Chris' journey from near death to global growth

Chris Carroll wasn't ready to let go.

Battling sepsis, his body had doubled in size. Rushed into emergency surgery at 2am, his family was told he likely wouldn't survive.

“I probably should be dead,” said Chris, who has Crohn's disease.

He added: “I developed sepsis after an operation to remove 20cm of my bowel, but it started leaking as I hadn't been stitched up properly, and things quickly deteriorated.

“I remember vividly seeing a light and thinking 'this is it'.

“But my daughter was only three, and I just wasn't willing to go.”

That 2010 incident was one of two notable brushes with death. Doctors have since told Chris they have no idea how he's still alive.

But overcoming adversity is part of Chris' DNA.

And after staring down death twice, deciding to launch a business didn't seem so scary.

Launched shortly before Christmas 2024, his business – Resolve Beyond - enjoyed a remarkable first year.

Based in Hartlepool, the company has already expanded internationally with an office in India employing more than a dozen staff.

While the company has several arms, the core of the business is Resolve Beyond, which has a niche in repairing digital systems - like apps or websites - that others have written off.

Given Chris' health issues, the company's approach of repairing, rather than rebuilding, seems apt.

He says: “Having Crohn's isn't ideal if you run a business, but it is just one more hurdle to clear.

“It means working 16-hour days is out of the question, but I've never worked like that, and I also don't think you need to.

“I think you need to work smarter, not harder, and my health has taught me that we are all pretty finite.

“There are times that it can flare up, so I need to know I've got a rock-solid team around me, both here and in India.”

Given the nature of Resolve Beyond's rise, even 16-hour days wouldn't be enough.

The Indian site means the business can operate 24/7, vital to support what has rapidly become a global customer base.

Sales from abroad have soared 185 per cent in the last year, while more than a third of all business comes from clients in the Middle East, Asia and the US.

That international market has been the key to Resolve Beyond’s rapid growth, which has put the business on course to be valued at £10 million by the decade's end.

The successes are eye-raising, but his scares have also given Chris a deeper perspective.

For instance, each year he donates one digital system to a good cause.

Additionally, one of Resolve Beyond’s arms is Resolve Academy, which Chris uses to help people from non-tech backgrounds enter the sector.

In the North East, that has opened doors for several staff – from chefs to mums who now have a 9-5 job that means they can do the bedtime routine with their children for the first time in years.

However, perhaps the biggest impact is being felt almost 5000 miles away in the company’s Ahmedabad office.

India’s talent-rich tech sector is booming and jobs are highly prized.

Staff at Resolve’s Indian HQ are paid up to three times more, not to secure the best talent, but because Chris believes it is the right way to operate.

He says: “Our team in India are absolutely exceptional and are at the very heart of this business.

“I visit several times a year, even though long-haul trips to India with Crohn’s are not funny.

“Unfortunately, one of our team died last year. I can’t, in good conscience, just turn my back on that family, so I still pay his wage and have no plans to ever stop.

“Like me, he had young children and a lot of hope for the future.

“Unlike me, he wasn’t so lucky.”

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