It goes without saying that a business’ success depends on the success of its founder. If the founder has an innovative approach and willingness to learn, they can create long-lasting success. This is what Vithurs (V, for short) has brought to the table. His company, Blessed CBD, is now one of the most successful CBD oil brands in the UK.
This success didn’t come from nowhere. In fact, it came from Vithurs’ long experience in the tech sector. At first, this may seem like a contradiction. How does a tech entrepreneur transition into CBD?
A Drive For Learning
Vithurs was born and raised in the UK, where he spent his younger years in the traditional school system. But he found himself out of place in an ordinary classroom environment. He felt like he was wasting time, and craved the opportunity to learn in the real world.
At the age of 13, he started skipping classes, and instead spent his time in the school library. There, he studied everything he could get his hands on about running an online business. He idolized tech entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk, all of whom preferred hands-on learning to a classroom environment. And with the explosion of online business, he was ready to get his feet wet.
Almost two years later, at the age of 14, Vithurs was ready. He founded a search engine optimization (SEO) firm to generate business for corporate customers. Using the advice he’d learned from his studies, he advertised in a major industry forum, and was soon doing over £10,000 a week in sales.
For many young entrepreneurs, this would be the peak of their career. But for Vithurs, it was only the beginning. He used this opportunity to gain experience working with global companies and selling to high-profile clients. Then, he joined with fellow entrepreneur Jonathan Waller to found another company: Rankfluence. This company works with major clients worldwide to improve search rankings, and clients include several Fortune 1,000 companies.
The Switch to CBD
At heart, Vithurs is an entrepreneur. He’s not happy running businesses; he loves to found them and watch them grow. In 2017, he felt the itch to do something new, so he started researching the UK business market to find a new opportunity. This opportunity was not difficult to find; the CBD industry was begging for innovation.
Vithurs had spotted a major gap in quality in the UK market. At the time, US brands were producing high-quality CBD products and had millions of satisfied customers. But despite the UK’s friendlier cannabis laws, CBD brands were lagging behind, with many customers unhappy with their products.
Over the next 18 months, Vithurs studied everything there was to learn about the UK CBD market. He learned about everything from manufacturing to regulations to marketing. When he was finally satisfied, he launched his own brand, Blessed CBD.
Blessed CBD has a simple mission: to become the UK’s most trusted source of hemp-based products. Against all odds, they became successful. Within a year, the company was valued at an impressive £15 million.
They’ve also received several awards. Among other plaudits, they’ve been voted “best CBD brand in the UK” by Reader’s Digest, Discover Magazine, Observer, Express, Daily Record, VentureBeat, Manchester Evening News, We-Heart, Bristol Post and HerbMighty. That’s quite an accomplishment for such a young company!
Their product range consists of CBD oil, CBD gummies, CBD cream and CBD capsules.
Guided by Data, Driven by Customer Satisfaction
Needless to say, Vithurs is ecstatic at the rave reviews he’s received from the industry press. But he’s even more excited by customer satisfaction. Over the past two years, Blessed CBD has garnered thousands of positive customer reviews. According to Vithurs, this is far more important than the money he’s earned.
He says: “You’ve probably heard this before, but the typical entrepreneurs and business owners think, how can I make a lot of money? But the best way to think is, how can I make people’s lives a lot better? If you get that right, the money will eventually come.”
This hasn’t just led to success inside the UK. It’s also led to worldwide attention. Currently, Blessed CBD is working on expansions into continental Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. They’re not doing it alone. With brand ambassadors Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski, both of whom are UFC champions, they now have the power of globally recognized athletes on their side.
Through all of this, Vithurs is not resting easy. He still remains active as a founder at Rankfluence, and also manages several other online businesses he’s acquired. He’s even considering founding more companies (TechEye pending development). He believes that ecommerce offers plenty of opportunities. And as the COVID-19 pandemic has proven, those opportunities are only increasing.
