The owners of one of the East Midlands' fastest-growing food firms have lifted the lid on what has made their business a success.
Doughnotts was only founded in 2015 by Wade Smith and Megan Scaddan as the pair decided to start making doughnuts with a borrowed £10.
Four years later and the Nottingham firm has reported a turnover of £1.5 million and has expanded to branches in Derby and Leicester. They hope to open in Lincoln next month.
"I still don't think we realise (what we have achieved), we just keep going," said Miss Scaddan, 26.
"We look back, but we just do our job. People say I bet you are so proud of yourselves but we just get on with it, we enjoy it. I don't think we've had time to stop and think about it."
Wade and Megan had been working apprenticeships before starting the business and had about £200 a week between them as a result of their work.
Recalling how they made the transition from apprentices to business owners, Mr Smith, 27, said: "We were broke and borrowed a tenner from my grandparents and we bought some ingredients to make some doughnuts.
"We put them on Facebook and my mate said "they look wicked can I have them". So there were 12 doughnuts and we charged a tenner for it.
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"If he was wiling to buy it then surely other people would be.
"We just cracked on from there, started mastering the recipe, got ourselves a mentor and we managed to book on to the Nottingham Food and Drink Festival at the castle."
Miss Scaddan added: "We had about £1,000 in the bank from deliveries and we spent all of it (on the event), it was make or break. We took about £3,000 over the weekend. I couldn't believe it."
The company kept growing from this point, first with a market stall in Clinton Street and then into a shop in Long Row. This summer the Nottingham shop moved to a bigger premises in King Street and they also have a bakery in Colwick.
Stores in Derby and Leicester have followed in the last few years and their latest branch in Lincoln is due to open at the end of October. Key to that success has been building up a core team.
Mr Smith said: "As you grow you get out of the doughnut business and you get into the people managing business.
"As long as people are alright they do their job. There are issues when you do that and your product is not as good, but 98 percent of the time everything is alright.
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"We are a people company and our staff can come to us. We like to show our faces."
Miss Scaddan added: "We are so involved in it and we need to make sure everything is running smoothly and the staff are happy. My main thing is the staff. If someone is upset we will chat to them and find out what's wrong.
"We didn't enjoy our jobs and we want people to come and enjoy what they do."
That focus has been echoed by employees at the company, including area manager Hannah Byrne, who has worked at Doughnotts for two years.
She said: "I love coming to work everyday.
"I love working with Megan and Wade and having the trust from them to run their business sometimes."
After sustained growth since their humble beginnings in 2015, Wade and Megan are exploring how to move the business forward.
They will soon be launching a wedding package but are also deciding whether to focus more on events in the immediate future or continue to open shops.
Miss Scaddan said: "When we first started we were kids. I'd come back from holiday repping. I think we have got older, wiser and a bit more professional with things.
"We are here but there are many other cities, there are so many places we could go."
Both Megan and Wade have been nominated for Nottingham's 30 Under 30, a partnership between Nottinghamshire Live, Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies and The Prince's Trust, which highlights rising stars who "represent the spirit, drive and energy of a thriving city".