Alex Klein tells Jonathan Moules about his ambition to transform attitudes to computing with his kit to help people of all ages make their own and write the programmes to go with them.

FT Start-Up Stories

Uncovering the secrets of computing

Geoff Watts and Julia Fowler co-founded EDITED, an innovative tech company that brings data analysis to the retail industry, nearly a decade ago. They tell Jonathan Moules that the toughest problem they've faced was when they hired someone who wasn't a team player.

How not to hire a psychopath

Twenty years ago, Chetan Dube left the world of academia, at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, to pursue a career in business. He tells Jonathan Moules what inspired the move. 

Pursuing the AI dream

Michelle You, co-founder of the music ticketing and concert discovery platform Songkick, tells Jonathan Moules about the fun of creating a business, and the sense of failure she felt after the company was acquired by Time Warner.

The accidental entrepreneur

When Peter Mühlmann’s mum had some bad experiences making her first purchases online in 2007, he decided there must be a way to guide consumers to businesses they could trust. The result was Trustpilot.

Creating trust in an online world

Sarah Murray’s mobile alarm and tracking technology company faced an early setback when a government contract she’d been pinning her hopes on fell through. She tells Jonathan Moules how she dealt with the disappointment and bounced back.

Buddi: what to do when a deal goes wrong

Marcin Kleczynski’s interest in computer software was sparked at the age of 14 when a battle to remove a virus from his home computer brought him into contact with the world of cyber geeks. He teamed up with some of them to provide a free service, later turning their ‘freemium’ model into a lucrative global business, Malwarebytes.Picture credit: Alpana Aras

How fighting a computer bug turned into a vocation

Julie Deane set up the Cambridge Satchel Company as a way of financing her children's education, but its rapid success attracted outside investors and the venture took a direction that made her feel uncomfortable. She tells Jonathan Moules how she regained her confidence and took back control.

The business that spun out of control

If you are trying to fill a gap in the market and a very conservative industry tells you it can’t be done, then go for it because there is “massive opportunity and the sky’s the limit”, iZettle’s Jacob de Geer tells Jonathan Moules

iZettle: beating the incumbents

Dale Murray co-founded Omega Logic, which provided an electronic solution for mobile phone top-ups just as mobile phone use in the UK was becoming widespread. Timing played a big role in the success of the company, but it was ultimately her networking skills that saved the business

Dale Murray: networking saved my business

We’re back. Start-up Stories is returning with a new set of entrepreneurs sharing their insights about the joys and challenges of starting a business.So look out for our first episode in series five - from Monday June 4

Start-up Stories returns

Philipp Bock set out to solve one of the biggest problems faced by consumer businesses in Latin America - the lack of a localised cross border payments infrastructure.

A payment solution for Latin America

Glenn Keys and Andrew Walker were childhood friends who'd both served in the army and run businesses. Eventually they found a way to pool their resources, creating a company that provides tailored healthcare solutions in 12 countries from the UK to Africa, East Timor and Iraq.

The Aspen busters

Jeff Raider has helped pioneer a high quality, low cost model for selling consumer products like glasses and razors online. He tells Jonathan Moules how he did it.

Challenging the consumer giants

A crowded train journey home after a Chicago baseball game provided the inspiration for Katie Hill-Gottesman's Commuter Ads business, as she tells Jonathan Moules

A winning commute

The Financial Times's Jonathan Moules talks to entrepreneurs about building successful brands, giving birth during a funding round, and rebuilding a reputation in the wake of bankruptcy. Real stories from those who've done it, from idea to exit. Produced by Fiona Symon