Sky’s the limit for Sir Richard Branson-mentored Leeds entrepreneur

A budding entrepreneur from Leeds, who launched his business thanks to funding from Virgin StartUp, recently won the opportunity to develop his business growth strategy in the sky with Sir Richard Branson.

On June 11th, Sam Morgan sat down with Sir Richard during Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight from London to Detroit to discuss how to make a business successful.

After receiving a a £15k Virgin StartUp loan in March, Sam launched his business, Paria, which produces urban influenced cycling apparel using up-and-coming artists and designers.

The company has already had great success including securing distribution with an independent Northern Cycling Business, sponsoring a Transcontinental Racer and linking with local businesses to stage a Tour de Yorkshire show in Leeds.

Sam is now looking for additional funding to expand Paria even further.

During the 8 hour flight with Sir Richard, Sam launched a crowd funding campaign to grow his business, so the team from Crowdfunder.co.uk were on hand to film the whole event.

Upon arriving in Detroit, Sam met with Rob Love, chairman of Crowdfunder, to further review his growth strategy to secure second stage funding and support his business’ next stage of development. Now back in the UK, Crowdfunder and Virgin StartUp are working with Sam put this plan into action.

Sam Morgan, said: “This was an incredible opportunity to learn from the very best in business. I launched Paria in an otherwise homogenised marketplace. I truly believe Paria offers an alternative to the standard cycling apparel currently offered by other retailers. I had so many questions to ask Sir Richard and Rob, and am really keen to expand into the US market so the meetings have given me insight and direction on how to develop my business on a global scale.”

Rob Love, chairman of Crowdfunder, added: “I’m personally very excited about Sam’s business as I started my first company in Leeds too - so I’m a little biased! Both Richard and I would have used Crowdfunding if it had been available when we started our businesses. It’s a fast way to raise finance and to gain validation and support from the crowd. It’s a pleasure to be able to help lots of businesses like Sam’s everyday via Crowdfunder.”

Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder, said: “Sam is a brilliant example of a start-up making real headway in his industry. Thanks to Virgin StartUp, Sam was able to get his business off the ground and I was delighted to meet with him to discuss his plans for expansion. Detroit is a city ripe with start-ups and this was a fantastic opportunity for Sam to gain business advice and build understanding of the US market. It was a great trip!”