Director, Mankind

At the dawn of the 21st century it had been widely speculated that we'd be living on the moon, driving sky cars, eating food pills and men would be using skin care products.

We can all laugh at those who think up such ideas, however, no one seems to have told Hilary Andrews, who set up Mankind.co.uk in the year 2000 to offer men a fuss free way to buy skincare and grooming accessories via mail order and the Internet.

Since then Mankind has grown to become Europe's Leading male grooming website, with a turnover approaching £5m this year and annual growth at a constant 45%.

Hilary faced an uphill challenge to get her vision off the ground, since the first dot-com boom was over and Hilary and her business partner Paul Jameson had to re-mortgage homes and borrow from friends and family. Mankind now employs 24 people and has recently moved into new warehouse and office facilities.

Since joining Mankind, I have seen the company expand extremely quickly in a marketplace that would have been laughed at just 10 years ago. Working for Hilary has shown me that not only can someone take on a untested market, but balance that with the demands of a young family. Hilary still controls the creative vision of Mankind and its sister site Beauty Expert, with future plans including a Mankind branded skincare range and a presence on the high street.