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Success Stories
We’ve helped thousands of individuals from the Armed Forces community to start and grow their businesses. Here, we publish their stories – why they became their own boss, the challenges they faced along the way and how XFE helped them to achieve their dreams.
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HEALTH COACH LEVELS UP ON 3-DAY SPOUSES COURSE
Towards the end of 2020 we proudly launched a brand-new training course designed exclusively for spouses, partners and family members from the Armed Forces community. The three-day course, lead by our experienced Training

XFE Business Captain and Veteran, Liam Gretton, Goes From Strength to Strength with Estate Agency Business
Liam Gretton, British Army veteran and self-employed estate agent as part of eXp UK, continues to go from strength to strength as the Wirral Peninsula’s

British Army Officer Sets Sights on Bespoke Kitchen & Interiors Business
Meet Harry. After twelve years in the British Army, Officer and previous business-owner Harry Boyt has his sights firmly set on his next business venture,

Agile in a Crisis: Meet the former Soldier turned Drone Pilot that has overcome disability to steer his business through the Coronavirus outbreak.
British Army veteran Chris Flannagan from Wiltshire had set his sights on a new career as a drone pilot, but found few employment opportunities due

Innovation after injury: When business becomes the focus to rebuild a life beyond Service
After serving in the British Army for eight years, with 24 Commando Royal Engineers, Tom Foster was forced to pull the pin on his military

Aeronautics to Energy: meet the ex-RAF engineer specialising in property efficiency
Serving in the British Armed Forces can equip an individual with the highest level of training in the world, yet re-focusing those skills into a

Taking Cookery Online: meet the master pastry chef making courses more accessible
Master pastry chef Ben Mariner recognised the cost and geographic barriers in cookery tuition and built an innovative online school to share his expertise.

RAF Officer & spouse creates niche product & business protecting her young children’s skin outdoors
I’m proud of all of the entrepreneurs we have supported over the years at XFE, but I always get an extra special buzz knowing the

Insta-inspired business: Meet the creative military spouse hand-crafting luxury candles
Military spouse Emma Bryant was inspired to start her first business by Instagram, on which she followed other small businesses and watched their successes. Emma’s

Independence after injury: meet the Navy veteran that turned his hobby into a business
Russ Kirby’s left arm was paralysed in a motorbike accident in 1981, which forced him to leave the Royal Navy. Now 58, after 33 years

From education to enterprise: Meet the military spouse changing science kits for kids
Military spouse and teacher Michelle Williams understood that all parents want to see their child have opportunities to be happy and successful, and applied her

From barracks to bistro: meet the Army veteran’s spouse at the helm of a thriving family business
The British picnic is a national passion, but one ex-military couple have taken it one step further in their bistro in Tidworth. At Pothead and

Meet The Former Soldier that Built a Multi-Million Pound Communications Firm
PJ Farr (31) recalls how he was fascinated by the Army’s ability to deploy to some of the most remote locations in the world and

From Air Despatch to Airstream Events: meet Leeds’ house music mogul who is hitting the road
Jacob Kelly, from Leeds, has a new woman in his life. Dottie is American, a little older than him and they plan to travel together

Blind Army Veteran Starts New Chapter as Self-published Children’s Author
Being diagnosed with a visual impairment in his 50s didn’t hold John Bennett back from pursuing a dream to share the stories passed down through