Wendy Bartlett

A colleague suggested that Ian and I start a contract catering business because we shared a passion for food. The three of us met when we were working on a BA contract. We worked well as a team and formed a friendship, which we've retained. But just because you get on well doesn't mean you'll make a great business partnership.

Starting the business was a lifestyle choice. I thought that, with another 15 to 20 years to work, I had to do something I enjoyed. When you work for a large firm, the shareholders are the drivers. But food should be fun, emotive, creative.

Ian and I started with our own capital, 50/50. David bought a 10 per cent share of the business a year later. We had to learn how to become IT literate—technology is still something of a challenge for Ian. We had to stay focused on selling—it was hard to pick up the phone when we had nothing to showcase. You have to believe in yourself.

We've never disagreed on the future of the business. But psychologically, we're at different ends of the spectrum. I'm task-driven—as managing director I run the company. Ian is a people person—as chairman, he spends his time with the team or clients. The biggest risk in business is to lose sight of people, to become untouchable—Ian is the softer side of the business. And David, as creative director, is fantastically innovative. He can magic something up out of nothing.

When there are three of you, one will ultimately end up leader, and I'm the strongest in terms of clear vision. But no matter what happens, they're incredibly supportive.

Ian Mitchell

The decision to go it alone wasn't as easy for me as I'm much older than the others. But I couldn't continue in a corporate environment. When you're head of an organisation, you should feel evangelical about it—I didn't feel comfortable at all.

Wendy and I had been friends for some time so we went our own way. It was more of a risk to my health than my pocket. When the phone didn't ring in the early days, I had doubts. It was quite hard.

We didn't take investment, which was nice, so we're not beholden to anybody, except our clients. If I were to do it again, I'd take on a finance director sooner—at the £5m mark rather than the £10m mark.

We're very different as people, but that's what makes the partnership work. David's great at the creative stuff. He has the most brilliant ideas and is very thoughtful.

Wendy has fantastic drive—she exhausts me. She has the business brain—I wouldn't have started a business with anyone else. She's hugely bright, knows what she wants and is great at networking.

How do we settle disagreements? We just agree with Wendy! We've never carried a squabble into the next day. Sometimes Wendy's a bit short with us and I dislike her to-do lists. But we understand why she's so meticulous. When you look back, you know she was right.

David James

We'd known one another a long time, but it was too expensive to have three directors at the beginning, so I joined in 2000. It never entered my mind that we might fail. I can't work out why people give up—failure is not a worry.

Moving from the mentality of looking after a few contracts to being responsible for people and their pay: that sometimes keeps me awake at night.

I'm the creative one in the group. I do the marketing, merchandising, create birthday cards for the team. Ian's an absolute gentleman. He looks after the smaller clients; the ones that haven't got much money but still want our skills. Wendy looks after the clients that want to deal with a strong, dynamic person. She sorts things out.

I admire Ian's sincerity. He's such an honourable person. If he gave me his word, that would be enough. He's been my inspiration for the last 15 years; he's given me the space to become the best I can be. Wendy is determined to make things work. Her intentions are always good. Ian's jolly demeanour is a real tonic, but sometimes you think, "for God's sake, be miserable for a day".

When you work for a big contract caterer, creativity is stifled at every step. Here, smaller things can make a difference. We're invited to our employees' homes for dinner—it's about creating a family.