OUR FOUNDER’S STORY

When I left school, I packed up and went off to uni.  It was just ‘the done thing’ and I didn’t even consider another route.  But before long, I realised it wasn’t for me. The hustle of work was in my blood and I wanted to be grafting and building something of my own.

It was a tough decision to leave university after a year. As a young person, and especially as a young woman, it’s easy to be swayed by the opinions of others, but I knew it was right for me.

Securing myself a role at an independent estate agent in Cheltenham gave me back that buzz.  Soon, I was headhunted to work for a corporate recruitment firm and spent 4 happy years there, building my expertise and skill-set.   During that time I achieved the top spot as the number 1 consultant nationally within the business.  No mean feat for a woman in her 20s!

But soon, I was hungry for a new challenge.  After all, what did I have to lose? So in 2005, long before the days of working from home being the norm, I dusted down the garden shed and set up office there.

i2i was born.

And like the weeds that grew just outside the door, it grew quickly and organically!  I missed having a team around me, so when I could bring in a new person, I did. Within 6 months we had to rent space as we couldn’t all fit into my bijoux garden ‘office’. We were thriving.

Like most women in work, it was the decision to start a family that started to add complexity. I had my son in 2007, just one year after I started the business.  I was posed with a huge problem.  Did I shutter i2i or would my husband, Richard, be able to give up work so that I could keep my business alive?  We chose the second option.  Leaving Fred all day just 6 weeks after he was born wasn’t easy, but knowing he was safe with Daddy really helped.  And meant I could channel all my energy and determination into making this company a success.

It worked, and after a couple more years, Richard actually joined me in the business, opening up our temp division.  We were growing at pace every year.

And so was our family.  In 2010 we celebrated the birth of our little girl, Harriet.  i2i was robust enough at this point for me to take a year off to focus on family.  This time, my other baby, i2i, was in Richard’s capable hands!  I feel privileged to have that opportunity – so many women around the globe miss out on their children’s early years.

Since then i2i has gone from strength to strength.  We’re now based in our own offices, with a brilliant, happy team.

The growth of the business has been challenging – of course. But it’s also exciting and we’re still close to our roots.  I know everyone in the building and they know me.  We pride ourselves on being the most personal recruitment company in the South West. And I believe that’s because we have built a diverse team who are always willing to put in the hard yards for our clients. We’re a family run business which means we’re always going to have relationships at our heart.

Why is International Women’s Day so important for me?  It’s a great reminder to take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come, on all the things you can achieve when you pour your heart and soul into something, and to think about the challenges of the future.  I’m a female founder at the head of a female-majority, female-led team.  Women have come a long way, but the journey ahead seems just as exciting.