Entrepreneur out of retirement

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The rapid growth of eBooks and tablet computers provided a Cornish entrepreneur with the perfect reason to come out of retirement and back into business.

E-publisher Patrick Hawkey (centre) holding the Nook showcasing his latest venture. He has been supported by (left) Steve Braund (Award Leader MA Illustration, University of Falmouth) and John Peters from the South West Investment Group
Patrick Hawkey (centre) has been supported by (l) Steve Braund (Award Leader MA Illustration, University of Falmouth) and John Peters from SWIG

Patrick Hawkey was looking to put his 40 years of publishing industry experience to good use.

Now after originally retiring at 50, he and his wife Marianne have launched a new e-publishing business which is putting his industry experience together with the creative skills of graduates from Falmouth University.

The launch of the new business has been made possible by finance from the South West Investment Group (SWIG) through the South West Loans Fund, after Hawkey struggled to raise the finance he needed from traditional sources.

Within a few weeks of submitting his business plan Hawkey was given a start-up loan and he now has high profile clients such Apple buying his e-books to sell on iPads.

He said: “Hawkey Publishing’s first major contract was with Barnes and Noble to supply eBooks for the Nook tablet, which has just been released in Britain.

“The area has huge growth potential and with Apple and Barnes and Noble investing in it so heavily, we’re pleased to hitch our wagon to a star.”

John Peters from SWIG said: “Patrick was a perfect candidate for support from SWIG. He has a huge amount of experience that he was able transfer to his new business alongside the brilliant skills of other local creative businesses and arts students.”

Helping graduates at Falmouth University into work is an ambition that is now being realised thanks to the new business.

“I’ve been working with the university for some time and now we even use some of the graduates from the illustration courses to help design our books.”