Currently...

I spend most of my time working on my company http://wemakewebsites.info/" rel="nofollow">We Make Websites. We're focusing on scaling up a bit by ramping up our sales and marketing efforts and getting freelancers involved so we can increase our throughput. I am also working on a photography studio and gallery in Dalston with some photographer friends."

Before I escaped...

I was working at Merrill Lynch, where I'd worked for 2 years since graduating. During that time I worked in private banking technology in London and Geneva. I also spent some time in New York as part of the graduate scheme then in operation.

I'd been working on small, personal web projects for a while and had started doing some web and iPhone development with my friend Piers (now my business partner), who I'd met at Merrill during my internship.

My moment of truth...

I've always wanted to have my own company and I've always been interested in software development. I remember telling people when I was a kid that I would do this. 

A friend who knew of our side-project asked if Piers and I could quote for the re-development of a Geneva-based NGO website. We didn't end up securing the project, but they were impressed by our proposal and we made it down to the final two teams. 

A couple of weeks later I went to Nice for a few days with my then-girlfriend. I had a chance to reflect and I read http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rum-Diary-Bloomsbury-Classic-Reads/dp/074757457X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308312890&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">Hunter S Thompson's http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rum-Diary-Bloomsbury-Classic-Reads/dp/074757457X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308312890&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">Rum Diary. This instilled in me a feeling of audacity and a longing for adventure.

I decided that when I returned to London I would quit my job to focus on starting a company. Piers and I were on the verge of doing that anyway and by quitting, I was able to focus more time and get things moving faster. Piers joined me full-time a couple of months later. We hedged our risk to some extent that way.

Planning for it...

We didn't require funding as we didn't really have any major overheads (we still don't really) as we're a service-based company. We built a couple of sites for free so that we could establish a portfolio, and we put an ad on classified websites.

We also arranged a deal with a local craft charity whereby we would offer a discount to their members in return for sending out a newsletter about our new service.

We didn't make a business plan or anything like that though - I think they're overrated and consist of not much more than ideas and guesses. A lot of the skill in running a company is the execution rather than the ideas.

The worst and best bits...

Recently we've had some great moments: signing some of our biggest deals, starting some interesting marketing campaigns and organising our first birthday party. One of the websites we made, for the Crafts Council, was launched in the House of Lords.

Having no money for long periods of time and getting used to the feeling of uncertainty can be difficult. Also, starting a company and doing something different can be isolating in some ways, especially right at the start.

However, in general, if you're questioning what you're doing a bit, or it feels uncomfortable, you're usually doing the right thing.

Best advice...

Here are some quick tips that come to mind:

• Just start doing whatever it is you're thinking about. It's so quick and easy to build a minimal viable product and then you can get real customer feedback quickly and check the assumptions of your product against reality.
• Get a co-founder - you'll motivate each other and it'll be more fun. Spend time finding the right person; someone that compliments your own personality and that you can rely on. You're going to spend a lot of time working together and go through a lot of good and bad times together.
• Learn and be inspired by online resources; for example communities like http://www.ted.com/talks" rel="nofollow">TED Talks. There is so much knowledge within these resources

Useful resources and information...

• http://thecubelondon.com/" rel="nofollow">The Cube co-working space in Spitalfields