Design. Coffee. Ambition. How Two Young Entrepreneurs Are Shaping Coventry & Warwickshire’s Future

The Coventry & Warwickshire Champions – Next Generation event in February brought together some of the region’s most exciting young entrepreneurs, innovators, and creatives. Designed as dynamic events that inspire and engage future leaders, the Next Generation events give young professionals, students, and founders a platform to learn, connect, and grow through authentic conversations with real changemakers.

Two out of three standout speakers at the event were Katie Jones, Founder of Design by Katie Jones, and Connor Gladwin, Co-Founder of Coventry Coffee Company. Both shared powerful stories of ambition, resilience, and regional pride, offering candid insights into their journeys as young business leaders.

Katie Jones: Building Brands with Bold Creativity

Katie Jones’s journey into graphic and motion design wasn’t a straight path. “All through my studies, I never knew what I wanted to do as a career,” she admitted. It was during her Art Foundation course at Warwickshire College that she “discovered graphic design. I had never studied anything like it before but fell in love with learning something new.”

That discovery led her to build a career that combined creativity with clear direction. After completing her degree, Katie joined the Creative Futures Incubator at 1 Mill Street, a programme that helped her turn her freelance work into a thriving business. “It was a programme that showed me how to run a business and that’s how I started on my journey to officially setting up Design by Katie Jones.”

Today, Katie is passionate about helping brands create visual cohesion. As she explained, “Visual cohesion is about making sure every aspect of your brand is recognisable. It helps your audience trust you, recognise you and remember you.” Her approach goes beyond logos to include icons, colours, typography, and motion graphics – all designed to make brands memorable in an age of short attention spans and endless scrolling.

Katie also spoke about the challenges of entrepreneurship. “My biggest challenge is having confidence in myself,” she said. Overcoming doubts, her own and others’, has been part of her growth. “It takes a lot of hard work – but I love the work. I’ve dealt with the cashflow problems, the tricky clients, but these are all normal things in building a business.”

Speaking at the Next Generation event was a milestone moment for her. “It helped me see myself as a real entrepreneur – rather than just a graphic designer. It made me realise that I’m a businesswoman, I’m building a business, and it kicked me into gear about thinking about how I can grow my business too.”

Katie’s advice to other young creatives is refreshingly direct: “Go for it! Don’t let anyone hold you back, or question why you think you can do it, because you can.” She encourages graduates and apprentices to find their community, network relentlessly, and “follow your joy.”

Looking ahead, Katie plans to expand her business beyond herself, collaborating with other creatives and even rebranding to reflect this new chapter.

Connor Gladwin: Brewing Community and Opportunity

While Katie was carving out a creative niche, Connor Gladwin was launching a coffee business at one of the most challenging times imaginable: the 2020 lockdown. “The timing was tough, pubs, cafés, and restaurants were closed, so getting sales off the ground wasn’t easy,” he recalled.

Coventry Coffee Company found its first foothold through local relationships, with their Sky Blue Blend being picked up by The Red Lion in Hunningham, and through online sales that helped spread the word during lockdown.

For Connor, “outstanding coffee” isn’t just about the flavour. “It’s a combination of taste, consistency, and the overall experience.” That’s why their business model covers beans, machines, training, and branding – a full-service approach that blends quality with personal service. “We’re not just selling coffee, we’re helping venues build their entire coffee offering from the ground up.”

Like Katie, Connor highlighted the steep learning curve of entrepreneurship: “The biggest lesson has been realising that most of what you need to know in business isn’t taught in school.” Running Coventry Coffee Company has required resourcefulness, resilience, and constant learning.

Connor’s motivation for speaking at the Next Generation event was to connect with others who understand that journey. “I wanted to share our story because I know how isolating it can feel as a young business owner, especially in the early stages.” Hearing other speakers reminded him that challenges like cash flow and growth are universal and surmountable.

The Coventry & Warwickshire business community has played a crucial role in the company’s growth. “With our name being Coventry Coffee, it was always important to have a strong presence in the region, and we’ve been fortunate to gain many large customers here.”

Connor believes platforms like Next Generation are essential for young entrepreneurs. “Platforms like this give young entrepreneurs visibility they might not otherwise get… It also shows that the region actively supports and invests in its next generation of leaders, which encourages more young people to take the leap into entrepreneurship.”

Looking ahead, Coventry Coffee Company has big ambitions: expanding nationally, building a large-scale roasting facility, and improving sustainability. “Events like Next Generation are crucial because they help us build connections, share our vision, and find the partnerships we’ll need to keep growing.”

Both Katie Jones and Connor Gladwin embody what the CW Champions: Next Generation platform is all about – inspiration, connection, and ambition. Their journeys highlight how creativity and entrepreneurship are thriving in Coventry and Warwickshire, supported by a community that believes in its young talent.

Events like these don’t just celebrate success stories; they help build them. By bringing together students, young professionals, founders, and established leaders, Next Generation creates the networks and opportunities that allow the region’s brightest minds to flourish.