Richard has made a career out of starting businesses from scratch, building them up and successfully selling them. His first was in property, building one of the largest independently owned chains of estate agents and selling out to one of the building societies. He then built a publishing business, followed by a chain of successful bars and restaurants. He went on to build up the largest chain of cheque cashing shops and sold out to Money Shop and he then built up a nationwide loans business which he franchised and then sold. Richard is currently a non-executive director on a number of boards across a diverse range of businesses. He has been a Magistrate for 15 years and is a Trustee of Starlight Foundation.

Richard founded moving weather the online marine weather business is chairman of infoshare a large data business and is on the board of e-dba a major oracle partner

As your mentor, Richard brings not just a huge range of experience to the table, but incredible passion for business and wants his mentees to succeed.

Testimonials for Richard Cook:

“I had an excellent phone call with Richard. He Introduced me to the topics of ‘R&D Tax Credits’ and ‘PatentBox’ which means I can generate more money in my business soon. Thanks guys!”
Steve Rad

I was introduced to Richard Cook through Rockstar Mentoring Group.   Rockstar cleverly found exactly the right person to mentor me during the start-up of my business and his engagement was the best investment I made.

Richard has a wealth of start-up business experience through his own enterprises and from mentoring other businesses.  He is energetic and positive and quickly understood the weaknesses in my business, ensuring our sessions were always used productively.   His cheerfulness is infectious, so you always leave a meeting with Richard, feeling you can do anything, which is good when there are so many hurdles to cross.   Most importantly, Richard has a very simple approach to running a business and saved me thousands of pounds by suggesting simpler, more cost effective ways to achieve the same objectives.
Alison John – Space Qube Ltd

“A great mentor comes at a price, and fortunately for us being a part of the Start Up Loans scheme we are afforded the luxury of free sessions with leading industries professionals, one of which being the charismatic Mr Cook!

Having sat down with Richard on more than one occasion, I have found his methods of guiding us through the web of starting our own businesses to be throughly enjoyable and most importantly helpful to someone like myself who is in the infancy of getting things off of the ground.

It’s no easy task going from a bedroom based start up to a credible business, but with Richards expertise and industry know how, I feel more confident in what i’m doing as I have been equipped with a mentor that guides me through the hurdles in an concise yet exciting format. Make the most of him, as his time can equate to forming a stand out business!”
Kind Regards
Best Of British Shop – A retailer of premium British menswear product

Richard has & continues to be one of the most instrumental people in my start up company life’s. His vast knowledge and experience is presented in a way that’s easy to understand and which motivates and inspires. Not only has he helped me during the mentoring sessions but he’s also introduced me to people who have turned my business around. Instead of wasting my loan on consultancy fees, Richard had introduced me to people who have donated a lot of their spare time to me for free which is so crucial at these early stages when money is tight. He’s hugely generous with his time, advice and experience and without doubt the best mentor I’ve ever had the pleasure of having. If you are lucky enough to get put in a group with him as your mentor then you can be sure that your business will have the best chance of being a success. This man knows his stuff.

Kind Regards,

Georgia Wright