George Knight

Founded RE5 after winning funding and mentorship from entrepreneur Simon Squibb, turning a personal recovery journey into a mission-led health and wellness business focused on resilience, recovery and accessibility and documenting every step of it publicly.

Key Achievements:

-Built RE5 from concept to trading business in under 12 months, owning every commercial function: outbound outreach, supplier negotiation, investor pitching, event sales and brand partnerships

-Generated £10,000+ in revenue in year one through direct sales, pitch competitions and accelerator funding — including the Superteam x HelpBnk x SuperTeamUK $10k and Vestd accelerator

-Awarded Health & Wellbeing Start-Up of the Year 2025 (East of England Startup Awards); finalist at UK Startup Awards and Regional Start-Up Awards 2025

-Delivered live cold plunge activations at CarFest and IdeasFest, engaging hundreds of attendees and converting event footfall into customers and community members

-Built and managed commercial relationships with high-profile entrepreneurs, creators and athletes including Simon Squibb, AJ & Curtis Pritchard, and multiple sports clubs

-Currently managing a £100k–£150k SEIS fundraising round: leading investor outreach, managing pipeline, presenting to angel investors and navigating term discussions

-Developed a give back initiative donating wellbeing boxes to people in hospital or recovery for every product sold which is now a core part of the brand story and sales proposition

-Grew an engaged community across social platforms and WhatsApp, leading all content strategy and founder led storytelling

Responsibilities:

-Full business development and sales cycle ownership: prospecting, outreach, pitching, closing and account management

-Investor relations and fundraising pipeline management Supplier negotiation, inventory planning and logistics Marketing strategy, content creation and brand partnerships

-Event activations, community building and customer engagement

Managing brand deal outreach, negotiation and delivery for a social media creator with over 2 million followers across platforms.

Independently sourced, negotiated and closed approximately multiple long term brand partnership deals to date, with a further pipeline in progress

Deal values ranging from approximately £1,500–£5,000 per partnership

Secured partnerships with recognisable brands including LinkedIn and Printify

Managed end-to-end process: brand outreach, rate negotiation, contract oversight and campaign delivery

Co-founded Founders First alongside a business partner: a founder led consultancy and ecosystem helping ambitious people start, scale and connect with like minded individuals.

Services span business strategy, brand positioning, content strategy, website development and paid media.

Secured first paying client within early weeks of trading at £800/month retainer Currently delivering strategy, website optimisation, social media management and paid ads for a growing clothing brand and a creative marketing agency.

Building a wider ecosystem of founder support, accountability and community alongside the client work

Undertook a professional apprenticeship at one of the world's leading insurance brokers whilst studying towards CII qualifications.

Attended client and broker/underwriter meetings, supporting the team in progressing live deals and managing stakeholder relationships

Compiled insurance slips and endorsements, analysed policy risks and maintained accurate client data

Gained exposure to a fast paced, high value commercial environment and developed a strong understanding of professional client facing standards

Part-time role alongside my studies, I was responsible for customer service, stock management, till operations and team training, was regularly recognised as a top performer and frequently received strong customer feedback for going above and beyond with my customer service skills.

Elected by staff and students to represent the school community, working directly with senior leadership.

Chaired the student executive and student voice committees

Delivered speeches at public events including awards nights and sixth form inductions

Involved in staff recruitment processes and school development planning

Volunteered with a charity supporting children's access to education in the UK and rural Moldova through shoebox donations, feeding programmes and summer camps for underprivileged children.

Contributed to post-production for several episodes of George Clarke's home renovations, including licensing research, property scouting and creative input on show aesthetics.