A Welsh fashion graduate who began selling clothes from her grandmother's house as a side venture has seen her business achieve a £10 million turnover in the past year. Olivia Prince graduated from university in Manchester and secured a placement with major brand Boohoo.
The 31-year-old, from Conwy, started her own website with help from a friend to buy and sell clothing online, using her grandmother's house in Manchester as a base. This saw her working part-time as a receptionist before heading home to process and package orders.
It was when they chose to create their own garments under the brand name Murci in 2021 that matters took off, particularly after Millie Court entered the Love Island villa wearing a Murci outfit. Very quickly Olivia needed the entire day simply to dispatch orders, and she left her job. Within a year of establishing their own womenswear label, they were achieving a £1 million turnover.
Murci was recently named as one of the UK's fastest growing companies. They relocated from her grandmother's to a modest office before subsequently expanding once more. Now the brand employs 35 staff in Manchester, including her brother Thomas Prince, and is exploring growth prospects in the US.
Murci was recently recognised by The Times amongst the top 20 fastest growing companies in the UK after experiencing growth of 140%. Turnover in the period assessed was £9.3 million, but they have now surpassed the £10 million milestone. To facilitate that expansion, they have formed a partnership with a distribution facility in California, enabling them to increase their operations across the Atlantic. The firm has also relocated to new headquarters in Manchester.
However, the former Ysgol Aberconwy student has not forgotten her Welsh origins and is keen to inspire more young people in Wales to pursue entrepreneurship. Olivia said: "When I started up I did not know where this would take me. It really kicked off when we started to design everything. We found out the only way to stand out was to design your own clothes."
"That is why it has done so well. When it started I was working part time as a receptionist and then would go back to my nanna's to pack and post the orders from that day. But it soon reached a point where I needed a whole day just to pack and I had to leave my job."
She urged others to take the plunge and chase their entrepreneurial ambitions, even if it might need considerable effort. She said: "The secret is that there are no shortcuts. The strongest attributes any entrepreneur can have are resilience and patience. Nothing happened for us for the first few years."
"My advice would be to do as much as you can early on, learn every facet of your business by doing it yourself. Then, as you grow, surround yourself with the smartest people you can find in each area, and learn to trust them and delegate. Leave yourself with the things you are strongest at."
"And most importantly, enjoy the process. Take the good with the bad, and do not forget to look back and pat yourself on the back sometimes."
"North Wales will always be home for us, and I love everything about it. There are some great organisations and schemes already available for young people in the area, and I would love to see local government expand on these and give budding entrepreneurs the platform and support they need to build the companies of the future. The talent is absolutely there, it just needs the right environment to thrive."
