🪜The stairway to success

Simon Squibb knows a thing or two about starting a business. 

The successful entrepreneur was able to retire at age 40 after selling his marketing agency Fluid to PricewaterhouseCoopers. He also runs HelpBnk, a community of 75,000 entrepreneurs who help each other for free. 

But it's Simon's latest project – an old abandoned stairwell in London – that really has the people talking. 

🔍 Seeing potential... Simon bought the stairwell for £25,000 at a property auction (~$32,000 at today's exchange rate). It was full of rubbish, fire extinguishers, and old bicycles when he bought it. But "[there was] something about it that really spoke to me." 

• He cleaned out the property and began to brainstorm how he could help others with the seven-level space. While Simon knew he could refurbish and resell the space for profit, that was never on the radar.
• Instead, he wants to use the space to help rocket others to success. 

🫶 The inspiration: Simon's road to success wasn't always easy. Homeless at 15, he found himself dreaming of owning his own business someday.

He worked and worked, slowly climbing the proverbial stairway ladder until becoming one of the top entrepreneurs in the field. 

Now, Simon sees his newly purchased space as a way to provide other (potentially even less fortunate) business owners with the opportunity to succeed.

• He plans on transforming the abandoned seven-level space into a pop-up shop for startups located in the London area. These companies will be able to utilize the space rent-free.
• “I don’t want to contribute to increasing the prices of rent and housing for people," he shared. "I don’t think it’s net-positive for society. I want to create something – a symbol – that if you’ve got a dream, you can just start it.”

👀 Looking ahead... Applications are already flooding in to gain access to the space. From pop-up art galleries to clothing shops to plant stores, Simon is hopeful his small investment will help change lives – one step at a time.