Plymouth entrepreneur honoured by King for braille business
He added: "It's all been a bit of a surprise, it all happened because I was unemployed for so long, I went to the job centre and said 'all I need is one piece of kit so I can set up my own business'."He said one phone call from the advisor later and he was in touch with the King's Trust (formerly the Prince's Trust), who helped him get set up.He said his business All Things Dotty was about helping visually impaired people to "see the world with their fingers"."It's opened a whole new world for visually impaired people," he added. He said he was inspired initially by his own challenges reading greetings cards."I got frustrated...people would get me birthday and Christmas cards and I couldn't read them."I'd be hovering my phone over it to try and read it and in the end family would read them to me which was great, but I could only read them that once."After searching for a solution, he found a gap in the market, and started to produce "tactile artwork".Describing "big A4 things folded in half", he said the business had since been finessed, with personalised braille greetings cards featuring a range of designs now on sale, as well as colouring books, artwork, menus, and braille tuition.
'Support is magical'
Mr Hulcoop said he started using an embosser at home to create the cards, but he now has an office.He said he had also completed a business diploma at a residential college "geared up" for visually impaired students."Look at me now compared to five years ago," he added."I always knew I wanted to be a braille teacher or do something in braille. I was led to believe the market was too small but now I know it's very very big," he added. "I just want people to recognise the importance of braille."Having a braille menu promotes that independence, you can say to people 'you're welcome here'. Thanking the customers and restaurants in Plymouth who supported him in the early days, he added: "Still getting support is magical for me as a person."Mike Hogan, from Plymouth, who is a mentor with the King's Trust, said: "Brandon is so inspirational in that if he comes up against an obstacle he will always try to find ways around that obstacle to complete things himself before asking for help."Sometimes he does ask and I'm only too pleased to help. He's always treated his disability as an ability in that it's not holding him back at all."He likes to show other people if he can achieve this why can't they and he's all about accessibility and inclusion."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Finextra
32 minutes ago
- Finextra
Zopa opens Manchester office
London-headquartered digital bank Zopa is opening an office in Manchester as it bids to create a 500-strong workforce in the city. 0 Opening in central Manchester next month, the office will initially provide space for a team of 50+ employees, with roles focused on product, engineering, and specialist operations. It "could" grow tenfold to over 500 staff over time, says Zopa. The bank is planning to tap into the city's thriving tech ecosystem, strong financial services presence, and deep talent pool. With over 10,000 digital and tech businesses, a flourishing startup scene, and five major universities enrolling over 100,000 students, Manchester has become one of Europe's fastest-growing tech hubs. Iain Kendrick, chief people officer, Zopa, says: "With more than 85% of our customers based outside the capital, expanding into Manchester allows us to be closer to our diverse, nationwide customer base, access new talent, and accelerate our ambitious growth journey. Manchester has the energy, connectivity, and capability we need to support our next stage of expansion as we make Zopa a top-choice employer across regions." A P2P lending pioneer, Zopa pivoted to become a bank in 2020 and has since amassed 1.5 million customers, lending more than £13 billion and securing two straight years of profitability. In June it marked a major milestone, finally launching its first current account, Biscuit. As it grows the business, the firm is also expecting to move to its landmark new headquarters in London later this year, doubling its office footprint for around 900 employees.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Consulting sector rebounds amid efficiency drives and AI adoption
Britain's consulting industry is expected to return to growth this year in what could be bad news for the rest of the country's workforce. The sector struggled last year as companies reined in their spending on external advisers in the face of wars, general elections and lingering economic uncertainty. The Management Consultancies Association, in its annual industry report, estimates that the UK consulting industry was flat in 2024, with annual revenue unmoved at £20.4 billion. However, the MCA, which represents dozens of firms including the 'big four', expects the sector to rebound this year and to grow by 3.6 per cent, followed by 7.8 per cent in 2026. That growth is expected to be driven by companies bringing in experts to oversee efficiency drives, which usually take the form of job losses.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
UK is now a top investment destination, Deloitte survey reveals
The UK has overtaken the United States and Japan as a more attractive country to invest in, according to executives at some of Britain's biggest businesses. Despite volatile markets and concern about the public finances, business directors have turned more bullish on the UK as a country to invest in and have a bigger appetite for risk, according to Deloitte's latest survey of chief financial officers. The closely watched quarterly survey, which canvasses opinion from the finance chiefs of 61 of Britain's biggest companies, found that executives viewed the UK and India as the most attractive destination when it came to investment, with a net balance of 13 per cent of respondents describing Britain as very or somewhat attractive. • Deloitte cuts back on bonuses, pay and promotions Increasing fondness for the UK in the second quarter is a marked improvement from the end of last year, when finance bosses saw the United States, the Middle East, emerging Europe and Japan as better countries to invest in over Britain. 'These results reveal a shift in sentiment, with the UK now viewed as a leading global investment destination', Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, said. 'This renewed confidence, coupled with a rise in risk appetite, is welcome and underscores the considerable investment potential the UK offers.' A net balance of 17 per cent of finance chiefs said that now was a good time to take greater risk on to their balance sheets, compared with 12 per cent in the previous quarter, amid a 'slight tilt' away from 'defensive strategies' for the first time in a year as more companies looked at expanding via new markets and products. Despite the uptick in optimism, the survey, which took place between June 16 and June 29, found that for an eighth consecutive quarter geopolitical fears remained the top risk to finance bosses. However, the percentage of finance chiefs reporting that the level of external uncertainty facing their business was high or very high dipped to 44 per cent in the second quarter from 46 per cent in the previous quarter. Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte UK, said the slight slip in levels of concern about geopolitical risk 'may reflect an easing of concerns around trade in light of the UK-US trade deal announced in early May.'
