Photos: Great female technology entrepreneurs

Kate Craig-Wood - Great female technology entrepreneurs

Kate Craig-Wood runs Memset, a company providing virtual dedicated servers that she founded with her brother after each putting in £2,000 capital six years ago. The business has grown to produce revenue of £1.4m and profit of £300,000. Craig-Wood says the early stages of setting up the business required a balance of optimism and discipline.

She says, “I was quite sensible – I had a business plan and had been quite rigourous. And I had a lot of advice from people. We spotted a market and had very realistic expectations. “I didn’t expect to get paid anything substantial for three years. In our first year we made £10,000 profit, and that was my wage. I worked hard for several years for much less than I could have earned on the open market. But it was what I wanted to do.”

Her advice is to be brave but realistic. “It does require courage, but you need to back up your decisions. Don’t be afraid of going in