Rachel Elnaugh

In 1989, at the age of 24, Rachel Elnaugh founded Red Letter Days.  In doing so she created the concept of giving experiences as unforgettable gifts. Working from a shoestring budget she built a company with a multi-million-pound turnover.

Rachel Elnaugh is one of the country’s leading and most successful female entrepreneurs and had what the UK and international media has dubbed ‘the most exciting job in the world’. Pioneering the experience industry, Rachel’s famous Red Letter Days were a truly unique gift.

Her successful start-up secured her a place on the first series of Dragons’ Den, the show was a huge success and was shortlisted for a BAFTA.

From helping in the family firm as a teenager to demands as a national speaker, Rachel talks of her early career, the excitement of growing Red Letter Days and the disappointment of failure, when the company faced trouble after a drastic over-expansion in 2002. She reflects on what it means to be a ‘celebrity entrepreneur’, the pressures, the highs and the lows. Her audiences respect her candid reflections on the fallibility of the business owner and admire her determination to help and inspire others on their own entrepreneurial journeys.

Rachel challenges her audience to consider why they might want to start a business and what lies behind that desire. Drawing on her own early experiences and observations of business owners, Rachel explains how her new online Entrepreneurial Profiler Test is designed to place people in one of nine entrepreneurial categories. Armed with this information, people can research and start the kind of business they are most suited to – and avert any future failure.

Rachel has documented her business highs and lows, this came out in 2008 alongside the financial crisis, so it became the go to bible for all struggling businesses.

Since, her speaking career has rocked, having spoken at all kinds of business and educational events, she is also a TEDx speaker.

In 2012, combining her knowledge and experience, Rachel put together a mentoring programme called Business Alchemy. 2013 saw Rachel set up SourceTV, a digital publishing platform and marketing portal which aims thought leaders and teachers, helping them to get their teachings across to a wider audience.

Having lived through the highs and the lows of business entrepreneurialism, Rachel is a brilliant speaker for all kind of corporate events.