Ollie's story
From idea to first tee.
“Alex and the Built Forward Fund helped me cross that difficult gap between having an idea and actually starting.”
Starting my own golf business was something I'd wanted to do for some time, but having an idea and actually turning it into a business are two very different things.
The person who helped me make that step was Hertfordshire-based technology entrepreneur Alex MacDougall (opens in a new tab), founder of SamacSys (opens in a new tab) and creator of the Built Forward Fund (opens in a new tab).
Alex founded SamacSys and built it from an idea into an engineering technology platform now used by nearly 1.4 million engineers worldwide. SamacSys was acquired by Supplyframe in 2019, and Supplyframe was subsequently acquired by Siemens in 2021 as part of a $700 million transaction.
Through the Built Forward Fund, Alex has been helping me turn my own idea into something real.
The support hasn't simply been financial. Alex has shared his experience of starting and building a business, helped me think through the proposition and brand, challenged some of my assumptions, and helped with the practical things needed to get the business off the ground.
For me, that's been particularly valuable. When you're starting something for the first time, there are hundreds of questions and it's difficult to know which ones actually matter. Having somebody who has already been through that process to talk to has helped me move from thinking about starting a business to actually building one.
The Built Forward Fund is deliberately practical. Rather than operating as a traditional grant programme, each year Alex chooses a small number of people or situations where relatively modest financial help, mentoring, equipment or access to experience and expertise can make a meaningful difference.
I'm one of those people.
This website and the business behind it represent the beginning of what I hope to build over the coming years. There's still a way to go, and ultimately I'll be making the business work, but Alex and the Built Forward Fund helped me cross that difficult gap between having an idea and actually starting.
I'm incredibly grateful for the support.
Ollie Greenham – The Golf Guy!