Vincent McKevitt
Completing his Business Administration degree at UWE in 2004, Vincent McKevitt had a choice: go back to the party life, or see if he could start a successful business. "How can I put to good use everything I learnt but still have fun?" he thought. So he founded Tossed, a growing chain of popular healthy-eating venues in central London.
Before UWE, Vincent spent three years 'travelling'. Well, having a good time in Tenerife mostly, he admits. He knew he'd like to start his own business, and he'd been into healthy eating for years. But it wasn't until he was at UWE that the penny dropped. "It had been staring me in the face," he says, "Why not try my luck at something I already love... and know plenty about?"
Hardly a toss-up
"After three great years at UWE, I could have gone home and thought about it some more, on the sofa," reflects Vincent, "but I just knew it would work. After a year in the US putting the masterplan together and researching the market, I started the first Tossed venue at Paddington in 2005." Today there are six of them, bringing a range of healthy food and drink options to busy Londoners on the move.
How UWE helped
For Vincent, UWE is where his pipe dreams started making practical sense. "I've always had faith in my instincts and ideas," he says, "but UWE helped me with the practical side of things. It gave me the confidence to face the bank managers and landlords - plus all the paperwork and negotiation I had to wade through just to get things started. Without UWE I would have found that much harder."
Grow your own
Vincent has just put together a plan to open another 30 Tossed venues by 2011. "You've got to think big," he says. "The international chains got there somehow - and they all started small. So why not me?" And it's clear that he's on the right track with Tossed recently being named a finalist in the Retail Business of the Year category of the UK's Fast Growth Business Awards 2009.
A good philosophy
Vincent's philosophy has got him this far - with a bit of help from UWE - and he's sticking with it. "If you fancy yourself as an entrepreneur, you've got to make it happen, take the business seriously but never take yourself too seriously". UWE helped me put my big ideas into practice."
Page last updated 1 November 2011