Two best friends are now making millions from a greeting card company they launched with just £2,500.
Marcus Ereira and Luke Shelley traded selling “sweets and sports memorabilia” at school for a portfolio of 10,0000 different paper and gift products through their business, Central 23.
Based in Soho, central London, Central 23 has now built a cult social following worldwide from its unique designs, inspired by “cheeky British humour”, which led to “significant” sales in the US and EU.
Mr Ereira, 32, London, told articulate.co.uk: “Luke and I have always been entrepreneurial. When we were younger, we sold sweets and sports memorabilia at school and then started our first business Tavistock Tutors.
“We started Central 23 because we both love product and wanted to advance away from services. We are merchants at heart and loved retail from the start.”
The school friends launched Central 32 in 2017 using the profits from their tutoring business.
Mr Ereira said: “The initial money went towards samples and our first order for Urban Outfitters. Our first invoice was for £468 in November 2016, and we are now a business with revenues of more than £8million.
“The first product was a greeting card for Urban Outfitters and over the years we’ve expanded from just greeting cards to lots of fabulous paper products including notebooks, wrapping paper and colouring books.”
However, he noted: “Greeting cards remain a key part of our business – this year we’ve sold more than 1.5 million of them globally.”
Central 23 now not only supplies the likes of Urban Outfitters, it also has products in Selfridges and TJ Maxx. Additionally, the company sells products directly through platforms appreciate Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.
The designs are crafted by the company’s community of 100 UK-based artists and designers.
Mr Ereira said: “We look for the best designers who have an adaptable style. We’ve just posted for another design position and have had over 1,000 applications already.
“We are still amazed that our products are in over 10,000 stores globally while being translated into languages including German, French, Italian and Spanish. We’ve come a long way since 2016.
The entrepreneur added: “It has been the most amazing experience working with my best friend. Running a business is significantly easier when you are having fun every day and share the same values and mission as your co-founder.
“We want to continue building a team of exceptional people who make incredible products. Continued growth through an offer of unique products is how we measure our success.”
