With large-scale vaccinations to prevent Covid-19 now underway at last in the UK, the news that tech visionary Elon Musk, CEO at Tesla, is now the world’s richest man may surprise some people as we look to emerge towards a post-pandemic world later this year.

Those who can recall the boom era of information technology in the late nineties, when dot com companies sold for absurdly high valuations, may not be so surprised, but Mr Musk’s automotive company has only just made its first annual trading profit. And yet, the company’s share price is now seven times greater than it was a year ago, clear testament to investors’ faith that Musk’s vision will result in a profit bonanza and big dividends for shareholders in the upcoming years.

My investor interview this month is with Micheal (Mike) Bristow who can also be described as a tech visionary as he was instrumental in founding the alternative finance lender Crowd Property. The company was acknowledged by Deloitte as being one of the 50 fastest growing technology companies across all UK business sectors.  

Those who have met Mike will readily acknowledge his dynamism and enthusiastic approach and he is never slow to highlight Crowd Property’s rapid growth pathway but my first question to him was: tell me a little about the man behind the brand and your background?

“I started my first business when I was at University of Birmingham,” said Mike.

“It was a student-facing entertainment company which grew to a £500k turnover, trading throughout the UK, before being sold shortly after finishing university. I did a quant-heavy degree (first class Masters in Mechanical Engineering) and have always had a passion for analytical rigour.