It seems Gymshark Founder and CEO Ben Francis is spending more time in suits than sportswear these days.
Having recently received an MBE and honorary decorate from Aston University, the 31-year-old once again put on his Sunday best for a trip to Downing Street.
In 2019, Francis, who started Gymshark from his parent’s garage, was asked to join a business advisory board to the Prime Minister.
He has since been making suggestions to the government as to how they can make the UK a better place to start a business.
During one of his recent vlogs, the Forbes Billionaire listed entrepreneur gave fans an insight into the kind of discussions he’s having with the UK’s top decision-makers.
He said: “I think it’s a fairly open discussion, we haven’t got a really set agenda. The only set point is entrepreneurship in young people in the UK, which is cool.
“Having worked in the US a lot, there’s a real feeling of optimism around entrepreneurship which I really like, and I think in the UK we don’t quite have that same level of optimism.
“So, I think it would be nice to have something similar to that. It’s interesting to me that the government are asking these questions because personally, I don’t know any entrepreneur that wants the government involved in their small business in any way shape or form.
He added: “I think the government should just grease the wheels and allow small businesses to do what they need to do. They shouldn’t be bogged down in bureaucracy.
“I genuinely think the government just need to get out of the way and let people run their small businesses in the way they see fit.”
