Intent on success with Lazy camping venture

Five years on and Mr Hill, from Brighouse, is gearing up to go global with his business venture, The Lazy Camper – “a complete outdoors camping kit” aimed at festival goers.

A student of enterprise development at the University of Huddersfield, the 19-year-old started the company less than a year ago with an initial investment of £33,000 raised mainly by fellow students.

Today, he has the backing of business magnate Richard Branson and has just secured an agreement with discount firm Groupon, which will see a deal associated with The Lazy Camper sent out to 18 million people next week.

“We’ve just seen a spike in sales. We were selling maybe two or three kits a week, which is okay for a small business, but you need more to make it real, but in the last couple of weeks sales have gone out the door.

“We’ve been selling 20 or 30 a week. It’s just gone up ten-fold, because it’s peak festival season,” said Mr Hill.

A festival enthusiast himself, Mr Hill first came up with the idea when at Leeds Festival last year. “I bought equipment from the supermarket the night before. I woke up in my tent and my phone, my keys, my wallet, everything was under water. It was a poor quality tent and I had to buy more equipment from the festival.

“I also realised I didn’t have everything I needed and I had some items I didn’t need. I just wanted this option where it could be high quality, cheaper than the shops and easier to get than from the shops. Then, you just need your food, clothes and ticket.”

The Lazy Camper includes items for camping such as a tent, sleeping mat, stove, poncho, toilet seat covers, a head lamp and a first aid kit. This year, the business, whose suppliers are based in China, was expected to make £30,000 of revenues, but the forecast has been upped to £100,000 as a result of the deal with Groupon. Mr Hill said it will make profit and pay off investors in year one.

The Lazy Camper is also the main sponsor for camping equipment at the V Festival’s Louder Lounge – a VIP area at the Chelmsford site. “What I wanted was in two or three years’ time to see a field full of Lazy Campers, but I should have this in August now thanks to the Louder Lounge thing. My dream has come true two years early.”

Mr Hill has also pitched to Richard Branson and won £750, as well as support from Virgin, as part of the Pitch to Rich competition. “He was one of my first inspirations when going into business. When I was selling sweets at school at 14 I thought one day I’ll be Richard Branson. The fact that I got to meet him was a real honour.”

And, while at school, Mr Hill didn’t miss an opportunity to grow his sweet-selling operation. “It was just me selling sweets,” he recalled.

“Then I realised I could make more money if I had two people selling for me, then I realised I could make more money if someone was managing all that for me, so I had this sort of management system, then I realised I could make more money if I bought out the lockers from students for storage and then I set it up in another school as well. I was running this sort of sweet empire.”

Now, he is eyeing expansion of a different kind. Mr Hill said he will look at other products such as kits for scuba divers, rock climbers, cyclists, fishing enthusiasts and skiers.

Next year, The Lazy Camper looks set to be the main camping goods provider for a festival in California, which means potentially reaching 30,000 people. He said his vision for the business is to have a range of products, “make The Lazy Camper international” and employ more people.

Fellow student, Andrew Bray, owns 10 per cent of the business, while Michael Lakey, a director of consultancy Critical Path, owns five per cent, and Colin Gordon, of Elegant Homes and Gardens, owns another five per cent. Mr Hill owns the remaining 80 per cent.

The Lazy Camper, endorsed by South Yorkshire Scouts, is the trading name for Mr Hill’s business, Shaped Outdoors.

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