May 10, 2022 8.00 pm This story is over 23 months old

Skegness entrepreneur’s success gets him on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list

The company saw rapid growth during the pandemic
Kyle Cassidy, founder of TALOR Garden Furniture, has made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Retail & Ecommerce.
By Local Democracy Reporter

The founder of a luxury online garden furniture brand based in Lincolnshire has been named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his impressive entrepreneurial efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kyle Cassidy, 24, is the founder and managing director of TALOR Garden Furniture, and he founded the business in 2019 after spotting a significant gap in the industry market.

He began his work in the sector as a business apprentice at 17 years old before quickly climbing the ladder and becoming managing director of Lincolnshire LazyLawn franchise, just three years after joining the company.

TALOR, which began in May 2019 and is based in Skegness, was originally due to run alongside LazyLawn, but that changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit – due to a huge spike in demand for useable outdoor spaces in lockdown.

It used to offer rattan garden furniture, but has now expanded to bring customers a wider range of luxury, outdoor living products, such as fire pits, artificial green walls and pergolas.

Kyle has taken the business from bedroom to boardroom, witnessing £2.4 million in gross sales for the 2021 calendar year, which is a 100% increase from the year previous, and it continues to grow in 2022 with almost £1.7 million in sales this year already.

As a result of his efforts, Kyle has been recognised by Forbes on its 30 Under 30 list for the Retail & Ecommerce category. He has been able to get into the position of employing five full time staff members, with the vision of getting more people on board as the business continues to scale up.

Kyle said: “While the market wasn’t short of garden furniture retailers, it was missing a prevalent, one-stop-shop that offered affordable but luxury garden furniture and outdoor living accessories. I also felt somewhat restricted running a local franchise, knowing that it could only go so far, but I knew that the potential for TALOR was uncapped, and this is what inspired me most.

“I’m extremely grateful for the recognition as one of only 30 entrepreneurs in Europe within this category. It’s been an exciting but often gruelling few years building this business, and it gives me a huge amount of satisfaction to look back and see just how far we have come.

“Although this is a recognition of my achievements as a founder, I certainly would not have been able to get to this point without the continued hard work and support of my fantastic team, and I owe a great deal of this acknowledgment to them.”