The bricklayer building a magazine business

Here's a story which caught my eye (and my ear when I heard the entrepreneur involved interviewed on Radio 5Live this morning), which provides a great example of how new businesses and their founders come in all varieties.

Richard Kavanagh, a bricklayer from the Midlands, has a passion for pulp fiction style stories and spotted a gap in the market for a magazine/comic called Pulp Detective that bridges the gap between Beano/Dandy and Nuts/Loaded.

He has spent the last two years developing the business, and secured a deal with a national distributor ahead of a launch next week. Prior to starting the business, Kavanagh had no computer skills and has had to teach himself. He's also had to develop an understanding of the publishing industry pretty quickly.

Another nice aspect to this story is the fact he's giving university students a chance to showcase their writing and illustrating talents.

A great example to show students that entrepreneurs come from all backgrounds, and that the main requirements are a good idea and the drive to see it through.