Thomas Coppen, a Bristol-based entrepreneur, borrowed £5,000 to get his company ‘Keel Over Ltd’ off the ground.
The company is an online marketing agency providing Pay-Per-Click across all search engines, and Social Media Optimisation services to business clients. Thomas found himself unable to secure funding from banks at the time of launching the business due to his young age and insufficient credit history. It was at this stage that he heard about Start Up Loans.
After successfully applying, Thomas soon received the funding he required and was assigned a mentor who has been a great support and helped steer him through the first months of running and developing the company. Thomas still meets with his mentor two or three times a year, several years on. He managed to pay the loan back within the first year, despite it being predicted that it could take up to five years to repay.
With the Start Up Loan scheme funding and lots of hard work and dedication by Thomas, Keel Over Ltd has now considerably increased its client base. The company has clients internationally, helping advertisers in multiple languages, as well as white labelling its services to other marketing companies. Thomas recruited his first employee at the beginning of 2013 and now employs 16 full-time employees and additional freelancers.
By the end of 2017, Thomas estimates that his turnover will be around £1 million per year. His business actively manages £4 million+ worth of client advertising per year. The business should be operating totally independently by the end of 2017 with senior positions recruited from the summer onwards.
