Matt Clay and Taylor Reece share more than a solid 20-year friendship. Both are passionate about building single speed ‘fixie' bikes. This year they decided to turn their considerable knowledge of single speed bikes, bike parts and accessories into a reputable retail business, The B Store in Birmingham. We spoke to Matt about their friendship, the business and the support the pair received from Get Started.

For Matt, his friendship with Taylor is one of the business’s most valuable assets:

“Taylor knows me inside out and I know him. We speak to each other like we’ve always spoken to each other. We’re not treading on eggshells. Nothing gets heated or frustrated. I find it’s really refreshing and beneficial that way.”

Matt and Taylor originally wanted to open a store in London but a saturated market and high set up costs forced them to think again:

“We spent a lot of time in Birmingham and noticed that the economic side of things was positive. There’s a growing creative and cultural scene in Birmingham at the moment. There’s street art, fashion, music… Our business fits that scene perfectly. It was a bit of no-brainer really.”

Having read about Get Started online, Matt sent off for details and hasn’t looked back. For him, the start-up loan itself was just part of a valuable package of support and advice:

“Get Started is a great scheme because it helps people who don’t usually get the chance to set up a business. It’s not just the financial side of things, there’s a whole team giving specialist business advice and mentoring. They’re really personable and they’re business-savvy. They know what they’re doing.”

Having secured an excellent spot in Birmingham’s creative quarter, The Custard Factory, just two months ago, Matt and Taylor have already achieved two considerable coups for the company. As well as being an official stockist for London’s Brick Lane Bikes, the UK’s most prolific distributor of single speed bike parts, the business has won recognition from household name Casio:

“We’re an official reseller of the Casio G-Shock brand and have been awarded an account selling their exclusive lines shared only by Selfridges and Harvey Nichols in the Midlands area".

B Store’s dedicated Get Started mentor is Paul Harper, and Matt has also received lots of support from Allison Francis:

“Paul is really approachable, he knows what he’s talking about and he gave us some advice on starting a website. And Allison has really steered us in the right direction. She’s been a real help. She actually helped build our confidence to get going. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have known where to start. The Get Started loan we received were really beneficial because they meant we could buy stock and get the website up and running. It helped loads. Without that money there wouldn’t be a business.”

Matt and Taylor’s ambitions for their business are wide-reaching. The pair hope to open more stores and also want to explore other avenues:

“Although Birmingham’s our base we're looking to expand into Bristol, Brighton and possibly other key cities around the UK. We also have a vision of setting up an urban bike related events company promoting bike related activities in and around local communities as well to include mini street velodrome, pump track and multi level city centre road awareness courses aimed at making city cyclists more aware and road savvy. Birmingham City centre will soon be changing dramatically to make it into a more European style cycle friendly city so there’s plenty to keep us busy!”.