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A pair of quick–thinking entrepreneurs who feared听COVID-19 would drain the life from their mobile charging business switched focus in just SIX days听–听and are now set to clean up.听

Hugo Tilmouth, 24,听and Charlie Baron,听26, expected 2020 to be a big year for听ChargedUp听–听but the听coronavirus lockdown almost brought the firm to its knees听and led to the听furloughing听of听some听staff.听

The astute young tech founders redesigned their mobile charging docks into hand sanitiser stations and in less than a week landed their first lucrative contract with transport giant TfL, providing a vital lifeline for their business and 45 staff.听

Incredibly, the nimble听start–up听born听in the midst of听the pandemic turned over 拢1m in its first month.听

Tilmouth and听Baron launched听ChargedUp,听a network of 2,500 charging points across 50 European cities, in 2017. It听took听inspiration from bike sharing听and allowed users to听rent听a mobile charging pack from one destination and return it at a different location if needed.听

In less than three months, sister company听CleanedUp听has already secured major contracts with Costa, Crossrail, DHL and Hello Fresh.听听

Returning its five furloughed employees, the听start-up has already created 12 new jobs.听

The London-based founders听now plan to go a step further and approach the government to return the furlough money they received.听

鈥淚 have to give Charlie all the credit for the听CleanedUp听idea,鈥� said Tilmouth.听鈥淲e were set to roll out 150 mobile charging stations across UK airports, train stations and shopping centres the week lockdown hit, completely halting us in our tracks.听

鈥淚mmediately, we were like:听how on earth do we keep the company afloat?听

鈥淲e spent the entire night going through models and situations, taking the really austere view – what happens if there is no chance of revenue for听ChargedUp听until 2021?听

鈥淲e then asked ourselves, what do we have in our skillset and how do we still support our supply network of shopping centres, pubs and transport hubs to help them operate safely in future?听

鈥淪omewhat serendipitously, the mobile stations sat dormant had been designed specifically for high traffic locations – which spurred Charlie into thinking they could be refined into large capacity affordable hand sanitising bays with minimal investment.

鈥淲hile I was number crunching, Charlie had not only seeded the idea with an existing client, but road tested it with a supermarket chain and almost overnight we firmed up there was appetite.听

鈥淎ll in all, we had the idea on a Thursday, a working prototype by Monday. By the following Wednesday the factory was ready to start production. In that same time, Charlie had already sold 150.鈥�听

Undeterred by a drought in hand sanitiser at the height of the pandemic, the resourceful pair sought out other small businesses pivoting their firms at the height of the pandemic.听

Supporting other fledgling firms,听CleanedUp听sourced from independent gin distilleries who converted to hand sanitiser production to support听COVID-19 effort.听

In just three months听CleanedUp听has sold over 7,000 UK manufactured hand sanitising units to what Hugo Tilmouth and Charlie Baron describe as 鈥渄ream clients鈥�.听

The听start–up听is now part of , providing access to hand sanitiser and hygiene kits free of charge to trade.听听

Baron said:听鈥淗ospitality businesses are the linchpin in bringing people together to socialise and celebrate – something we have all sorely missed during the pandemic.听

鈥淪o many outlets have been impacted by this crisis and badly need help to open their doors again.听

鈥淧ubs and bars are the heartbeat of every community 鈥� sustaining hundreds of millions of jobs, often the first foot on the employment ladder for young people.听

鈥淲hen听ChargedUp听was faced with听COVID-related headwinds, we figured we had nothing to lose.听听

“We threw ourselves completely into听CleanedUp听and somehow we鈥檝e not just survived but thrived. Which is why, with this clean bill of health we feel it鈥檚 right to return the government furlough assistance.鈥�听