Meet the founder
Hi, I'm Jude - founder of Sweqlink. I've been immersed in the digital world for over two decades, amassing a wealth of digital marketing, project management and team leadership expertise. Working for digital agencies most of my career, I've had the privilige of being involved in some truly innovative projects, and worked with some of the most talented people in industry. My true passion lies in the intersection of technology and creativity, where technology can be used to improve our lives.
I live south of Manchester with my husband and two minions. In my free time, you'll find me going down rabbit holes in tech, entrepreneurship, or human psyche; or assuming my Retribution Paladin alter ego in World of Warcraft.
My Story 🥢🥡
When my parents immigrated to the UK, they could barely speak the language. Like many Chinese immigrants during the 1960s and 70s, they became entrepreneurs due to discrimination and limited job opportunities, but also because entrepreneurship allowed them to control their economic destiny. Watching the sacrifices and hard work my parents put in to thrive and create generational wealth from building their own businesses and learning how to invest, have made me appreciate the value of entrepreneurship and asset ownership as vehicles to transform lives and enable social mobility.
My exposure to entrepreneurship from a young age, and property investment in young adulthood, showed me what's possible as an individual despite circumstance but at the same time highlighted the great disparities that exist within the ecosystem and financial system. We all have the ability to create but it's often the lack of opportunity that holds us back. As founder of Sweqlink, I'm committed to empowering others to achieve their dreams, no matter what their background is. I believe that every potential entrepreneur, no matter their circumstances, deserves a chance to succeed and make a difference in the world and their lives.
What makes me uniquely me
Lifelong learner & self-starter
I love learning and applying my knowledge. Some of the things I've taught myself: Piano (I'm not very good), building websites, tiling bathrooms, making balloon animals
Personality type
INFJ-A (80% Introvert, 61% Intuitive, 74% Feeling, 57% Judging, 60% Assertive)
Generalist hustler
I graduated with a degree in 3D Product Design but became interested in web development and pursued a career in digital. These are the roles I've had in my extensive career:
- Waitress, Takeaway cashier (it's a right of passage to employment if you're Chinese)
- Graphic designer (e-commerce)
- Web designer/developer (freelance)
- Family business support (PC / mobile repairs)
- Marketing assistant (wholesale)
- Marketing team leader (FMCG e-commerce)
- Digital marketer (e-commerce)
- Account manager (B2C, B2B enterprise clients)
- Digital project manager (e-commerce, recruitment, law)
- Founder of a small business (side venture)
- Property investor / landlord (side venture)
Belief system
Knowledge is empowerment
A life of no regrets
Sweqlink
In 2015, my younger brother exited his EV racing startup. He was always the entrepreneur, the natural born hustler in our family. When he had this crazy idea to be to develop and introduce the World's first electric vehicle racing series, he knew he had his work cut out. For one, he had no network in the sports media space, nor did he have the capital to pay for the expertise he needed to develop an entire racing series and introduce the world to EV racing.
His luck changed when he discovered it was entirely possible to leverage equity in his business idea. He offered ownership in the form of shares in his business in exchange for the skills and expertise needed. To his surprise, he attracted and secured sweat equity from some extremely prominent figureheads in business, motorsports and media who were as passionate about the idea as he was.
It was this experience that sowed the seed of a new idea, a platform for sweat equity exchange.
The journey so far...
Who are we?
Sweqlink wouldn't exist without sweat equity from the incredibly talented and mission-aligned individuals I've met. Alongside these brilliant minds, we're supported by some very experienced startup advisors, mentors and external support.
Community & Content
Mickela Sonola
Mickela and I met through a local female entrepreneur programme in 2021. She brings with her decades of experience in education, coaching and mentorship. She lends her expertise in authorship, workshop building and community driven initiatives to Sweqlink. Mickela helps us with our brand voice, and ensuring our content delivers value and inspiration.
Mickela is a Mover profile in our Makers, Movers, Manifesters framework for success
Product
Graeme Goulden
Graeme was introduced to Sweqlink via a mutual connection in 2023. He advises on the product strategy and helps with the execution of our roadmap. With product ownership experience for companies like Cinch, Manchester City FC, Monster Jobs and BBC, he's well placed for this role. He also brings his experience in building global conferences and events.
Graeme is a Manifester profile in our Makers, Movers, Manifesters framework for success
Non-Executive Director, Sounding board, 'the brother'
Andrew Lee
Andrew is my younger brother, the original mastermind behind Sweqlink. He has since stepped back from the day-to-day but remains on hand for strategic direction as and when needed. His entrepreneurial background in building a capital intensive high growth company through sweat equity, as an underrepresented founder, offers firsthand experience for us to draw upon.
Andrew is a Mover profile in our Makers, Movers, Manifesters framework for success
Customer Ambassador
Maya Al Mezal
Maya and I met on the NatWest Entrepreneurs programme in 2022 and have become very good friends ever since. Being a solo founder in the SaaS space, she understands the problems new founders encounter deeply in entrepreneurship and venture capital funding, and her enthusiasm for helping other founders is unmatched - she helps us ensure whatever we create offers value to our customers.
Maya is a Maker profile in our Makers, Movers, Manifesters framework for success
Technical Advisor & Development Partner
Aditya Kadam, Adirani DS
Adi initially developed our MVP sematic AI model for matchmaking talent to opportunities on a fully funded support programme with Lancaster University. Since then, him and his team have helped us re-platform Sweqlink away from Wordpress onto technology that is more robust and scalable.
We continue to develop the platform with his technical expertise. Adi is also Entrepreneur in Residence at Lancaster University, so has a great understanding of the early stage startup journey.
Startup Advisor
Tim Deeson, IfWeRaise
Tim is more than just an advisor to us, he has been a great advocate and opened doors for us. Tim has more than twenty years of experience as a founder, CEO and board member for technology companies including successful exits. He is an advisor to early stage founders, including hundreds of startups through the London School of Economics accelerator programmes.
Via the IfWeRaise community, we also have access to a number of fantastic brains within the startup ecosystem including Tim's co-founder, Hattie Willis.
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