Innovative firm that made challenge its middle name

From corporate family fun to treasure hunts … company offers key services

Name: Gerard Crowley. Age: 43. What is your business called? Team Challenge Company. Where is it based? Dunfermline. What does it produce? What services does it offer? We offer traditional team-building or team-development away-days, corporate family fun days, indoor and evening entertainment and deliver a huge variety of bespoke events. To whom does it sell? Businesses or organisations looking to improve team efficiencies or reward staff successes. We work with a diverse client base and traditionally saw a lot of business coming from the oil and gas sectors. The recent downturn in oil and gas had an impact on Team Challenge Company, resulting in a drop in our sales from this sector. The changes have resulted in our expansion into technological, financial and pharmaceuticals markets.

We have delivered teambuilding sessions and corporate events for some of Scotland’s biggest companies including AG Barr, Scottish Water and Wood Group. What is its turnover? £1 million. How many employees? During peak summer seasons we employee about 30 staff. When was it formed? I formed the company in 2001 with my business partner Stephen Hazely. Why did you take the plunge? I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, even during my school years when, in order to make some pocket money, I set up a part-time DIY business called Crowley’s Enterprise. After 18 months and with my school finals arriving it was put to bed by my dad for fear I wouldn’t get good grades. At 22 years old I launched a restaurant in the village of Tomintoul in Moray.

I made an arrangement with the owner, which saw me assume responsibility for re-opening the venue, after it had been closed for a year, in return for a share of the profits. I made a lot of changes, such as offering a take-out service and I ran the business successfully for 14 months, before handing back control to the owners.

While, it was tough, I learned a lot from running the restaurant, notably that you need a thick skin to manage a business and not to take things too personally. What were you doing before you took the plunge? After graduating from the University of Ulster with a degree in business management and hospitality, I worked on gaining experience in the hospitality and events industry. In 1999 I joined a team-building company, Royal Bridge Leisure as a sales manager. It was here that I really got my teeth stuck into business, gaining experience in logistics, team management and developing client relationships.

My final job before setting up Team Challenge Company was with a sports company called Sport for Life, where I was given the opportunity to travel to all corners of the globe.

It was from this experience that I decided it was time to set up my own business as I wanted to have the freedom to develop my own ideas. How did you raise the start-up funding? A personal loan amounting to roughly £6,000. What was your worst moment? Following the financial crash of 2008, team building started to be seen as luxury that many businesses felt unable to justify. There was a moment when I wondered whether we would be able to survive the economic upheaval.

However, despite a slight drop in business, we bounced back and are now seeing a rise in enquiries from companies who are looking to rectify some of the effects of the crash through our services. For example, the mass redundancies that devastated the UK left many people unmotivated and unsure of their job security. We received a number of briefs which centred around the need to reconnect employees with their employers. What was your biggest break? Our biggest break actually stemmed from our worst moment. During the financial slowdown, we were forced to re-evaluate our vision and values. We came back with a refreshed outlook and in 2011 and we turned our first profit. What do you most enjoy about running the business? The variety. Each year, we task ourselves with developing at least one new product, meaning that I am continuously pushing myself creatively. Recently, we produced a complex 50-mile-long GPS treasure hunt that required participants to complete various activities in order to find a secret location.

This required us to consider a lot of moving parts, including more than 100 possible routes between Glasgow and the destination at Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire. What do you least enjoy? Having worked in the events industry for more than 20 years, I have come to realise that all the planning in the world doesn’t safeguard an event from all unforeseen circumstances. From this, I have learned to adapt to the kind of high-pressure environments which most people would find unbearable.

My pet hates in the workplace are untidiness and tardiness. What are your ambitions for the firm? To continue expanding into new markets, hiring more staff and growing our client base. What are your top priorities? In no particular order: Building Team Challenge Company into a household name; inspiring my workforce to create even more events; owning our own premises; expanding into new industries and being able to hire permanent staff. What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help? I have deliberately built the business in a way that does not require me to rely on help from the government. I have put in place measures that allow me to constantly adapt to fluctuating markets and believe that waiting on government bodies to further their policies or act on their promises is detrimental to business development. What was the most valuable lesson that you learned along the way? Market segmentation. By spreading your business sales across several sectors you create a safety net. If one of these industries suffers economic slowdown your business should not be dramatically affected. How do you relax? I am one of those people who find it difficult to just sit back and do nothing. I would much rather get outdoors and I am always looking to push myself further, to see what I can achieve.

In 2014, my business partner Stephen and I flew to the Arctic Circle for a 10-day trek in which we walked 120 kilometres in temperatures that got down to -35˚C at night. We have also abseiled down London’s O2 Arena and conquered Britain’s three highest mountain peaks in less than 24 hours.

As self-confessed adrenaline junkies, we are currently looking at options for our next big adventure, and have our sights set on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.