Our Story.
From a car park in Glasgow to a social enterprise supporting young entrepreneurs across the planet.
September 2013.
Orbit’s founder, Kieran, launches his first business at the age of fifteen.
Milestone provided car and van detailing services to commercial and domestic clients with prices starting at £25 per month.
The business was started for £150 and grew to generate £100,000 in revenue by the time Kieran turned 18.
May 2015.
On the 18th May 2015, Kieran was in the waiting room of a factory in Glasgow. While waiting to meet the factory owner, a phone-call went off between the receptionist and billionaire entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter’s assistant.
He overheard the call and learned that Sir Tom was due to visit the same factory two days later.
Kieran went there that day, hid behind Sir Tom’s car, and pitched the idea of Orbit to him in the car park.
December 2015.
With the backing of Sir Tom Hunter and The Royal Bank of Scotland, Orbit was incorporated in 2015.
The content for our business incubator course was built with the help of some of the country’s leading business experts.
July 2016.
Sir Tom Hunter and the CEO of the Hunter Foundation, Ewan Hunter, shared their words of wisdom with our first group of Orbiteers.
Our first course took place in Glasgow and saw thirteen students launch their own businesses.
The first intake created thirteen new businesses with a combined turnover of over £30,000 just four months after the launch of the course.
September 2016.
Our Glasgow chapter welcomed another 100 Orbiteers in September 2016.
Some of the businesses included barber shops, marketing agencies, hardware products, e-commerce websites, and cosmetic businesses.
November 2016.
Scotland’s business and finance minister, Paul Wheelhouse MSP, visited our Orbiteers in Glasgow to inspect their progress.
He praised Orbit as a “fantastic and unique initiative” that is changing lives, contributing to economic growth, and bettering society.
December 2016.
We welcomed Lord Haughey OBE – one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs – to our Glasgow chapter.
Lord Haughey shared his story, his advice, and his “words of wisdom” to over 120 of Scotland’s brightest young entrepreneurs.
June 2017.
We received £10,000 from the Scottish EDGE to invest in expanding Orbit’s capacity.
The money was used to build the infrastructure and team required to run Orbit’s courses.
June, 2017.
Our team grew rapidly and we attracted some talented people to help Orbit expand.
We hired chapter managers, administrators, finance managers, and non-executive directors to help manage Orbit’s growth.
November 2017.
Our 2017 course saw orbiteers launch businesses in an array of industries including importation, creative arts, event management, and introducing new products to the market.
We also entered partnership arrangements with RBS, Natwest, Ernst and Young, and The Prince’s Trust.
December 2017.
We welcomed one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs, billionaire Jim McColl OBE, to share his life story and advice with over 120 of our Orbiteers.
By the close of 2017, Orbit had supported over 300 new businesses to launch and had chapters operating across the United Kingdom.
November 2019.
Orbit introduced it’s chapter model. Now, entrepreneurs and business owners from across the world can apply for a licence to run their own Orbit chapters.
The aim of our new chapter model is to see Orbit reach students from San Francisco to Sydney.