Memset Ltd.
I have long had aspirations to be an entrepreneur and in mid-2002 co-founded Memset Dedicated Server Hosting with my brother Nick. Nick provides the deep technical skills we need such as for our key product, Miniserver™ Virtual Machines, a virtual dedicated server solution based on the powerful Xen technology. He is our Technical Director, and I run the company day-to-day as Managing Director. Memset is now one of the UK's leading Web & IT hosting providers.
In case you are thinking "what on earth is hosting?", all Web sites and Interet services have to be hosted on a physical computer (a server) somewhere. What Memset does is provide those servers (in our Reading data centre sites) along with the connectivity and services such as firewall & DoS protection, security vulnerability assesment & scanning and 24/7 proactive service monitoring necessary for our customers to host their online applications.
Thus far, Memset has been a huge success (winning PC Pro's Best Web Host award two years running) and has remained profitable and debt free. I attribute this success in part to our good use of technology, in particular open source solutions, but mainly to the different approach we take to our customers. We do not just provide dedicated hosting, we are truly dedicated to our customers and make sure we give them the services & support they need to thrive.
Memset's Guildford team
Other ventures
Although Memset is my primary focus, I do have various other business interests and ideas. Some fall within Memset's umbrella, such as our new automatic backup service, SquirrelSave while others are more "spare time" business activities. A recent example of the latter is helping a friend to setup a touring motorbike rental company (New Horizons Bike Hire), and I am also currently mentoring some boys from the RGS Guildford on the Surrey young enterprise scheme.
New Horzons' main bikes
The future
For the time being, Memset is my primary devotion, but I have no doubt that within a few years I will be looking for a new challenge. My hopes are to be a serial entrepreneur since I can think of few jobs more rewarding than nurturing and breathing life into a small company which then goes on to provide employment and contribute's to the UK's business success.
As well as my interests in computing and information technology, I have an abiding fascination with Biomedical science and one day hope to return to that field or even perhaps combine the two in a new business venture.
Representation
Recently, my business netorking has given me the chance to start to help represent both local business and IT business on a national level, and I am grabbing this new challenge with huge enthusiasm!
