From an idea to a movement
Clara made a 3D prototype and posted it on Instagram and Muzzle Movement began to take shape.
“I'd already built a little community of people where, around 3,000 followers or so were talking about advocacy and education; teaching people about how to train and work with challenging dogs,” Clara reflected. “I launched a kick-starter almost three years ago now, we raised £46,000 pounds in 30 days, I had to quit my full-time job to run the business and now there is a team of eleven working here."
“The early days were all about looking for grants and information to really give me the best shot at success. I found the NatWest website and it really caught my interest. Initially, I wasn't even really sure what I was signing up for. The decision to really go for it was daunting because I had worked all of my adult life."
“I'd never studied anything business related, never managed a team or had to create a business plan. NatWest was great because it gave me people who said: ‘I can teach you how to do all of that’. That was incredible because to be honest I didn't actually know what I was doing.”
Adam Walters, Acceleration Manager, said: “In terms of our support, our 1:1 coaching sessions with Clara have worked really well helping her approach fast growth and the challenges that presents. We’ve also helped her change her mindset to working ‘on’ the business rather than ‘in’ the business which has been a tough challenge but is starting to ring true now and is making a great impact.
“The second area we’ve helped with has to be the community and collaboration through being on the Accelerator. For example, Clara has connected with an AI business which developed a chatbot for the muzzle movement website which supports customers visiting the website and helps speed up replies to their questions."
“I guess the third area where we have really helped is the university connection and a collaboration made with Warwick Manufacturing Group which have supported Clara with an intern and manufacturing support for the next stage of growth.”
