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In 2019 Sara Davies became the youngest ever female Dragon. In 2024 she was appointed Chief Inspiration Officer for Avon UK reflecting her role in championing women in business. She is often called the Queen of Crafting having founded Crafter’s Companion in 2005 while she was still at university. This is now a multimillion-pound global brand. She has a strong track record, a passion for creativity, a down-to-earth personality and a commitment to empowering others. She has become a role model for people who want to turn a hobby or idea into a thriving business.
I met Sara at an event where she was Championing female entrepreneurs. She speaks about resilience, confidence and building a business from scratch. Sara is incredibly supportive and vocal about supporting small businesses especially women-led ventures.
Sarah is one of Europe’s most prominent entrepreneurs, investors and consumer experts, working mainly in the hospitality and lifestyle sectors. She is a proud mum of four and believes that parenthood and business can exist simultaneously, without sacrificing the quality of each other.
In her twenties, Sarah led the international expansion of Pizza Express and Planet Hollywood before going it alone to buy Bombay Bicycle Club, turning it into the UK’s largest chain of Indian restaurants. These successes helped establish her as a leading figure within the restaurant industry.
Sarah is also a recognised media personality, appearing as a judge on Raymond Blanc’s ‘The Restaurant’ and sitting alongside Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Nick Jenkins and Touker Suleyman as an investor on BBC’s ‘Dragon’s Den’.
Sarah is a business coach. I met her at a business ICONs event where she spoke about empowering women to build businesses. She was inspirational to listen to and an absolute pleasure to meet.
Tommy Fordham was known as Tommy Mallet in The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) and for building the successful footwear brand Mallet London. He was widely recognised as Tommy Mallet, but in 2025 he returned to his birth name, Tommy Fordham, following a financial challenge that was the catalyst for his personal reset.
Tommy had built a global brand despite leaving school early, living with Autism, ADHD and dyslexia. His willingness to rebuild after personal and professional setbacks has strengthened his public image as a resilient business figure.
He has spoken openly about selling his assets to deal with a tax bill and beginning again with new ventures, including a brand called CTRNE. Tommy is an influencer, he is down to earth, has a confident and outspoken personality that you can’t help but admire.
I met Tommy at an event where he was speaking about his business CTRNE, where he told the amazing and inspiring story of how his idea of placing a crystal in the sole of a trainer was born.