Holly Tucker MBE is the founder of Holly & Co and notonthehighstreet.
As the UK Ambassador to Creative Small Businesses, Holly champions and shines a light on the incredible talent of creative small business owners and future founders across the world.
The embodiment of creativity and empowerment, Holly Tucker brings a riot of colour to an often-grey world of business!
She believes that following your passion and building a business doing what you love is the key to a happy and fulfilled life.
Holly is kind, selfless and trustworthy. She is the antithesis of the stereotypical entrepreneur and challenges everything we think we know about the professional world. Not afraid to be herself, she’s pumped over £1 billion into the UK economy, and helped countless small business owners grow their businesses.
In 2003, Holly started ‘Your Local Fair’ in Chiswick, after a fruitless search for a place to sell her ‘less ordinary’ wreaths. Inspired by the sight of creative businesses selling side by side, an idea was sparked.
Holly made it her life’s mission to help this remarkable group; along with Sophie Cornish she founded notonthehighstreet.com to give small businesses a collective home, where their products could proudly sit alongside fellow makers, and find their way to loving homes around the world.
Thirteen years, 5,000 brilliant businesses and millions of happy customers later, Holly was set to do it all over again. In 2015, she founded the immersive brand Holly & Co to help small businesses through the highs and lows of their business journeys.
She is leading the campaign for change by redefining what it means to be a ‘small business, encouraging more women to start their own businesses, as well as empowering our young with the skills to thrive in the new working world they are entering.
Holly presents her own podcast ‘Conversations of Inspiration‘ which is consistently in the iTunes business chart top 10. Holly chats to the UK’s brightest and most well-known founders of both small businesses and large iconic brands including Fearne Cotton, Sir Tim Smit, Julie Deane and Richard Reed.
Her annual event, the ‘Congregation of Inspiration‘, has to be seen to be believed. Think of a mass-participation sing-along to your favourite feel-good tunes, an explosion of creativity and a place to both be yourself and chase your dreams.
Holly Tucker also has a best-selling book ‘Do What You Love, Love What You Do’ deemed to be the new business bible, in which Holly looks back at her own story, sharing her biggest lessons and proven advice on creating and growing a business. From side hustle to full-time, from defeating your confidence gremlins to creating an empowered community, Holly reveals both the skills and the mindset any founder needs to help their business thrive.
A book like no other, ‘Do What You Love, Love What You Do’ also shines a light on the creative community, showcasing the brilliant and unique output of small businesses, inspiring you to join them in their success.