A rental van, a set of ladders and a first sale of £28.50

My dad had a TV repair shop. I grew up in it from about eleven years old, going on deliveries with him, sitting in the workshop, watching him fix things other people had given up on. He was more focused on customer service than making more money. People trusted him and they kept coming back. That part stayed with me.

When Sky TV launched I started doing satellite installations on the side. Six months, just until I got a proper job. I made flyers and put them in supermarkets, on car windscreens, anywhere someone might actually read them. Put a small ad in the local paper.

I never ended up getting the proper job.

My first sale was £28.50. I remember the feeling of it, not the amount. Getting the work, going and doing it, getting paid. There was something about that I could not let go of, so I kept going. Bigger contracts, more complex jobs, work other people did not want because it was too complicated, too risky, too much bother. That is exactly where we wanted to be.

34 years later, OKTO commissions systems inside live hospitals, delivers building technology for landmark construction projects, and integrates AV and IT for some of the most high-profile venues in the UK and Ireland.

Same instinct, bigger problems. We find the problem, fix it, and do not stop until it is right.