“Enjoy the process of doing what you love. That will increase your chances of success infinitely more than anything else, because the success factor will change from results to process.”
Q. Please tell us about yourself and your entrepreneurial journey:
I was born in Virginia in the USA, to British parents and caught the bug for tennis at a very young age while out in the states. I left home at 13 years old to travel to Europe and pursue my dream of playing pro, and ended up traveling and competing on the international circuit for almost a decade, while also going on to pursue my studies at Stirling University. At Stirling, I was given the wonderful opportunity of broadening my horizons, while also still dedicating myself to the sport, which included a rigorous routine of practice every morning at 6:30, travelling for matches and studying for my exams.
During my time competing as a student athlete, I grew tired of carrying around bulky and poorly built tennis and sports bags, whether that was between classes, in the gym or on a plane to the next competition. So, I began designing a better bag for myself that could adapt to my changing needs and activities throughout the day. I landed on the idea of modularity and customizability being key aspects of the bag’s nature. I started coming up with ideas for specific accessories that could mount to the main bags to help people carry their gear for sport, work, and travel.
However, while taking several prototypes with me on my travels, I began to become aware of a greater demand for customizable sport and travel bags outside my own needs as an athlete. With no formal textile or soft goods background, I started reaching out to designers and suppliers in the sector, who could help my ideas become a reality. I attended various trade shows, such as ISPO in Munich, and ended up going three times in the space of 18 months to soak up as much knowledge of fabrics, materials, and modern manufacturing techniques as I could. I also applied and was accepted into Stirling University’s Enterprise Programme, which gave me fast-track business guidance and support that both helped me build the foundations for Cancha and prepare me for my MBA.
As I continued to develop Cancha, I began to go beyond just the product to identify what our values were as a company, and what I wanted to bring to peoples’ lives. Reflecting on my own journey as a professional tennis player, I realised that fundamentally I wanted to design products that empowered others to pursue their passions. I wanted the Cancha brand to embody this pursuit.I also wanted to create products that benefited the environment and the community. Before making a single pound in sales, I committed Cancha to joining the 1% For the Planet movement, ensuring that 1% of our gross revenue would always be allocated to this cause. Three years in, we have kept that promise, donating thousands of pounds to various environmental non-profits, while also committing to carbon-neutral shipping among other sustainable pursuits.
Q. Can you tell us a bit more about your business?
Cancha is an innovative bag brand on a mission to play sports and travel more seamless. We believe in pursuing your dreams and seeing more of the world. Our ethos is to design tools that empower people to pursue their passions. Our bags are built to adapt, built to travel, and built to last.
Q. What motivated you to start your own business?
The idea of owning one’s own destiny is an aspect of starting a business which I have always identified with. I believe this aspect of entrepreneurialism was even embodied in my dogged pursuits with tennis from a very young age. However, over the last couple of years, I have also become aware that entrepreneurialism and starting a business are not exclusively congruous. Starting a business is sometimes a means to finding one’s entrepreneurial spirit, but there are so many entrepreneurial people within organisations who are creatively shaping the future they believe in. This type of vision and belief is where the real motivation lies in my eyes.
Q. What has been one of the biggest challenges you have overcome?
From a work-life-balance perspective, I had a very tough time managing Cancha while also pursuing an MBA. During this period, not only was I juggling these two pursuits, I was also working as a content writer to survive and was training every morning at the university for tennis. While I would not recommend it, nor ever go back to this lifestyle myself, I made me realise that people in general are far more capable that what they sometimes lead themselves to believe. From a personal perspective, carrying the emotional weight of Cancha’s ups and downs is a constant rollercoaster that often plays heavily on my mind. As long as you’re running the business, it’s not something you can ever entirely escape from, even when it’s the weekend, or a holiday. As we move into a new phase now of hiring full-time employees, the pressure of not just providing for myself and the business, but the welfare of those who join our team is also a challenge that I will have to learn to manage.
Q. What has been the most rewarding aspect of your journey?
Without a doubt, the most rewarding aspect of my journey is the impact Cancha has had on people’s lives. Of course, it’s relatively a very minor impact, but seeing people travelling with their bags, pursuing their favourite activities and sharing their ideas and feedback on how Cancha could grow gives me a feeling like no other.
The second most rewarding aspect is the people I have met and the relationships I have been lucky enough to build through Cancha. These people have positively influenced my life enormously, and I almost can’t imagine not having met them.
Q. How has your experience been with the Enterprise Programme?
The Enterprise Programme gave me the confidence to pursue my ideas, the support and guidance to pursue them and an environment in which I felt like I could make a positive contribution. The EP team is made of up extremely talented, caring and entrepreneurial people who believe that giving students the opportunity to build wings will help us all soar. I am extremely grateful for their vision in creating such a meaningful environment which the EP is today.
Q. What advice would you give to students who wish to follow a similar path?
“My advice is to not to focus too much on the distance between where you are and where you wish to get to, nor where other people are along their own paths, but to simply enjoy the process of doing what you love. That will increase your chances of success infinitely more than anything else, because the success factor will change from results to process.“