Gordonian Entrepreneurs

FONDEST MEMORIES

My fondest memories are those spent with friends in the common room of Windsor House. Those friends with whom I’m still good friends today. Other fond memories are of my art lessons with Mrs Coote and the drama performances with Mrs Sampson, their passion within their subjects and lessons really shone through.

LIFE AFTER GORDON’S

After Gordon’s I went on to study for my BTec National Diploma in Beauty Therapy at Guildford College. After I completed my course, I worked in a small local salon where I gained lots of experience and worked my way up to senior therapist. I later went on to study teacher training at Greenwich University. I taught beauty therapy for 8 years at Guildford College. Since leaving the teaching profession I have opened my own salon in Horsell. We opened in 2016 and have won many awards for best salon in Surrey, and best salon nationally.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS

I opened Norsworthys Health and Beauty in 2016. It is a boutique salon based in Horsell offering Elemis Facials, massage, tanning, eye treatments and manicure and pedicures treatments. I have a small team of 3 beauty therapists. I love my job and the ladies I work with. We have such a friendly salon and I enjoy all aspects of owning and working in a salon.

WHAT ARE YOUR AIMS/GOALS FOR YOUR COMPANY?

We are much more than a beauty salon; we are an integral part of a thriving local community providing a safe space for our clients, to enjoy some well-needed pampering and conversation away from the pressures of home and work. We host and attend a lot of charity work raising money for the local community. Eventually I would like to open more salons and a Norsworthys beauty training academy.

ADVICE TO YOUR 16-YEAR-OLD SELF

Keep doing your best. Take time to travel and experience new cultures and meet new people. Sometimes life gets hard, if your path demands you to walk through hell, walk as if you own the place! Sammy pictured with her younger brother Sean (left)

WAYNE MUNDAY 8302 (1984) KHARTOUM

FONDEST MEMORIES

Some of my favourite memories are probably unpublishable. After all, it was a very different era. However, the moment that my housemaster (Mr P. Quigley) let me know that I would become the House Sergeant for Khartoum House was a special moment. Many of my housemates at the time now hold some very senior military ranks.

LIFE AFTER GORDON’S

Since leaving in 1984 I went to university rather than the military. My degrees are in the earth sciences and I would win an advanced postgraduate scholarship to study in Bermuda. I would take this knowledge and thinking and join two geospatial international start-ups living and working across the UK, Europe and North American tech sectors. They would be sold for over a combined US$9 billion. I worked in strategy for America Online before I founded a leading independent London based digital advertising sales agency in 2002 and sold it in 2010. Since then, I have been an advisor, university mentor and interim c-level in start-ups specialising in businesses looking to grow, pivot or turnaround.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS

My current business is called Keystohn Limited. It is a venture builder which means it creates and invests in building new niche ventures. My current investment is a drinks brand dedicated to the Jurassic Coast. The inspiration for the business is a fossil ammonite that I excavated on a trip to the Isle of Wight when at university. Today it is a paperweight in my home office. I have plans to diversify the business and build publishing and marketing business units that are taking shape for 2024. I also want this venture to be a family affair so my son, wife and even my father are involved. My goal is to create a business I can pass on at some stage.

ADVICE TO YOUR 16-YEAR-OLD SELF

There are so many ways of answering this question. Firstly, I would tell my 1980s self to invent Google, reimagine the first Commodore 64 computer into an Apple Computer or re-think the Texas Instruments calculator into a Smart Phone. In reality, I would tell myself to find interesting subjects or activities to enjoy learning about; the greatest skill is to have the ability to continuously learn, research and process information; be curious; be confident in your beliefs; find like-minded people to be around, make use of university incubators and funding to explore your first start-up; never purely hunt the money consider social, environmental impact ventures; make time to enjoy life, family and your wellbeing – there is no harder job than starting ventures from scratch, and don’t forget about the people that helped you along the way, and always be humble.