Sharply contrasting with the leaden afternoon skies in the Ward of Cheap on Thursday 24th November, the bright and glittering Goldsmiths’ Hall was the perfect venue for the Master Entrepreneurs’ final Freedom Ceremony of her year of office.
 
Mrs Judy Hadden, presiding in bright blue and gold robes, heard the citations of eight successful business founders, and admitted them formally as Freemen Entrepreneurs.
 
Chris Daniels   - Oxford mathematician and former paratrooper Chris Daniels is a tech and maths-focused entrepreneur, and the founder of Flare Bright Drones. He is also a Director of ARPAS, the drone industry trade body. He is the Royal Society Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Oxford University Mathematics Institute, sits on the EPSRC’s Mathematical Sciences Strategic Advisory Team, and is on the advisory group of the new UK National Academy of Mathematics. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.
 
Dinesh Dhamija – Best known for founding ebookers.com, Dinesh Dhamija has a highly international career in Business, Charity and Politics. He grew ebookers.com to a $1bn business with 2000 employees in 12 countries. He was made a member of the UK Travel Hall of Fame and was UK Businessman of the year 2003. Dinesh was a Liberal Democrat MEP, and has now gone back to business with green energy businesses in solar and hydrogen. He is the author of “Book It!", a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and a member of the Guild of Cambridge University Benefactors. Dinesh is a 2022 Principal Benefactor of the Company of Entrepreneurs Trust
 
Mark Heath – The son of a Lloyd’s insurance Managing Agent, Mark Heath found himself side tracked by a variety of roles in the insurance sector. After 35 years of corporate life, he started his own technology, data & innovation-focused underwriting agency which collaborates with companies outside the insurance industry, and he is launching his second company in this space in 2023.
 
Tom Renshaw & Stefan White – Tom and Stefan co-founded the craft beer and snacks online retailer Bier Company, after studying at Queen Mary University of London. The two founded Bier Nuts bar snacks in 2019, which grew rapidly (from 20 to 2000 pubs in just 9 months). COVID was disastrous for this business, but, in 2020, the pair pivoted into craft beer ecommerce where Bier Company has 18 employees and posted revenue of over £10m in just over two years. International expansion is planned for 2023.
 
Stefan started his entrepreneurial journey at 11 years old, selling fizzy pop and chocolates at his school. Tom is a musician and philanthropist.
 
Sydney Samuels – having won investment from Peter Jones on Dragon's Den at the age of 11, Sydney Samuels is the Founder and CEO of Loop Not Luck - a specialist diverse recruitment platform connecting underrepresented talent from across the UK to junior career opportunities.. With experience in the world of investment banking and at high-net worth wealth management fin-tech, she left to start Loop Not Luck, which is now a team of 10 with an impressive list of clients. She holds a voluntary position as vice chair of the Career and Enterprise Company’s Youth Advisory Group - improving careers education across the UK -  and was selected as one of NatWest and the Telegraph's 100 brightest female entrepreneurs to watch.
 
Jon Spree – the founder Pingala Media (a software and web development agency) Jon Spree is a keen collaborator - constantly working on developing relationships with creative and digital partners, sharing knowledge, ideas and projects. A marathon runner, he is involved with a large number of charitable projects, working with RBLI on their befriending schemes for vulnerable individuals, a First Responder for SECAMB, and a boxing coach specialising in charity matches.
 
Ken Valledy – a marketer by training, Ken Valledy has over 15 years’ experience in the industry, and is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing. He founded Progressive Acceleration Limited, a company that helps large corporate clients address their key business challenges through successful partnerships with start-ups. Ken has an ongoing passion for supporting new businesses and volunteers his time to mentor on numerous accelerator programmes. He is the co-author of ‘The Startup Lexicon’, which, since launching in June, has been warmly received – including by accelerator programmes and universities teaching both undergrad and post-grad entrepreneurship courses.
 
The Master warmly congratulated the new Freemen on their formal admission, and bade them join her for the Installation Court and Dinner to begin their experience of the City of London’s Guilds and Livery Companies.
 
NOTES: Irrespective of age, background and experience, founders who have enjoyed success in enterprise and who share the ethos of the City’s Livery Companies can apply to join as Freemen of the Company of Entrepreneurs. More information about the application process is HERE