To those in the MessyMiddle...
Welcome to the Social Impact Directory and public register for the inevitable "MessyMiddle" stage of the business journey aimed at moving post-start-up entrepreneurs forward.
To get featured please click here:
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Meet:
Name: Princess Maya Sarker
Occupation:
Founder of NastaKain Smunch and Creative Freelancer
Age range: Twenties
From: Sandwell
LinkedIn: Princess Maya Sarker | LinkedIn
Tell everyone about you and your business:
I run NastaKain Smunch, a Filipino-South Asian fusion street food brand trading and hoping to partner across West Midlands street food markets.
We're built for students, food adventurers, and the halal-conscious community who are tired of the same repetitive lunch options.
With a growing vegan and allergen-conscious range so flavour-forward food doesn't come at the cost of health-conscious choices.
What led you to the MessyMiddle/what stage are you currently in?
NastaKain Smunch is a freshly started food business, with the name a play on "snack," "munch," and "lunch" all in one.
We're currently trading B2C takeout to the Filipino and Bengali communities, with a B2B pilot in progress, a growing vegan/allergen conscious range, and brunch in the pipeline.
We're past the "just an idea" phase but not yet at the scale or stability of an established brand.
That in between stretch, proving the concept works while still building the infrastructure (funding, staffing, systems) to grow it, is exactly the MessyMiddle.
What is your message to those reading?
Getting past the start up phase doesn't mean the hard part is over, it means a different, quieter kind of hard part begins. Keep going; the MessyMiddle is where the business actually gets built!
When things don't go your way, it's important to be willing to pivot rather than force a plan that isn't working, and to keep learning throughout, or as I like to call it, one big experiment.
What do you need to continue growing beyond the MessyMiddle?
Consistent funding that isn't tied to competition wins, and either capital or a partner to take on some of the operational load so growth doesn't depend entirely on one person's hours in the day.
Is it draining pitch competitions being the only option half of the time?
For someone who isn't the most outspoken person, yes, pitching can be draining. It is valuable in the sense that it helps me find areas for improvement, as well as build the confidence to stand in front of an audience.
But relying on competition wins as a funding route means growth is sporadic and unpredictable rather than steady.
Are you currently getting enough support?
Not sure
Is entrepreneurship part of your identity?
Somewhat
Listed: Sep 2026, 13/09/2026
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Meet:
Name: Daniel Pokorny
Occupation:
Founder & AI Commerce Researcher
Age range: Thirties
From: Prague, Czech Republic
LinkedIn: Daniel Pokorny | LinkedIn
Tell everyone about you and your business:
I’m the founder of Atom Foundry, where I’m researching how AI discovers, understands, evaluates and recommends e-commerce brands.
We started by looking at AI visibility, but the research took us somewhere much more interesting: understanding why AI chooses one brand over another.
We run our own research and experiments across tens of thousands of e-commerce stores and share what we learn publicly.
What led you to the MessyMiddle/what stage are you currently in?
I’m in the stage where the product and the direction are becoming much clearer, but the business is still very much being built from the ground up.
I’ve spent months researching, building, testing and trying to figure out a category that doesn’t really have a name yet.
We have real data, real research and increasingly clear patterns, but turning that into a repeatable business is the hard part.
So I’d say I’m somewhere between proving the idea and figuring out how to scale it.
What is it like building from the MessyMiddle as a post-start-up entrepreneur?
Honestly, it can be lonely and confusing at times. You have enough evidence to know you’re onto something, but not enough certainty to know exactly where it will lead.
Some days I feel like I can see the whole system and where it could go. Other days I wonder whether I’m simply too early.
The hardest part is probably continuing to move forward when there is no proven playbook to follow.
What is your message to those reading?
You don’t always need to have everything figured out.
Sometimes you just need to keep following the evidence, keep building and keep moving.
If the pattern keeps showing up, pay attention to it. Maybe you’re not lost. Maybe you’re just early.
What do you need to continue growing beyond the MessyMiddle?
More customers, more feedback and more people willing to challenge what we’re building.
I also need to turn the research into a repeatable business model without losing the curiosity and experimentation that got us here in the first place.
Is it draining pitch competitions being the only option half of the time?
Yes, it can be. Pitching can become a strange loop where you spend more time explaining the potential of something than actually building it.
I’d much rather spend that time talking to real customers, running experiments and building something people actually want.
Are you currently getting enough support?
No
Is entrepreneurship part of your identity?
Yes
Listed: Sep 2026, 13/09/2026
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Meet:
Name: Suleymaan Khan
Occupation:
Robotics Engineer Apprentice & Founder
Age range: Twenties
From: Birmingham
LinkedIn: Suleymaan Khan | LinkedIn
Tell everyone about you and your business:
I'm Suleymaan Khan, founder of SuleyNova Robotics. I design and build robotic hand kits that teach young people real, hands-on engineering wiring, coding, and building, rather than just block coding on a screen.
I started building things aged 5, and taught myself real engineering from age 13, entirely self-taught.
Alongside running SuleyNova, I'm a robotics apprentice at FANUC UK. I'm currently a National Finalist in the Peter Jones Foundation National Entrepreneur of the Year competition, presenting to Peter Jones CBE on 8 October.
What led you to the MessyMiddle/what stage are you currently in?
I'm past the very beginning, I have a real product, real sales, grant funding, press coverage and award recognition but I'm not yet at scale.
I'm juggling a full-time apprenticeship with growing a genuine business, working out how to fund growth, production and packaging, all while proving the model works before I can commit to it full-time.
What is it like building from the MessyMiddle as a post-start-up entrepreneur?
It's a constant balancing act, real customers and real deadlines, but still figuring out packaging, suppliers, funding and scaling almost entirely myself, often without a clear playbook to follow.
Every part of the business, from sourcing components to negotiating with suppliers, is still hands-on and self-taught, the same way the engineering itself was.
What is your message to those reading?
Where you start shouldn't decide whether you get the chance to build something.
I didn't have a business background, university education or family connections in this industry, just passion, persistence, and a willingness to learn everything the hard way.
If you really want it, you'll find a way to make it!
What do you need to continue growing beyond the MessyMiddle?
Funding to scale production and packaging properly, mentorship from people who've grown a physical product business, and connections into schools and organisations who could bring the kits to more young people.
Is it draining pitch competitions being the only option half of the time?
Yes, honestly pitch competitions take a huge amount of time and emotional investment, and winning often comes down to marketing yourself and rallying votes as much as the strength of the idea itself.
It can feel like a lot of effort for an uncertain outcome, on top of already running the business day to day.
Are you currently getting enough support?
No
Is entrepreneurship part of your identity?
Yes
Listed: Sep 2026, 12/09/2026
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Meet:
Name: Tiwa Bakre
Occupation: Founder, CEO and Game Developer
Age range: Twenties
From: Coventry, England
LinkedIn: Tiwa Bakre | LinkedIn
Tell everyone about you and your business:
I’m Tiwa, the founder of Shroozy Studios, an emerging technology game studio based in Coventry.
Shroozy builds the next generation of interactive software, combining games, XR and AI into new ways to play, create and interact.
Our current focus is Vicarious, a VR-first life-simulation game where players can build relationships, pursue careers and shape a life through direct interaction.
What led you to the MessyMiddle/what stage are you currently in?
Shroozy has moved beyond proving that we can build and release products. We’ve launched several apps, won technology competitions and now have our flagship game in active development.
The stage I’m in now is about turning that early momentum into focused commercial growth by raising investment, building the right partnerships and taking Vicarious towards a polished vertical slice and eventual release.
What is it like building from the MessyMiddle as a post-start-up entrepreneur?
It’s demanding, but also rewarding because the progress is becoming much more tangible.
At this stage, I’m balancing product development with fundraising, partnerships and planning how the studio grows.
There are a lot of decisions to make, but each one is helping shape Shroozy into the company I want it to become.
What is your message to those reading?
Don’t mistake being in the middle of building for not making progress. A business can be moving forward even when the biggest results are not visible yet.
Staying focused, continuing to improve the product and building genuine relationships can create opportunities that are difficult to predict at the beginning.
What do you need to continue growing beyond the MessyMiddle?
The next step for Shroozy is early to mid stage investment, strategic introductions and partnerships with people who understand games, VR and emerging technology.
Funding would allow us to accelerate Vicarious, bring in specialist support and carry out more structured player testing. Access to investors, publishers and technology partners would also help us move towards launch with a stronger commercial foundation.
Is it draining pitch competitions being the only option half of the time?
They can be. Pitch competitions are valuable for meeting people, sharpening the story and creating visibility, but they are also time-consuming and the outcomes can be unpredictable.
I’d like to see more direct conversations between founders and funders, alongside smaller milestone-based funding opportunities for companies that already have working products and a clear plan for growth.
Are you currently getting enough support?
No
Is entrepreneurship part of your identity?
Yes
Listed: Sep 2026, 11/09/2026
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Meet:
Name: Amrita Kalsi
Occupation: SEO Consultant
Age range: Twenties
From: Birmingham, England
LinkedIn: Amrita Kalsi | LinkedIn
What led you to the MessyMiddle/what stage are you currently in?
Been working on Amrita SEO for 5 months
What do you need to continue growing beyond the MessyMiddle?
Networking
A key takeaway we can take from Amrita is...
Amrita is networking her way forward and is someone with huge courage and determination
Listed: Sep 2026, 09/09/2026
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Meet:
Name: James Davison
Occupation: Creative activist
Age range: Thirties
From: Wolverhampton, England
LinkedIn: James Davison | LinkedIn
What led to you reaching the MessyMiddle stage?
I'm in the MessyMiddle because although I have lots of creativity, I don't yet have access to funds and resources, and because I am a neurodiverse father of four in addition to being an entrepreneur, time can also be an issue.
Whilst I did receive funding initially, as well as support in terms of mentoring, I have struggled to access both as I have continued on, and am no longer in the start-up phase.
Message to others:
My message to find themselves in the same position. I went through a mental health crisis in part due to the fact that I felt as though I had failed because my business wasn't as successful as I hoped when I first started. However, if I had truly stopped everything, then it would have meant that I had truly failed.
You are only a failure if you stop trying. That's not to say that you carry on as is, part of growth means things have to change, evolve and adapt and that change can be the catalyst you need in order to move forward.
Things have changed a lot in terms of I've diversified my business and the variety has meant that I am starting to enjoy my business again. Creativity shouldn't be limited to one practice, so why I was limiting myself?
Don't put a limit on your aspirations or let others define who you are and dictate your path. There will still be hard times ahead but enjoy the messiness, and remember "Every day is a new adventure."
Listed: Sep 2026, 01/09/2026
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Meet:
Name: Gregary Burnsen-Hicks.
Occupation: Post start-up entrepreneur and now proudly Founder of MessyMiddle.org
Age range: Twenties
From: Wolverhampton, England
LinkedIn: Gregary Burnsen-Hicks | LinkedIn
What led to you reaching the MessyMiddle stage?
Was down to client collapse, income loss, inconsistent earning, being taken for granted at times, having to pivot constantly on thin air.
Message to others: You've got to keep fighting! You are bigger than your challenges. I would also say I find reframing everything is the only thing that keeps me sane, keeps me at peace, look for the good in the Messy!
Listed: Sep 2026, 01/09/2026
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