Rob Wade and Rob Sutermeister, Altitude

Having the same name was not the only thing the two Rob’s had in common. Rob Wade and Rob Sutermeister started discussing ideas for a business when they met at a climbing course.

With a personal trainer background, and enjoyment for climbing activities, Rob S had always seen the opportunities in the market for developing an adventure-based experience business. When the idea was introduced to Rob W, who was also an enthusiastic climber and had the desire to start a business, they agreed to go into a partnership.

They said: “Working together in a partnership helps to keep motivation levels up; we are both similar in outlook and understand one another.”

Altitude is an outdoor adventure company in North/West Yorkshire providing a range of experiences for all ages and abilities. They found the Mybiz programme through Business Link, both Rob’s were initially surprised about how professional it was and how, rather than lecturing, it was interactive and involved all of the peoples businesses.

They said: “The programme also acted as a catalyst for our ideas and gave us confidence, we were always confident about the core idea, but now feel more positive about the other products that can be developed alongside.”

They enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, it was comfortable and relaxed and everyone had a genuine interest in each other’s businesses. The programme has helped them identify what they need to research, as well as putting together the business plan and getting to a point where the business idea is ready to be presented to potential investors.

“The programme gave us a clearer vision of what we need to do and a better understanding of business, which can be quite daunting, but the course concentrated on the important things you need to know. It was also good to see others in a similar situation.”

Altitude can be contacted here for further details.