Startups 100 – BBC interviews A-Star Sports

Startups 100 is in the news again! As one of only four businesses registered in Wales to make it into the Startups 100, A-Star Sports was interviewed by BBC Radio Wales’ Sarah Dickins (sitting in for Jason Mohammad) on Tuesday 27th May. The interview covers taking risks, being successful and reaching No. 27 in this year’s list.

Also interviewed were Ian Wallis of startups.co.uk, the organisers of Startups 100, and Bethan Stevens of Sosban & The Old Butcher’s Restaurant, also listed in the Startups 100.

Choosing the Startups 100

In the interview, Ian explained how companies were ranked: “Our methodology for the Startups 100 list is based on reality rather than projected future success. We look at hundreds of companies and receive full entries with a lot of detail. They provide their financials, the company’s background and the year that they started as they have to have started in the last three years. We look at the number of employees they have and where they raised finance. Once we have all that information, we score them.”

A-Star Sports at No. 27

Writing about A-Star Sports’ in the Startups 100 list, startups.co.uk said:

“Now completing its hat-trick of appearances in Startups 100, children’s sport franchise A-Star Sports continues to go from strength to strength. Since achieving British Franchise Association accreditation last year, the franchise has grown to encompass six territories operated by the four directors and 10 additional territories with nine separate franchise owners. The franchise’s after-school sports classes continue to perform strongly, catering for more than 4,000 children per week, and its newly-launched party and holiday club ventures have also seen significant growth; A-Star Sports holiday clubs cater for around 200 children per day during the school holidays, and the founders plan to increase the number of parties held across 2014 from 550 to 1,000.

A-Star Sports’ growth has attracted numerous industry accolades, including selection as an inaugural member of Lord Young’s ACCELERATE 250 initiative, a listing in the Small Business Saturday 100 and a finalist appearance in two categories of the Franchise Marketing Awards – to name just a few. The founders have set an ambitious target of 24 franchises in 2014 and will continue to build on A-Star Sports’ charity and social enterprise links.”