The South West is home to a plethora of fantastic businesses, many of which have grown from just a single owner or a few employees.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and small enterprises are a part of what makes the region's business scene so diverse and successful.
These are some of the brilliant companies which have recently started up and are doing incredibly well.
They all have big plans for the future and will be ones to watch as time progresses.
Ideal First Car
20-year-old George Howell set up his first business last year, but the venture began when he was just 17.
George was always into cars - it was his dream as a young boy to work with them, and he had big plans to become a car salesman.
In class one day, the teen was asked to help a friend look for his first car. For his help, George’s friend gave him £20 to say thanks, and that's where Ideal First Car began.
This year, George has excelled in the business world – his life has transformed in a few short years from pitching his business plan in college to a group of 10 students to standing on a national stage infront of 800 business people to explain how he had managed to take the reigns and create a business at such a young age.
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George’s app is a service built for 17-25-year-olds wanting to buy their first car without being ripped off.
The app uses a database of assured, trusted car retailers, giving users access to over 20,000 second hand approved vehicles. You set a budget and the app finds you cars within your spend that you can have confidence in purchasing.
In September, George was about to raise the next round of investment for Ideal First Car. He has big future plans to offer a full car buying service, helping with insurance, maintenance and selling.
Good Things Gifts
The ethical gift and toy company got off of the ground earlier this year with backing from Natwest and a successful Crowdfunder.
Good Things have a range of products which are all ethically sourced from around the world, such as beach playsets which have been made from sea plastics.
The business, which is based on the edge of near South Brent, is the brainchild of female entrepreneur, Lucy Willougby.
After spending time in Costa Rica, Nepal and Tanzania, working with people to set up small businesses, Lucy was inspired to let the world know about the products she found and the projects they support.
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And in October, the business was named among the 海角视频’s most exciting start-ups. The announcement was made at an event at the Houses of Parliament with Good Things being rewarded with a £2,000 grant and a year of free business mentoring.
Papadeli
The Bristol deli was named Britain’s best small shop of 2019.
The Clifton shop was revealed as the winner at an event hosted by the Independent Retailers Confederation at the Houses of Parliament.
Papadeli stocks a selection of salads, cheeses, pickles, breads and charcuterie from local and European producers. It also serves tea and coffee, and sells olive oils, balsamic vinegar, handmade artisan chocolates and biscuits.
The shop also caters for events, gives cookery demonstrations at a local school and supports a number of charities.
Papadeli owner Simon MacDonnell said: "We are very honoured and excited to have won this award and I think our regular customers will be proud and happy for us.
"We have been going for 18 years, starting as a deli, opened a café and we also have a cookery school and an outside catering school.
"Our ground floor shop is a food and wine retailer and an emporium for anything you might want to get in terms of a food treat."
The Recycled Candle Company
Owners of this candle recycling company, Richard Hills-Ingyon and Sargon Latchin, opened their shop in Exeter’s Gandy Street in July 2019.
They had a shop in Ottery St Mary before moving to Exeter, with the company having been officially incorporated in July 2018.
They work with a 海角视频-based French perfumer who to designs their bespoke fragrances and the candles are made at the back of their shop from waxes which have been collected from businesses and hotels.
It’s the 海角视频’s only candle recycling business and it’s clearly popular – the business was voted as one of the top ‘25 Best Small Shops' in the 海角视频 earlier this year.
As a result, it scooped the accolade of runner up in the search to find Britain’s Best Small Shop.
Boundless
Bristol-based nuts and seeds snack business Boundless was founded two years ago by Cathy Mosely.
The company, which has featured on BBC's Inside the Supermarket, has been trialling its products in Sainsbury's since the summer, but recently landed a permanent contract.
The deal means Boundless will be supplying 580 Sainsbury's stores from January 1.
Boundless is one of only three 海角视频 food brands to be chosen and follows a trial the supermarket was running to identify future food trends in response to customers shifting away from big brands to smaller, innovative products.
Boundless also picked up a top accolade at Caterer’s Product Enterprise Awards this year.
The retailer's Rosemary & Cayenne activated nuts and seeds was named the best snacking product of 2019 after beating off more than 5,000 other products.
Blak Wave
The first black-owned television production company launched in Bristol this year.
The business was set up by Michael Jenkins and Dr Mena Fombo, and is the only black-owned TV production firm out of 140 in the city.
The owners of Blak Wave say they are aiming to create content from a “fresh perspective”, giving a voice to those underrepresented on television.
Dr Fombo is a Bristol-based equality and diversity campaigner, and the founder of Black Girl Convention - a movement to ensure that women of African and Caribbean heritage have "a sense of home" by sharing experiences.
Mr Jenkins is a filmmaker whose recent documentary about St Pauls Carnival won wide acclaim. He has also made content for the BBC and Channel 4.
He said: “I’ve been a filmmaker for the past seven years and more often than not, when I enter a commissioning room, I’m the only black person in it.
“Blak Wave is a huge opportunity to invest in developing new narratives and tell untold stories that reflect the population."
The Cactus Kitchen
Belle Carter, who shot to fame with a teen singing career, stepped away from the fast life to pursue her passion of food in late 2018.
She set up the Cactus Kitchen after a trial day at a food market where she completely sold out.
Now, she runs a lunchtime catering service delivering her tasty vegetarian, vegan and gluten free meals to businesses across Torbay and Newton Abbot.
She produces a new menu every week brimming with delights such as Mexican burritos, seitan kebabs, halloumi wraps, decadent side salads laced with feta, olives, homemade dressings and more, and she also makes her own cakes.
Her moreish meals have now become so popular she is hoping to set up a permanent premises in Torquay in the near future.
Bird Sunglasses
This small Devon sunglasses firm is making it big with celeb clients like Joss Stone.
Bird Sunglasses in Exeter is also getting a name for itself with industry insiders and is being mentioned alongside global names Cutler & Gross, LA Eyewear and Xavier Garcia.
And its all down to a team of six who fit their work on the brand around their other jobs.
The family start-up was founded out of the desire for eyewear which not only looks good, but does good, too. Sustainable materials used include FSC certified wood, repurposed aluminium, and recycled packaging.
Every pair of Birds brings the gift of solar light to families in Malawi, Zambia and Uganda through the close ethical Share Your Sun partnership they have with SolarAid.
This year, the brand won Frame of the Year at the Opticians Awards, dubbed the BAFTAS of eyewear, beating big names including Specsavers.
And it also scooped Micro Business of the Year in the 2019 Western Morning News Business Awards.
The British Blanket Company
A brother and sister from Bristol set up their blanket company four years ago and it was named among the best 海角视频 businesses this year.
Bethan and Joe John, who grew up in Somerset, were 海角视频 finalists at the 2019 Natwest Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
Their company sells colourful wool throws and picnic rugs woven at traditional mills in the 海角视频 and Ireland.
The duo, who scooped the South West regional award, were acknowledged for their hard work and inspiring business journey.
Bethan said: “When you're running a small business it can be difficult to stop and recognise how far you've come and it's wonderful to have The British Blanket Company in the spotlight."
Joe added: "People are often surprised that siblings can successfully work together, but the dynamic has made our business strong because we have a lot of trust and shared ambitions for The British Blanket Company, yet different skills to bring day-to-day."
Copper Stallion
A trio of childhood friends started up their own business, the Copper Stallion, after formulating the plan around a pint in a pub in April.
Kriston Murphy, Tim Sings and Tom Shotter’s new venture is a mobile pub in a converted horsebox.
The vision was to create a full pub experience on wheels - they wanted to offer something for everyone.
The trio, who are all 27, gutted the old horsebox in Totnes near where they live, transforming it over a number of weeks.
The miniature pub on wheels sells everything from ales and beers up to posh gins, tequilas and wines and they’re running it alongside their full time jobs for now.
Beevive
Beevive started up in May after Faye Whitley and her partner had an encounter with a tired bee on a pavement in Cornwall.
They knew the drill, but didn’t have the sugar water solution the bee needed to hand. They scooped the insect up and took it to a nearby café which mixed up a sugar water solution on a spoon before allowing the bee to sip some – and then it flew away.
Beevive is a simple keyring 'revival kit' which contains the solution for when you come across a tired bee. It’s a slick, plastic free product that’s been flying off the shelves since they first released Beevive at the Exeter Vegan Market in March 2019.
Exeter-based Beevive successfully raised £4,751 in a Crowdfunder backed by Natwest to get the business off the ground.
The official keyrings launched on July 6, 2019, and now they have a Christmas line ready too.
Scribeless
Scribeless uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create convincing automated handwritten letters and it secured £25,000 of seed funding in 2019.
The company, which was founded by Bristol University graduates Robert Van Den Bergh and Alex Robinson in 2018, scooped one of the two top prizes at the Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards 2019.
The duo, both 23, beat off competition from over 2,000 businesses to win the funding.
Robert came up with the idea for Scribeless after spending several weeks handwriting letters during an internship.
He joined forces with Alex to develop software able to learn the nuances of handwriting in order to introduce variation and inconsistencies in its fake handwriting.
Robert and Alex use AI and advanced printing technology to create handwritten letters which are indiscernible from a letter written by the human hand. The service is already being used by banks, hotels and universities.
Cheerful Buddha
Cheerful Buddha is a North Devon based company that blends the CBD with coffee.
A few months ago, they also partnered up with Topsham coffee shop No3 to sell the good stuff by the cup.
pairs 100mg organic full spectrum 海角视频 hemp-derived CBD with 100g of medium roast Colombian blend coffee for a tasty brew with enhanced wellbeing benefits.
Cheerful Buddha started trading in June 2019 and have plans to extend their products into CBD chocolate.
So far their coffee is sold in cafes and shops across the 海角视频, and they have around 50 customers.
Seaspoon
Seaspoon started up in February 2018, but 2019 has been a fantastic year for this pair of friends who harvest seaweeed by hand from a stretch of the south Devon coast.
Founders of Seaspoon Seaweed, Tim Buckley and Kate Tullberg, have developed a range of flavoursome and nutritious blends using the health food from our sea that are so tasty that they have swept up some of the country’s most prestigious food awards.
Seaspoon has won accolades from Great Taste Awards and the Taste of the West awards in 2019, as well as being shortlisted for the Great British Food Awards and the Women’s Health Food Awards.
They’re still expanding their delicious range and in a recent partnership, Seaspoon teamed up with Mitch Tonks and his Exeter Rockfish restaurant, where you can find the seaweed seasoning to add to your fish and chips.
Ecostardust
Kath Senior founded her Bristol-based biodegradable glitter company in 2017 after ordering glitter for her 30th birthday party and realising it was made of plastic.
Kath's business has experienced phenomenal organic growth and her products are now stocked on Asos, Pretty Little Things and in Accessorize.
“We aren’t perfect but we are striving all the time for perfection," said Kath. "Doing the right thing is what is important to us.”
This year Ecostardust scooped the Gold Star Environmental Hero award at the Bristol Post's Gold Star Awards and was also a finalist at the 2019 Bristol Live Business Awards.
Next year Kath says she is planning to expand into more retailers.
She added: “There are still so many people who aren’t aware that there is an alternative to traditional glitter.
“I was so nervous about launching but it was the best decision I have ever made. I pinch myself that we have even got to here. It has happened so fast."
Two Drifters Brewery
A Devon husband and wife team started Britain’s first carbon negative brewery and distillery in Easter – making beer and rum which is vegan and as good for the planet.
From their base near Exeter Airport they produce drinks which allow consumers to make a difference to climate change.
The pair have essentially created a carbon tax upon themselves that is not passed on to consumers. In order to reduce their carbon ‘bill’ they will run all their electric equipment on Zero Emissions energy and deliver locally using an electric van.
Until 2018 Russ was an organic chemist working on carbon capture. The couple, who had lived in Vancouver, Canada, decided to follow their dream and move back to Devon and make beer and rum.