My story

My Story

Exit is the beginning, not the end.

Hi, I am Mark Colquhoun.

Remember the Jelly Bean machines on pub bars?

That was 19-year-old me. My first ride on the entrepreneurial helter-skelter. I dropped out of Oxford Brookes to set up the business and sold it for £10,000 without a word of advice from anyone. Most of the cash went into my Dad’s pocket to pay back a debt from a year out.

Between then and my next entrepreneurial venture I ran a game lodge in South Africa, worked at Oddbins and then in a smoke-filled room selling ad space.

I have built and sold two telecoms businesses, acquiring six rival firms along the way. I experienced and survived divorce and cancer. Now I take huge pride in how I responded to both those shattering events.

Exit from my businesses has given me some financial security. But busy-ness, building businesses - and being part of a team with a collective endeavour - were central to my identity. Growing my business was my
defining purpose.

And with that work complete, a void appeared.

Since my exit, I’ve stayed deeply engaged – chairing forums at Helm, the founders’ community, being part of a YPO forum, sitting on the board of TalkLife and investing alongside founders. Together, these experiences have reinforced the value of bringing the right people together – people who are open to learning and sharing.

Now, connections, community and the vision of helping other entrepreneurs exit well, and find fulfilment beyond exit, brings the purpose and energy I need to feel useful and happy.