Start-up reseller: 'We want get to £100m revenue - but do it in a different way from everyone else'

Vohkus co-founder David Manners claims his Basingstoke-based reseller has a different ethos from rivals when it comes to staff recruitment and retention, and charity work

A start-up reseller that gives ten per cent of its profit to charity and hands all staff two-hour lunch breaks has set its sights on £100m revenue.

Set up in 2017 by Vohkus co-founder David Manners, Basingstoke-based Sumillion is determined to reach the magic marker within eight years via organic growth.

Talking to CRN, Manners claimed that Sumillion only recruits from outside the industry and has a different ethos from its peers when it comes to charity and work culture.

"As far as I'm aware we're the only VAR in the UK that actually - in our articles of association - donates 10 per cent of our profits to charity every year," he said.

Sumillion's main charity project last year saw it help build wells in Ghana that supplied drinking water to 11,500 people, and this year it is looking to supply computers to the same local district. Manners stressed any partners and peers with customers who wish to donate can get involved via [email protected].

"I take a different view on staff in general," he added.

"I didn't want any bad habits, or journey men. I looked to employ people who had never been in the industry before, but looked at what type of people they were. We go for ethical, caring and hard-working people who are looking for long-term careers.

Sumillion - which Manners said hit £9.8m revenue in its most recent year - also goes against the grain with its commitment to traditional cold calling techniques, Manners added.

"As we continue to grow, we want to be that kind of disruptive partner that's happy to get on the phones and get cold calling," he said.

Manners said he gave up drinking some years ago after "a messy few years" in the industry, and is intent on making Sumillion a "fitness-based company".

"We give private medical healthcare to all our staff. We give them Fitbits. We give them two-hour lunch breaks three times a week - as long as they are doing some sort of physical activity," he said.

"We want to get to £100m in the next eight years, but how we go about getting to £100m is what we want to be known for. We want it to be from never losing a single member of staff to a competitor, which so far hasn't happened."