Episode 132 - Vision, Grit, Sustainability & Dragons, With Rachel Watkyn, Tiny Box Company

14 Jul

In this episode of the FuturePrint Podcast, Marcus talks to Rachel Watkyn all about what led her to launch the Tiny Box Company, which she started from scratch in 2007.

Fast forward to 2023, and Tiny Box Company is the UK’s largest online gift packaging e-commerce company with over 700 products and over 100,000 customers - ranging from one-person start-ups to international corporations.

I found Rachel’s story refreshing and inspiring! She succeeded when others didn't think it possible by overcoming adversity and creating an award winning sustainable business!

I discovered that trauma in her personal life prepared Rachel for the struggles of business.

Rachel spent her formative years in care after a traumatic early childhood. Whilst working in Sierra Leone during the military coup, the extreme poverty she witnessed drove her vision for a Fairtrade business. This began as a jewellery company, but her struggle to find recycled and environmentally friendly packaging sparked the idea for Tiny Box Company, supplying businesses with attractive, ethical packaging.

Against a backdrop of difficulties including cancer, fire, flooding, an IT hack, and now Covid-19, she has grown Tiny Box to a thriving company of 80 employees.

Rachel is Dragon’s Den’s most successful female entrepreneur to date. The two original investors Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones can congratulate themselves on making such a wise decision.

She has been featured on BBC radio, The Daily Mail, The Times Newspaper as well as many business and trade magazines and is the winner of the NatWest Everywoman Award 2020 and the Rural Business Award 2020.

Rachel is a regular commentator on women’s entrepreneurship, women’s leadership, green business and sustainability.