Funding and brand awareness 'key for start-ups'[fr] 

Wooldridge, who worked for a public relations consultancy, founded Cuddledry with Polly Marsh a couple of years ago and the business has quickly grown into a thriving enterprise. 

The two met in their first week at the University of Manchester 20 years ago and, after seeing parents struggling to dry their babies at bath time, were prompted to develop a baby towel which doubled as an apron. 

Securing finance and a manufacturer were the first major challenges facing the fledgling firm, and securing early orders with high street retailers was also crucial to survival. 

"I think the biggest obstacle for any new business is funding. It would have been great to have £500,000 to spend on huge brand awareness campaign – but what start-up can afford that? Brand awareness was very important to us – and we needed it fast," Wooldridge says. 

The Cuddledry founders went on Dragon's Den, a BBC television series where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists. Wooldridge and Marsh were offered a major cash injection but they would have had to part with 40% of their new company. 

"We went on the Dragon's Den TV programme to secure funding and faster growth potential. But in the end we were not prepared to give away 40% of our company. We knew we'd get to where we were headed even without an investor, just that it would take a little more time," says Wooldridge. 

Funding from government and support from their local chamber of commerce helped get the firm on the right track and, after extensive research, they found a manufacturing plant that could produce their product to high ethical and quality standards. 

Contracts with Mothercare and several other retailers followed and the company has begun to diversify into new product lines. It has been far from plain sailing, says Wooldridge, particularly as some creditors have gone bankrupt this year, but running her own company allows the founders to balance work with family life – and that remains a priority. 

"We are able to put our children first and always believed that a lifestyle business can be every bit as successful as any other. And we have proved it by exceeding all projections and turnover, and winning awards for it," she said. 

Helen Wooldridge was speaking to Gary Finnegan. 

To read the interview in full, please click here.