Sharon Daly, Co-Founder Venture Life Group Plc “It all began in Costa Coffee”

For Sharon Daly, it began in 2010 in Costa Coffee with a blank sheet of paper and two former colleagues. With a flat white in one hand and a pen in the other, discussions were centred around creating an international consumer healthcare company aimed at improving
a person’s quality of life. ‘We talked vision, strategy, products, route to market amongst many other things. All we had to do now was implement it’ Daly said.

11 years on from that discussion, the journey continues. They floated the business in 2014 and are listed on the London Stock Exchange (VLG:LON). The company now has more than 140 employees, manufacturing operations in Italy and Sweden and commercial offices in the UK, Italy and The Netherlands. With 180 global partners in more than 40 countries, revenue is forecasted to reach £35m in 2021 with £8.5 EBITDA and £45m and £12m EBITDA in 2022.

Born in South Wales to Irish parents (Drimoleague, West Cork), after graduating from Lancaster University with a degree in Marketing in 1996, Daly gained her MBA with distinction in 2005. Hard work and graft had always been part of her DNA but her entrepreneurial spirit was ignited in 2010 and she has never looked back. ‘The days when there was just me in the office do not seem that far away, yet it’s only when you take time to reflect do you realise how far you have come on the journey’, Daly said. And that journey continues.

The Venture Life Group Plc has grown more than 25% CAGR over the last 5 years, achieved through organic and acquisitive growth, and that growth is not expected to slow down in the near term. Daly and the team continue on the acquisition trail with renewed vigour, having just completed two recent acquisitions in June and August of this year. Their products include areas for oncology support, oral care, nail and foot care, women’s health and diabetes management.

In 2020, Venture Life Group Plc was given the London Stock Exchange ‘1000 companies to inspire Britain’ award for the 5th consecutive year, something she is very proud of. ‘This award is for all the employees within the Group, as without them, we wouldn’t have a business’ Daly said. When asked ‘the secret for their success’, Daly commented ‘hiring people who are smarter than you’ and it seems to be paying off. ‘The culture of the company is like a family, albeit, an extended one now. The entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and is still at the heart of the business. I think once you have that entrepreneurial spirit within you, it never leaves’. And so their entrepreneurial journey continues. What we can be sure of is that in 2022 and beyond, the company will look very different to how it looks today, an exciting prospect for Daly and the rest of the Venture Life team.

Daly is Chief Commercial Officer at Venture Life Group Plc and lives in Hampshire with her husband.