Hands up if you’ve ever spent an evening in the pub with friends and it’s descended into endless fantasy chatter around “What business should we start?” Maybe it’s a hair-washing machine you can stick to your shower wall, a contraption that would perfectly cut a bagel in half or a company specifically for creating holiday packing lists for forgetful people… whatever the idea, it always feels like a business run with friends would be infinitely more fun.

For Liz Simpson and Sarah de Vere-Drummond, this was exactly how their company came about. After working together at a boutique travel company for a decade, both of them went freelance before the pandemic. The pair were in the pub and hit upon the idea for their business, Kip Hideaways. “We always used to joke about starting a holiday company together,” says Liz. “Then we resurrected the idea one evening – we both went home and started working on it the next day.”

Want to start a business with your BFF? The founders of Kip Hideaways share all the tips you’ll need to make it work