Guy’s working career began in retail, where he enjoyed an 11-year stint in various managerial positions.

Following this, he followed his passion for anything technical and branched out on his own into the technical world. In 2001, he was a founding member and CEO of Cake Solutions Limited and over the next 16 years, he directly oversaw the development of the business from a small start-up to that of an international, multi-million-pound company respected as being at the cutting edge of engineering and process in the open-source software development world.

After being recognised in the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 and being viewed as one of the most unique, forward-thinking and fast-growth companies in the industry Cake Solutions Limited was acquired by a multinational corporation and the business was subsequently rebranded as Disney Streaming Services, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a company owned by The Walt Disney Corporation.

As a creative & widely experienced individual with a keen focus on personal development, company culture and process improvement, Guy is now able to turn his hand to various non-executive roles both in the commercial and voluntary sector. Guy is also the founder and non-exec at thestartupfactory.tech.

In addition to his working commitments, Guy dedicates time to charitable activities. For well over a decade, he has worked with Variety – the Children’s Charity in a number of voluntary roles, currently acting as the Chairman for the North West region.

Gary Fletcher

Non-Executive Director, Investor & Entrepreneur

An experienced straight-talking entrepreneur with over 30 years' experience in a variety of roles as a founder, director, investor and board advisor with a particular focus on company culture, people and service.

Gary started his career in the sports & leisure industry, gaining experience in a number of senior roles within the leisure facilities, franchising, UK Tourism of holiday parks, golf and hotel sectors.

Following this, he founded and led modern Forest Holidays and over the next decade built the company from the ground up, significantly growing the number of sites, cabins and EBITDA prior to a sale 12 years later for a 9-figure sum. During this period, Gary was a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year programme and subsequently has also been a judge in the same programme.

In recent years, Gary’s skill set and experience have seen him transition into a Chairman, Non-Exec and Investor. He enjoys and excels in helping entrepreneurs and their senior teams grow themselves and their businesses with strong leadership, focus and pace. He has a proven and strong track record across a number of separate roles with significant investor returns obtained across 8 & 9-figure exits in 2-4 years.

In addition to his working commitments, Gary is also involved in charitable activities and is the Founder & Chairman of The Children’s Village Charity.

Outside of work, Gary enjoys spending time with his family, travelling, fitness and following Derby County FC.

Neil is a strategy executive with 25 years + experience spanning digital agency leadership, board-level business transformation and multiple start-up/founder/NED positions.

His role at EHE is to help entrepreneurs and management teams structure and navigate a growth pathway; from initial fundraise and investment strategies through to go-to-market, customer acquisition and product innovation roadmaps.
Neil has been working with start-ups/scale-ups since the early noughties, both in the UK and
abroad. Most recently, whilst living in South Africa, he was an Africa mentor at
StartUpBootcamp and the adjunct lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the Durban University of
Technology.

Aleksa has extensive experience on both the founder and investor side. After a career in the finance industry, where he helped design and build data-driven distributed systems, DevOps platforms and APIS within the commodity trading and banking sectors.

Prior to that, Aleksa has shaped his technology thinking consulting organisations (both large corporates and early-stage startups) on how to efficiently use the latest innovations in technology tools and practices to build quality products and effective technical teams.

Using his extensive technology experience in multiple sectors, Aleksa helps our clients with system design and architecture, technology selection and successful delivery of MVP software products.

Wherever he can find time between devising technology strategy and advising clients, Aleksa likes to keep his hands dirty by working on the code, as much as his role permits.

Aleksa is a published author (Neo4j in Action, Manning; Pro Spring 2.5 and Apache Tomcat 7, Apress) and you can find him speaking at conferences and meetups.

Technology is Aleksa’s main passion and hobby, so he spends a lot of his spare time hacking away on his laptop. In addition, he is an avid football (soccer) fan, as well as a bit of a theatre buff, so you can often see him rushing from an afternoon kickoff to the latest play at the weekend.

Starting his career in the heart of the Manchester advertising scene in the 1990s, Simon has over 30 years of marketing expertise spanning renowned regional, national and international client campaigns. Simon built up and ran his own agency for over 20 years before exiting following a sale in 2021. His passion and knowledge across all forms of marketing (from traditional advertising to digital marketing and beyond) are centred around delivering customer value and customer-first experiences. Some of Simon’s most high-profile marketing projects include the branding for the Manchester Commonwealth Games, delivering campaigns over several years for the Welsh Government’s Violence Against Women initiative, and being the global digital partner of WaterAid.

Pete is an experienced professional with over 20 years in the tech, software & consulting industries, taking various senior and board-level positions.

Before joining EHE, Pete assumed the position of Commercial Director and shareholder at Cake Solutions, overseeing the journey from startup to a multi-million pound turnover company recognised as being at the forefront of open source technologies.

Using his diverse skills and experience, Pete is now channelling his passion into several non-executive roles as well as overseeing the operations for EHE.

In addition to his working commitments, Pete loves to wander around the Lake District with his family & brace of Labradors and, weather permitting, also loves to turn his hand to his longest-standing passion, fishing.

Elliot is a qualified accountant and experienced finance professional with over 20 years of experience providing accounting, financial, and advisory services to startups, entrepreneurs and established businesses. He works with a variety of entrepreneurial businesses as an advisor, director and investor, and his role at EHE Capital involves reviewing & overseeing investments and working directly with all parties on business strategy, due diligence and deal structuring.    

Elliot provides financial and strategic advice, backed up by his many years of commercial, financial and business experience across a wide range of services and sectors. He is an excellent sounding board for entrepreneurs who are looking to secure funding or expand their business, and he offers pragmatic advice to help businesses achieve their objectives.

Ross has over 25 years’ experience, holding several senior executive and non-executive roles supporting owner-managed, family-run through to UK PLC listed businesses across numerous services and sectors.

His experience has been gained in working with some truly entrepreneurial leaders in helping establish start-ups, growing their business models quickly and effectively and when things do get tough, to restructure and build again where necessary. He quickly grasps complex situations, analyses possible solutions and delivers cohesive short-, medium- and long-term strategies to deliver required results for all stakeholders.

Having worked with some truly inspirational entrepreneurs, Ross provides an honest assessment of what needs to be done to support teams in delivering fast, sustainable businesses for the future. He loves to support people, teams and focuses on their purpose, well-being and drive to make sure they achieve the ‘best that they can be!’

Head of Engineering is a lofty title. In reality, Eric likes nothing more than to roll his sleeves up and get stuck into some clean code.

Eric's first experience of software engineering was hacking Snake in QBasic. Since then, he has turned this hobby into a career, studying Electronic Engineering, followed by 10 years developing applications in telecoms, law enforcement, and maritime domains.

Despite it also being his day job, he takes every fleeting opportunity between the DIY chores to break out the laptop and cut code in a trendy new language or framework.

Other hobbies include: snowboarding, especially off-piste tree runs and powder jumps; woodwork and DIY; and flying an RC helicopter around the garden. 

Troy brings a wealth of venture experience, specialising in high-growth startups, AI applications, blockchain, and space-enabled technology. Before joining EHE Ventures, he was a key member of KPMG’s Ventures team, where he evaluated and supported early-stage, tech-enabled businesses in securing equity funding and scaling successfully.

As a former EdTech Co-Founder, Troy developed Sci-Tech Learning, a platform dedicated to expanding access to high-quality early years STEM education. He played a pivotal role in product development, team growth, and securing regional and national startup awards within the UK early-stage ecosystem. His passion for deep tech also led him to collaborate with the UK Space Agency, exploring the potential of blockchain technology integrated with terrestrial satellite architecture to enable real-time black box data streaming for aircraft.

Beyond his professional expertise, Troy is an avid adventurer and has completed wilderness survival training with TV personality Steve Backshall, led a two-week expedition in The Rockies, New Mexico, and became the only person in the UK to earn every Scout badge, including the Queen’s Scout Award. His contributions to youth development in Scouting earned him the Diana Award, and he notably designed UK astronaut Tim Peake’s mission patch, which was worn on the International Space Station.

Marc is deeply passionate about enhancing how people interact with technology and ensuring every touchpoint – whether work, leisure, or personal growth – is impactful and intuitive. As Team Lead of Frontend at EHE Venture Studio, his focus is not just on crafting visually appealing apps, but on delivering highly functional projects that provide exceptional user experiences, aligned with our founders’ visions.

With over a decade of experience as both a UX designer and a full-stack engineer, he specialises in bridging the gap between these two disciplines, ensuring seamless integration of design and development. He believes that great UX process and Agile methodologies are not just compatible, but fundamentally interdependent,  driving efficiency, creativity, and user satisfaction in every project.

I’m deeply passionate about enhancing how people interact with technology, and ensuring every touchpoint – whether work, leisure, or personal growth – is impactful and intuitive. As Team Lead of Frontend at TSF, my focus is not just on crafting visually appealing apps, but in delivering highly functional projects that provide exceptional user experiences, aligned with our founders’ visions.

With over a decade of experience as both UX designer and full-stack engineer, I specialise in bridging the gap between these two disciplines, ensuring seamless integration of design and development. I believe that great UX process and Agile methodologies are not just compatible, but fundamentally interdependent—driving efficiency, creativity, and user satisfaction in every project.

Sogi started her career as a content copywriter and now she's the Marketing Content Marketing Specialist at EHE. She is responsible for shaping EHE's content strategy and boosting our brand’s visibility across different platforms. Whether it’s writing engaging social media posts, planning out content calendars, or experimenting with designs on Canva, she's all about creating content that connects with people. When she's not working, you’ll probably find her curled up with a Stephen King novel, getting lost in a good thriller or running half-marathons.

Ayden is a graduate developer from Cornwall who has been programming since the age of 13. Following his passion, he graduated with a degree in Computer Science back in December 2019 and joined EHE in January 2021. He specialises in mobile application development, in both JavaScript and native languages.

I am a graduate developer from Cornwall who has been programming since the age of 13. Following my passion, I graduated with my degree in Computer Science back in December 2019 and joined TheStartupFactory in January 2021. I specialise in mobile application development, in both Javascript and native languages.