Who We Are
We are straight-talking - We are entrepreneurial - We are honest
Helen and Simon Pattinson are Co-founders of Montezuma’s Chocolates, the UK's most innovative chocolate business, which they grew from the seed of an idea to exit. Now providing advice to ambitious entrepreneurial businesses, helping them to navigate the challenges of growth, whilst maintaining that entrepreneurial spirit and the values they started out with.
Working closely with founders and entrepreneurs to help them map out plans for their business and personal life, paying close attention to business growth, profitability and efficiency as well as providing mentorship and guidance on all the challenges that Founder-led businesses face.
Having qualified and practised as lawyers for several years, Helen and Simon travelled around South America in pursuit of a more fulfilling working life and work-life balance, and created Montezuma’s Chocolates soon after their return. They rapidly discovered that the life of an entrepreneur is not conducive to a work-life balance! But they also discovered that starting and growing a business can be an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding experience.
They learnt so much along the way, growing from the kitchen table to a multi-channel manufacturing business employing 200 staff and a multi-million pound turnover, challenging the norms around every aspect of business but always guided by the values which they had established at the outset. They have been imparting that knowledge on an informal basis for many years, investing in entrepreneurial businesses and mentoring founders. Since exiting Montezuma's, they have offered advice more formally whether that’s on an ad-hoc basis, through regular coaching sessions or more formally, as non-executive directors.
Helen is a big fan of building teams around the entrepreneur who are as passionate about their cause as the founder is, and in turn allowing them the time to work on their business, not in it. She has a head for sales and marketing and is most at home helping founders create their sales strategy and helping them to work towards the end goal. With values leading the way at Montezuma's, Helen is also a dab-hand at helping founders cut through the noise to create a values-led strategy for themselves and their business. As a mum to three daughters, it became essential to understand when to prioritise family over business and vice versa. Helen has been a judge on the Everywoman awards for ten years and is a trustee of the fabulous charity Children on the Edge.
Simon has an enviable eye for detail and a quirky approach to challenges, always finding innovative solutions. He loves factories, machinery and production and is a huge advocate for building mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers but most of all he is an entrepreneur through and through. He sees opportunity everywhere and likes nothing more than discussing the endless possibilities with other entrepreneurs. As a dad to three daughters he is equally skilled at balancing the needs of home and business.
