Podcast: Selling handmade walking sticks worldwide from York with Lyndsay Watterson

Lyndsays business now employs ten and has customers in 35 countries. American actresses Selma Blair and Christina Applegate have both become big advocates for Lyndsay's handmade walking sticks.

But it all started in her kitchen. After Lyndsay experienced a catastrophic MRSA infection, her left leg was amputated. "I knew that I needed a walking stick and I was just looking round at what there was out there. But nothing seemed to speak about me, nothing reflected me in the walking sticks I was seeing. So I literally decided just to make my own.”

Play or download the episode here. You can also find it in Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, and many other podcast apps:

Lyndsay covers:

• her journey from creating her first prototypes, to being stopped in the street by people wanting to get their own, to launching in 2013 as a one person business

• a tipping point in 2020 which caused a spike in growth and led to Lyndsay taking on staff

• the community Neo Walk has created

• what makes the walking sticks so unique and bespoke

• how she funded the business initially and why she sought external finance

• the process of applying to and securing £60,000 from BEF

• supporting MS (multiple sclerosis) charities in the US and UK

• the impact of winning awards including "Entrepreneur of Excellence" at the National Diversity Awards and one of Yorkshire's most exciting businesses

• Lyndsey's mission to see disability normalised and the importance of representation

What next?

More about Lyndsay's business Neo Walk: https://www.neo-walk.com/about

If you are looking to start or grow your business and need flexible finance, get in touch today at [email protected]