WHO WE ARE

We are a team of seasoned entrepreneurs united by a shared passion for helping businesses succeed.

With experience founding, scaling, and operating companies across various industries and global markets, we've faced the same challenges entrepreneurs and executives encounter.

Our collective expertise allows us to guide you through the highs and lows of business challenges, ensuring your ideas and company can thrive!

Meet the team

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Meet the team ✺

Connect with Rachel here.

Rachel Hugh

Co-Founder

  • Rachel began her early career in the fashion industry, as a Buyer. Starting with high street giant French Connection, before moving on to the luxury market, first with Harrods, and then afterwards with Bottega Veneta in Dubai. Rachel then made the move into the tech world, matching her skills in fashion to what was, at the time, a pioneering luxury dress rental business, and developed an incredibly wide range of skills and experiences.

    Rachel then became the co-founder of one of the earliest and best known vegan food brands in the UK, The Vurger Co. Developing the brand and the business completely from scratch, starting with market stalls in 2016, Rachel was instrumental in building the business to what it became; primarily driving brand strategy, marketing strategy and digital execution, social media, product development, retail/wholesale/D2C sales, culinary and customer experience and all external partnerships. Rachel also secured a book deal for the business with one of the largest publishers in the world.

  • ★ Top ‘35 Women under 35 in Food tech’ Management Today

    ★ Top 10 Women in Food Tech - Forward Fooding

    ★ Top International Women Entrepreneurs of the Year 2024 - Great Companies

    ★ Business Connect: 40 under 40 Business Visionaries - The Business Connect

    ★ Top 101 most impressive successful founders in the Food and Beverage Industry

    ★ Food and Drink restaurant entrepreneur of the year Award

  • Rachel has spoken at top events, including the Global Economist Open Future Festival main stage speaker, E-Nation - Entrepreneur summit, The Restaurant Conference, Vegan Women Summit, Vegpreneur and Forward Fooding Women in Food Tech Panel.

  • Rachel has appeared on a business Sky News feature with Ian King as well as a panellist on the BBC Radio show ‘’The Bottom Line’’ with Evan Davis.

  • Rachel also saw her work awarded prominently in the UK Startups 100 list for three consecutive years, along with winning awards like the Marie Claire award for Best Sustainable Fast Food Brand in 2022, Forward Fooding - Top ranking Sustainable business award - 2020, 2021 & 2022.

    Rachel works to support clients across a wide spectrum of business challenges, and helps them strip away anything that is getting in the way of execution. She brings years of experience, and a full basket of skills and is relentless in making businesses the very best they can be.

Connect with Neil here.

Neil Potts

Co-Founder

  • Neil began his early career in the property industry, working in property management with some of London’s largest estate agents - Foxtons, Marsh & Parsons and Hamptons. Neil worked in high-performance teams at these companies, in a very competitive industry, and developed a wide range of commercial skills and experiences.

    Neil drew inspiration from his experiences in property management to create his first business; a residential and commercial contract cleaning business, working with a wide variety of commercial clients, including property businesses, motor groups, offices and also residential customers too.

    Neil then moved into the banking industry, working in senior strategic roles for one of the world’s largest banks, in London and also in Dubai. The work was varied, high-pressured, fast-paced and he really built a strong set of skills and experiences on which future ventures would eventually be built. Neil is a strategy, operations and financial expert and works closely with clients to solve a wide range of challenges in these areas.

    Partnering with Rachel as a co-founder to create The Vurger Co in 2016, Neil focused on strategy, operations, financial planning and management, investment and business development. The business became a multi-site (4 restaurants and a large production site), multi-industry (restaurants and CPG) and multi-country venture (UK, UAE, USA) and scaled to multiple seven-figures.

    Neil has also been a Mentor with Virgin Startup since 2020, working closely with many amazing founders and their businesses, across a wide range of industries, helping them grow to the next level.

  • ★ Top 101 most impressive successful founders in the Food and Beverage Industry

    ★ Food and Drink restaurant entrepreneur of the year Award 2021

    ★ Virgin Start Up mentor since March 2020

  • Neil has spoken at top events, including the Virgin Start up meet up on how to start and scale a food and drink brand. He has spoken at tech events regarding how to build the right tech stack for your hospitality success and also Well To Do start up business event panellist.

  • Neil has appeared on a business Sky News feature with Ian King and featured on several podcasts over the years.

  • Neil also saw his work awarded prominently in the UK Startups 100 list for three consecutive years, along with winning awards like the Marie Claire award for Best Sustainable Fast Food Brand in 2022, Forward Fooding - Top ranking Sustainable business award - 2020, 2021 & 2022.

Connect with Paula here.

Paula Nogueira

Co-Founder

  • With over 11 years of experience as a Graphic and Digital Designer, Paula Nogueira has established herself as a versatile creative professional with a passion for branding, design, and social media marketing. As a freelance designer, Paula has collaborated with a diverse range of clients and projects, including UX/UI design, email marketing, digital campaigns, and packaging.

    Paula's journey in the creative field led her to serve as the Creative Director at The Vurger Co, a pioneering vegan fast-food brand based in London. During her tenure, she played a pivotal role in revolutionising the fast-food market through innovative concepts centred around plant-based cuisine. Paula’s expertise led all creative initiatives in the company, including graphic design, social media management, and menu development, and was critical to the brand's exponential growth and success.

    Prior to her role at The Vurger Co, Paula honed her skills in various key design roles, including positions at prestigious department store El Corte Inglés in Portugal, fashion rental startup Chic by Choice, and the incredible GIRISSIMA.COM. Her experiences ranged from conversion design of email marketing and digital ads to website and app UX/UI improvements, reflecting her adaptability and expertise across different platforms and various industries.

    Paula is an expert in her field, she has a strong foundation in design coupled with a keen eye for innovation, Paula Nogueira continues to make her mark in the creative landscape, delivering impactful solutions that resonate with audiences worldwide.

  • Paula's educational background includes a Master's degree in Fashion Design from Faculdade de Arquitectura de Lisboa, where she explored her passion for fashion illustration. She further enhanced her skills through workshops and courses, including Fashion Content Marketing from the University of the Arts London and workshops on Google Ads and Facebook & Instagram Ads from EDIT. - Disruptive Digital Education.

  • ★ CPG Packaging design: Developed the CPG sauce range creative, including launch campaign. This range gained notoriety in its field by winning 2 Great Taste Awards, standing proudly on supermarket shelves in the UK, the USA and The Middle East.
    Developed the CPG of beauty products for Phase Zero Make up.

    ★ UI conversion improvements for El Corte Ingles e-commerce platform

    ★ Email marketing internal platform for El Corte Ingles called LUNA

    ★ Recipe Book creative: Led all creative for The Vurger Co’s first Recipe Book published by Harper Collins, one of the most prestigious publishing houses in the world.

    ★ Interiors: Creatively developed the concept for the brands restaurant interiors, connecting the dots for the customer between the physical sites and the online experience. This led to winning the Marie Claire award for top sustainable business.

  • Paula also saw her work awarded and featured prominently in the UK Startups 100 list for three consecutive years, along with winning awards like the Marie Claire award for Best Sustainable Fast Food Brand in 2022, Forward Fooding - Top ranking Sustainable business award - 2020, 2021 & 2022.

WHY WE’RE HERE

So many great founders have brilliant ideas,

Entrepreneurial brilliance often begins with visionary ideas, relentless determination, and specialised skills. Yet, transforming these sparks of genius into enduring, successful businesses requires more than mere inspiration.

Strategy, execution and sidestepping critical mistakes are pivotal!

That’s where we step in.

Knowing how to create and implement the right strategies is the difference between a great idea /product and a great business.

Drawing from our own ventures, we understand the importance of strategic execution.

Strategy and execution are vital.

Whether it's crafting and implementing winning strategies, assembling top talent, or ensuring sustainable growth, we've got you covered. Your focus should be on your strengths, while we handle the rest.

Let us bring our seasoned expertise to your venture, guiding it towards unparalleled success. With meticulous attention to detail, we'll refine your strategies, fortify your team, and pave the path to greatness.

Created by Entrepreneurs, for Entrepreneurs.

Reach out today, and let's craft your success story together..

We're here because we love solving problems and making business better, and we can't wait to hear from you!