1) What are you currently doing with your life?

I founded and run a company called PleaseCycle, which helps organisations to understand, encourage and reward employee cycling. A London-based cleantech start-up, we've combined the growing trends of cycling, digital innovation and "gamification" to create an online portal which incentivises staff to take more journeys to/from the office by bike.

In a nutshell, we provide an online client-branded portal which acts as a one-stop-shop for cycling in that particular office. Employees can learn about cycling, plan safe routes for their commute, discuss issues/events in a forum, and most importantly log their daily mileage. The latter allows them and their employer to visualise how much they're cycling, the resultant carbon saved and earn rewards for their journeys - akin to an "Air Miles" for bikes.

Day-to-day tasks revolve around a myriad of duties... From product development, sales, PR, meetings, account management... It's a smorgasbord of business tasks as you'd expect in any start-up.

2) What did you do before this?

Prior to PleaseCycle I was a student at the University of St Andrews, having eventually obtained a 1st class MA in Management. That said, my entry into enterprise was a fairly long and serendipitous one.

I'd forever been involved with an organisation called the Scottish Institute for Enterprise - a group which aims to inspire entrepreneurship amidst universities and colleges in Scotland. Having attended their events, won a couple competitions and served as their student intern within St Andrews I was one of the first to hear about a then-new website called Enternships.com.

Enternships seeks to connect would-be entrepreneurs with current start-ups, offering a truly unique "internship" in "enterprise" - hence the amalgamated name. I spent my summer at CURB Media, ultimately selling billboards made out of bacteria - much more glorious than it sounds, I promise.

Long-story-short, I finished up at university, travelled to London, rang my ex-boss at CURB, and launched PleaseCycle with him!

3) What was your moment of truth?

The following quote epitomises my desire to forever "escape the city," or at the very least veer clear of it:

"Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found."

This to me encapsulates the beauty of launching a start-up: carving your own future and never really knowing what the horizon holds. Some people would struggle with an unknown, uncertain and ever-changing career, however I believe the converse is true with the majority of entrepreneurs. In my case, the mere thought of a set corporate career-path, set promotions, set appraisals and set decades scared the wits out me me.

I have to admit that the circumstances in which PleaseCycle came about were somewhat fortuitous, yet had I never crossed paths with CURB or my current business partner I'm categorically sure I still wouldn't have put one foot on the blue-chip ladder.

4) How did you plan for it?

I didn't really... It kind of just happened. Obviously my background with the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, Enternships.com and other start-up groups/organisations placed me very well to seize the opportunity when it arose, however it's not like anyone can ever really schedule the launch of a start-up years in advance - they're often opportunistic by nature.

Obviously there was a frantic whiteboard session pre-founding, but other than that it really evolved from a coffee between myself and Anthony Ganjou - CURB Media founder and my current business partner. In essence, he acts as mentor and financier whilst I serve as CEO and day-to-day MD.

5) What have been the best and worst things about making this happen?

I've been extremely enamoured by the recent press coverage and awards we've gained... I guess that's testament to the product we're bringing to market, but it's extremely rewarding to see people engaging with a brain-child of your own making.

That said, there have been plenty of ups-and-downs along the way... As a nascent start-up there's the usual concerns of cashflow, clients and staying motivated.

I guess the "toughest" element of my experience thus far was "pivoting" from our original proposition to something more digitally orientated. We set out with a much larger offering (including training, maintenance, tours etc.) but found that it was too much for any client to wrap their heads around... As a result we had to "zoom-in-pivot" and chop away at the value we'd created to form a more concerted kernel of PleaseCycle. That was a difficult (but extremely enlightening) experience.

6) What was the best advice you have received

"If you're 100% happy with the product when you launch, then you've waited too long."

That rings true in PleaseCycle's case, as we learned oodles more about ourselves and our service when we began beta-testing the Cycle Hub programme. Get something out the door and in client hands ASAP. I guarantee you'll learn more in the fortnight that follows than in the prior two months spent planning.

7) What resources or information have you found really helpful?

Sites like Escape the City and Enternships provide especially excellent opportunities to dip your toe in the water of enterprise (or elsewhere) and make that shift into an alternative occupation. I certainly wouldn't be where I am today had it not been for the 3-month placement I did at CURB Media.

Beyond that, there's plenty of useful sites and communities out there who can offer advice, competitions and expert networks to get involved, such as Shell LiveWire or Virgin Media Pioneers.