ENTREPRENEUR Rob Gallacher has joined the growing number of entrants to The Journal’s If We Can, You Can Challenge by entering his business Pippo, a new brand of children’s footwear.

For Rob, starting his own business was a lifelong ambition, but like many others who start out on their own, he wasn’t sure when or how it would happen. The opportunity eventually arrived by coincidence.

He said: “Our daughter had just turned two and my wife and I began asking ourselves why it was so difficult to find the shoes we wanted to buy for her at a sensible price, in the local area. What was a problem soon became a design brief, which then became a business start-up!”

Rob started the business just as the credit crunch was beginning to bite. He spoke of the challenges of raising investment at a time when saving and budgeting had become the norm: “Everyone around us was pulling back the purse strings, and we were spending money on a project that had no guarantee of success.

“Although there were times when logic told us to stop, our hearts told us to keep going. We had to stay true to our firm belief that our products had their own place, even in such a competitive marketplace, and would be well received.”

That resolute belief is now paying off. In the first month of sales, Pippo has gone from nil to five stockists and Rob has big ambitions for the future of the company. He regularly visits China and Europe where the shoes are manufactured and takes a hands-on approach to the way in which the shoes are made.

Though Rob is keen to export, he is focused on laying the foundations of the business in the North East and building the brand with the support of local retailers: “It makes complete sense to me that this region is the birthplace for our business.

“We’re proud to live and work here and the support we’ve received has been amazing. I’m definitely behind the ethos of the If We Can, You Can campaign which does a fantastic job.”