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Founder@ Interview
Interview with Simon Cornelius
“Although you might be itching to jump in and start, sit down and write a business plan first. It will help guide your direction, and will also be a useful tool should you need to apply for any funding later on..” – Simon Cornelius
Today we feature Simon Cornelius, the founder at Cornelius Creative Ltd. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
Cornelius Creative is a product design and marketing company based in Kent. We specialise in bringing new and innovative ideas to market.
The company was founded by industrial designer and marketer Simon Cornelius, who has over 15 years of experience working for brands such as Dyson, Renishaw, and Aqualisa.
We support our clients through new product development from concept generation right through to market launch and beyond. Our mission is to turn creative ideas into commercially successful products; taking our clients on a seamless journey to achieve their organisational goals.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
After the birth of our first child in late 2019, I was working near Manchester but living just outside London. Commuting between Kent and Manchester was taking its toll on the whole family, so I decided to look for positions closer to home. With nothing suitable available, my wife Lucy and I made the decision to start our own business, a product design and marketing company.
We knew that there were very few companies offering this holistic service, and from our experience working for different manufacturers, we knew it was an area that clients would need help with.
At the start of 2020 we were excited to get things moving. After my employment ended in March 2020 the company was incorporated – Cornelius Creative was born! Contracts were lined up, potential clients were in discussion, things were full steam ahead. And then six days later the UK was plunged into a national lockdown. Businesses shut down; staff were sent home to be furloughed, and our contracts got cancelled overnight. It was a disaster.
Now we had zero income, a hungry baby to feed, and savings that would only last a few months. But there was no time to mope, we had work to do.
We started building our brand, mission and values.
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Lucy looked after our baby during the day and built our website in the evenings. The work started to come in as companies opened back up and gained the confidence to invest in new product development. Each month we signed more clients until we reached a point where the work was too much for two of us and we brought in additional people who aligned with our values. We now have three contractors and hope to offer permanent positions early in 2022.
We are now just over 18 months on from when we launched and cannot believe how far we’ve come in that time, let alone in a pandemic. The past year has brought many ups and downs, but we know now that we are delivering real value for our clients, and we are excited to see what the future brings for Cornelius Creative.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
We are based in Fawkham, Kent in the south east of the UK. We help other businesses, inventors and entrepreneurs to bring their product visions to life. We start from the very beginning, generating concepts and ideas, researching the current marketplace and competitors to see if there is a gap in the market for the product idea.
We produce sketches and concepts to visualise it. From there we move onto the design stage, creating visuals in CAD and possibly producing an initial prototype for the client to touch and hold, using one of our 3D printers. Once the design direction is finalised, the next stage is moving into manufacture, and at this point we will source suppliers who can produce the product.
Finally we launch the product into the marketplace. At every stage we weave commercial and marketing expertise into the process to ensure the product is commercially viable.
We also assist with other services including producing CGI of the product, including 360 spin images and videos, as well as helping with intellectual property protection, like patenting and copyrighting, via our legal partners.
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
Being miserable in a previous job! And having a baby! Both of these led me to feel that I needed to make a drastic change. Lucy and I had spoken about starting a business for many years, but it never felt like the right time.
Realising that I needed to make a change for the sake of my family, and my mental health, I felt it was a good time to take the leap – I decided that I’d give it 6 months and if it failed, I would look for another paid role. The pandemic hit almost instantly, but rather than use that as excuse to give up (which, probably, no-one would’ve blamed me for), I decided to keep going.
We’d regularly use the saying from Dory in Finding Nemo to each other when facing adversity: “just keep swimming!” Lucy and I worked well as a team together – sharing parenting and running the business.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
One of the main challenges we encountered was that as our business was getting started, the country was entering into its first national lockdown. Other businesses were shutting down and sending staff home on furlough. Contracts that we had lined up were all cancelled, and we had zero income for almost two months.
There was nothing we could do to change the situation; we were in unprecedented times. But we could use the time to work on the business. We used those first couple of months to work on branding and positioning the business.
We wrote a business plan, set our short and long-term goals, and made sure we really understood our value proposition. We also took advantage of financial help available to businesses; we received a grant from South East Creatives (SECCADS) which helped us buy a laptop and a 3D printer which enabled us to offer prototyping services.
We took part in a business mentoring programme which gave us fantastic guidance into running a business.
It’s ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. Don’t make the same mistakes time and time again!
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Just start the business! You’re thinking about it, you want to do it, but you don’t believe in yourself. But the truth is you are more than capable; there are people less talented than you running businesses and succeeding. You can do it! And the sooner you start, the sooner you will start to see rewards and get that sense of satisfaction out of work that you are currently missing.
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
We use Xero to manage our accounts; it automates sending invoice reminders which is definitely helpful when running a small business. Our CAD software is the backbone of our business, without it we wouldn’t be able to complete any projects.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
It’s ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. Don’t make the same mistakes time and time again!
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
Probably when we moved into our office space less than a year after incorporating, that was a good moment and a real boost for the business.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
We want to continue to expand the business, providing employment for local talented people to ensure we continue to offer the best service for our clients. On a personal level, I want to build something that I can leave to my son.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
Although you might be itching to jump in and start, sit down and write a business plan first. It will help guide your direction, and will also be a useful tool should you need to apply for any funding later on.
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Cornelius Creative Ltd”
To learn more about Cornelius Creative Ltd Visit https://corneliuscreative.uk
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