East London Small Business Centre

The trio, who developed their innovative business idea whilst at university, were named ‘Best New Business’ and scooped the award for ‘Innovation’ at the Barking and Dagenham Business Awards held on 7th July 2009.

Barking based Bike Dock Solutions Ltd was founded by James Nash, Craig Jones and Josh Coleman in 2008, after developing their vertical cycle rack system idea. As cyclist they wanted to conquer some of the nuisance that many cyclists face – wet saddle, lack of space and theft – with an environmentally friendly solution.

“We were not expecting to win both awards as we have only been going for 10 months. I felt very proud and surprised when we were announced as winners. Proud because we have worked very hard over the past 10 months to set up Bike Dock solutions, so to get recognised for our efforts was a great feeling,” says James.

Through East London Small Business Centre, Bike Dock Solutions have been supported with their marketing, supply chain management, manufacturing, finance and ultimately with the awards entry.

James said: “Our counsellor has been a tremendous help to us. He spent a great deal of time helping us and giving great advice on various parts of the business. He has experience, which we do not yet have, so his opinion is always greatly valued. We also received a grant of £1,000 which was a great help to our finances as being a new business cash is always tight.”

James, who did a placement year while studying, is certain that he has learned more about business in the past 10 month. “Be sure in your own mind that you have a solid business idea. If you are certain of that then give it a go – it’s much more rewarding being your own boss!”

Published July 2009