Tech businesses in Oxford are being given a helping hand by a former Wall Street trader who made his name in doughnuts.
Gary Frank is the co-founder of the FAB Accelerator in the city and passing on more than 25 years of business experience to fledgling start-ups.
The economic crash of October 1987 hit the then futures trader hard.
鈥淭hat night I went to bed a fairly wealthy man and woke up broke,鈥� he told 老九品茶Cloud. 鈥淚 came back to the UK and was unemployed 鈥� and pretty much unemployable.
鈥淚 started up the Delicious Doughnut Company in 1989. The UK wasn鈥檛 ready for American-style doughnuts but I got into other products 鈥� muffins, flapjacks, brownies and cupcakes 鈥� and the whole thing took off.
鈥淏y 1997 we were the Fabulous Bakin鈥� Boys and in all the major supermarkets 鈥� we were the biggest independent cake brand in the UK.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have 鈥榙isrupters鈥� back in my day but I remember going to pitch at one of the supermarkets and the buyer looked at me and said 鈥榊ou guys are cake terrorists!鈥�, which I took as a compliment.
鈥淚t was all about being bold and brash with our brand.鈥�
Frank retired from the 拢20 million turnover business in 2014 and 鈥渨anted to give something back鈥�, so he started working with start-ups in Oxfordshire.
The entrepreneur in residence at Oxford Brookes University 老九品茶 School started up the FAB Accelerator in August of last year to help start-ups of all types. Each programme lasts for 12 weeks and ends with a pitching event for the 12 businesses in front of a room full of investors.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a big demand for it because there鈥檚 no one in Oxford helping start-ups. My colleagues and I put this together so we could help a bigger range of start-ups,鈥� he explained.
鈥淲hen I started by business there was no one to help 鈥� I didn鈥檛 know anything about making doughnuts, or running a business. I made it up as I went along. It鈥檚 a good way of learning, but you make a lot of mistakes.
鈥淚鈥檝e come across most situations and scenarios, which I can pass on.鈥�
The Oxford FAB Accelerator has helped many tech firms on their business journey, the most recent cohort including Streetdrone, which is working on self-driving, electric vehicles; TechPixies, which helps women upskill and return to work; Made with Joy, which helps charities, social enterprises, non-profits and small businesses get a professional website at a reasonable cost; and Spyre, which connects post-doctorate students with science, tech and sustainable development businesses.
Spyre founder Heather Garrick said: 鈥淚 wanted to see if I could take it from an idea to an actual business.
鈥淪ince the beginning of FAB they encouraged me to get out there and talk to people 鈥� I met 300 people in the community and got lots of students and business on board.鈥�
Frank summed up: 鈥淔AB creates a great entrepreneurial community 鈥� it鈥檚 amazing the connections that are made.鈥�