Katie Reeves founder of Festive green, a startup which creates sustainable artificial Christmas trees, received support from the Growth Hub through a range of hands-on programmes designed to give startups a step up.
As a marine scientist, Katie had seen firsthand the impact of plastics, particularly raw plastic materials, on the marine environment. This drove her to put sustainability at the forefront of her business idea, making sure that when she designed a product, it would either be without plastics, or used recycled plastics.
As a Christmas fanatic, she knew artificial Christmas trees was where she wanted to start. At just a year old, the business is currently navigating the startup phase.
Courageous Female Programme
Katie originally received support from the Growth Hub when growing her consultancy business, Some Consulting, which is now three years old. Originally completing The Courageous Females Programme, a support programme designed for Women in Business who want to reach their potential and enjoy higher levels of confidence and resilience, led by Andrea Morrison.
When Katie had the idea for Festive Green, she knew exactly where to go for support.
LEAD Programme: Coaching with Andrea Morrison
Adrian O’Neill, our skills and training specialist, recommended the lead programme, providing her access to one-to-one coaching with Andrea Morrison.
Katie said: “A year ago, the thing that was holding me back was just registering the business. That was one of the first things that Andrea worked with me on. She helped me overcome barriers and build my confidence. She keeps me motived.
“Andrea gave me an excellent speaking opportunity during International Women’s Day, at an awesome event. I found it so important to take the opportunities the LEAD programme led to, even though I was nervous!”
Strive Live Programme
Another opportunity Katie benefited from was the Strive Live Programme, which led to her winning an award for her branding.
With weekly live online training, personalised advice, and on-demand learning to support business growth over seven weeks, the program significantly helped Katie develop her business idea, supporting her to effectively pitch her business and build a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.
Katie highlighted the importance of having supportive individuals around you, especially during moments of doubt. Pointing out it’s easy to dismiss encouragement from friends and family as mere “fluffy” talk. However, she has come to appreciate having positive supporters who believe in you and say “you’ve got this” is essential for staying motivated and moving forward, regardless of the venture.
Looking to the future, Katie intends to sign up to future Growth Hub sessions to develop her website and build on her social media strategy.
Katie finished; “I would say without the Growth Hub, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m looking forward to continuing to get involved with the opportunities available to me and seeing what the future holds for Festive Green.”