- Mike Welch
Mike Welch (born
September 28 1978 ) is a Britishentrepreneur , and managing director of online tyre retailer Blackcircles.com.Biography
Born in
Liverpool ,England , Welch left school aged 16 and began working as a tyre fitter. He quit in 1996, just weeks after joining, to launch his first tyre retail business, MW Motorforce. He ran the company from a room in his parents’ house with a mobile phone and help from a £500 grant fromThe Prince's Trust .Welch moved to
Edinburgh after being head-hunted by SirTom Farmer to work asKwik-Fit ’s New Business and e-Commerce Manager in 2000. He left the company two years later after he was told he would have to wait 30-40 years to make chief executive.Blackcircles.com
He immediately set up Blackcircles.com, which now has a turnover of approximately £10 million a year.cite web |url=http://business.scotsman.com/retail.cfm?id=620372007 |title=Blackcircles drives towards 300 outlets |author=McArthur, Alistair |date=23 April 2007 |publisher=
The Scotsman |accessdate=2007-10-04] The company, based in theScottish Borders town ofPeebles , is the first ever franchised online tyre ordering service.Fact|date=October 2007 After booking, customers then have their tyres fitted at one of Blackcircles’ network of 987 independent garages.Welch won the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2003. [cite web |url=http://www.shell-livewire.org/awards/main.php?catid=41&subcatid=&artid=1055945850.567 |title=Shell LiveWIRE Black Circles Ltd |accessdate=2007-10-04 Shell LiveWIRE helps 16-30 year olds to start and develop their own businesses, and hosts a national competition for new business start-ups.] He was runner up in the 2005
Ernst & Young UK Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year award.Fact|date=October 2007The chairman of Blackcircles.com is Graeme Bissett, former Group Finance Director of Kwik-Fit, and according to
Hitwise , the company has the highest website traffic of any online tyre retailer in the UK.Fact|date=October 2007Further ventures
In 2006, Welch launched Blackcircles franchises, whereby independent garages can sign up to gain access to his stock-checking and ordering system. There are currently 900 garages signed up.
Welch set up www.mechanic-torque.co.uk, in August 2007. The website allows members of the public to ask fully-qualified mechanics for free advice about motoring problems.
Welsh is unmarried and lives in Edinburgh.
References
External links
* [http://www.blackcircles.com blackcircles.com]
* [http://www.mechanic-torque.co.uk mechanic-torque.co.uk]
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