ALAN MARKS

“I first met Alan through an investment outreach, but the journey we’ve been on since has been far more than a typical investor relationship. Alan has helped me think bigger, more strategically, and with a level of ambition I genuinely hadn’t applied to CHANCE before. He’s unlocked new angles of growth and value that simply weren’t in my original vision for the brand.

We work closely together, always with brutal honesty, but also with mutual respect, trust, and a shared focus on progress. He challenges me in the right ways, brings clarity when things get noisy, and has been a real partner in helping CHANCE evolve. I would highly recommend Alan to any founder or investment group looking for thoughtful challenge, strategic support, and real experience. He has had a huge impact on both me and the CHANCE journey.”

John  Logue
Founder — CHANCE Clean Cider

“Working with Alan has been genuinely transformative for me, both personally and professionally. His exceptional business knowledge and insight has had a direct and measurable impact on improving business performance and profitability, even the smallest of tweaks I wouldn’t have thought of! Alan offers effective ways of breaking down decision-making, improving working relationships and identifying opportunities. His advice is consistently clear, balanced and fair, and his mediation approach brings calm, structure and clarity to challenging situations. I’m very grateful for all of Alan‘s guidance and would highly recommend him!”

Keegan Ferreday 
Founder | Planning Director- Base Planning Consultants

“Alan Marks has been an outstanding mentor to our business. Along with his tremendous real-life experience, he brings a rare and exceptional balance of no-nonsense boardroom energy, paired with genuine care and encouragement. He challenges when needed, supports consistently, and has helped us make clearer, more confident decisions at every stage of our growth. Thank you Alan, your guidance is making a real difference!”

Mitch Temple
Founder | Director- New Space Architecture

We asked Alan to join the Board of Receipt Bank from the very beginning. He helped us to build the company from absolutely zero to our Series A investment, at which point we were one of the fastest growing companies in Europe.

Michael Wood
Receipt Bank

” I think actions speak louder than words so the fact that I invited Alan to my wedding should tell you all you need to know. I have had the fortune to work with Alan on two projects now:When I launched my first start-up Whatbook, I thought I knew what would be involved; I quickly realised how wrong I was. I met Alan when I approached him for investment in the business, however, I quickly realised I wanted more than just his financial investment and he agreed to join as our non-executive Chair and as my mentor.

Since then, Alan has helped me navigate the choppy waters of running a new business; whether it was staying up until 11pm on the phone with me to help edit a business plan or the endless patience in reviewing my efforts at financial forecasts. I have twice recommended Alan to other founders and businesses and would not hesitate to do so again, he brings a wealth of experience (after all, he’s been around for a bit!) and is far too generous with his time so I have benefited immensely and cannot imagine running a business without his, often un-asked-for, input and advice.

When my first business closed, Alan helped me to appreciate the importance of corporate governance and ensuring everything was recorded correctly. After a few months, I mentioned a new venture I was working on and he immediately jumped in again, offering his time and advice with no thought to payment or reward. He has helped FORG3D maintain its focus on early growth and operations, and I look forward to his continued help and support as we change the manufacturing industries with a GREEN fourth industrial revolution, both here on earth and in space.”

Richard Mincher
CEO & Founder- FORG3D Ltd

Alan joined the Careology board in October 2019 as a Non Exec and Investor Director, representing the interests of our angel investors. He quickly established himself as a trusted advisor and an energetic member of our board of directors, offering pragmatic thinking whilst challenging and probing – always in a constructive manner. 

Alan’s extensive experience across a range of industries with businesses at various stages, ranging from start-ups to exit, always means insightful advice that can be applied across all areas of the business. He is also a trusted advisor and mentor who always makes time to talk through issues, ideas or problems.  

Paul Landau
Founder & CEO-Careology

During protracted and in the end unsuccessful negotiations to arrange an MBO of an IFA, that my colleague and I worked for, we reached out to Alan to get his perspective and advice as to how best to achieve our objectives.
It was clear from our initial conversations with Alan we had come across someone with the breadth of knowledge that we needed, from both inside and outside the financial advice industry, and it was this when added to his patience & interest in helping us achieve our objectives that has led to what we view as the best outcome that could of occurred for our clients and ourselves.

Alan continues to provide us with his advice as a consultant and always approaches each conversation with a genuine interest in getting the best outcome across the board.

He has truly put value behind my belief that contacts and connections are such a high priority when embarking on any project, as they can be the difference in their eventual completion and its outcomes.
Alan is now a key member of our Board and continues to add value to every meeting he is involved in.

Alistair Hopton
Director & Founder of Monenti Partners Ltd

“I highly recommend working with Alan Marks whether you are navigating the sale or acquisition of a financial services business or seeking reliable expert business advice. With considerable industry experience spanning wealth management, generalist IFAs, commercial insurance broking, and employee benefits, his consulting capability proved invaluable to me. Alan consistently provided pragmatic, informed advice and served as an excellent sounding board. Most importantly, he has a unique ability to cut through complex industry jargon, making the entire process clear, straightforward, and manageable from start to finish.

Beyond Alan’s strategic insight, he is remarkably responsive and hands-on when it comes to negotiating terms and finalising the price. Rather than relying entirely on costly lawyers, Alan offers practical, actionable recommendations on exactly how to move negotiations forward. Having a dedicated expert who is both highly accessible, knowledgeable and reliable made a significant difference in helping me achieve a successful outcome.”

Tim Atkins IFA

I have known Alan for several years and have used him on many occasions as an “Ad-hoc” non-executive director. Alan has been very useful in this NED role and we have very much appreciated his honest independent views. He has displayed a great ability to get into the detail of a proposal and I am certainly glad to have had his input on more than one occasion, not least when a few years ago, we were thinking of a business sale, although this didn’t come to fruition, his guidance was invaluable.

Paul Ugo
Chairman – Ugo Foods Group ltd

“When building a business, Entrepreneurs need someone who knows how to listen, trust and give you the right advice. Alan has been that person for me, always accessible and never tired of the journey. Even when your journey changes and you cannot see the way forward, Alan gives clarity and encouragement that keeps spirits high and people focused. Above all, Alan is never shy of saying what he sees without side, being direct is his greatest quality. It cuts to the chase”

Adrian James
Founder Monily

I have known Alan for many years and have always found him to be a sensible, reliable, and well informed individual. He always has a constructive comment in the financial arena and is a fountain of knowledge! He is a canny investor and has seen his share of enough start up business plans to have a fair idea of which are more likely to be successful.I have always enjoyed our conversations and found them very useful.

Robi Bernberg
Managing Director – Rocket Medical

Alan Marks has been my colleague, friend ,and Non-Executive Director for over a decade. A highly skilled negotiator it’s Alan you need on your team to ensure the most equitable deal Alan’s knowledge of business would be difficult to surpass, he has a wide range of experience in multiple sectors but especially financial services. I have experienced Alan’s skills in finding a solution where others have failed, with alacrity and finesse.

Equally comfortable with the Chariman of a public company, to an owner manager of an SME, Alan makes all those who he deals with feel they are the most important person in the room.

Jo Haigh
Chief Executive – www.wearefds.com

I worked with Alan for many years. He has a clear vision combined with professionalism and commerciality. Alan enjoyed coaching and mentoring both junior and senior colleagues and, just as important, was great fun to work with.

Nigel Walfisz
Partner – MGR Weston Kay LLP

Alan agreed to join Whatbook as our non-exec chair and, cliché alert, he has been a game changer for us. As a young(ish) founder, his experience is invaluable to me especially, and he makes time to offer his support, advice and the occasional meme. With his support we have progressed as a start-up and Alan’s experience has helped me to avoid some classic pitfalls of first-time founders.

He acts as a mentor on top of his business advice and is one of those rare examples of a clear business mind and common-sense approach. He’s also a great laugh and can poke fun at himself, which genuinely makes the difference when spending the long hours on ZOOM calls that are now the everyday way of working!

Richard MD
Founder and CEO of Whatbook

As a founding investor, Alan’s ability and willingness to provide constructive and independent advice ended up being pivotal to our successful growth in the early months. It was this ability and his broad experience that made it an obvious and unanimous decision to appoint Alan as Chairman of the Board.

Since his appointment, Alan has been a positive driver of change to both myself, the management team and the business, providing the right balance of scrutiny, support and experience. As a first-time founder in an early start-up, being able to navigate the waters of high growth and high stress is a difficult job and Alan has been more than a mentor to myself throughout the process, combining an excellent array of both technical and soft skills.

As our business completes its second fundraise and we continue upon our impressive growth trajectory, Alan has continued to play an active role in shaping change and driving momentum towards our next stage and eventual exit.

Max Richardson
Co-Founder – CEO, This Is The Want