Jeremy Vine | At Breakthrough Women

On BBC Breakfast | With Marcus Wareing | Brady receiving my Director of the Year award with Louise Minchin | With Ann Widdecombe on Sky News.

Winning our first business award | With my hero Keith Floyd | With another hero Madhur Jaffrey | On the front cover of Global Woman magazine

With Willie Harcourt-Cooze of Willie's Cacao | Interviewing Tamara Lohan, founder of Mr and Mrs Smith | With Asma Kahn of Darjeeling Express | With Dr Sue Black, saviour of Bletchley Park