Islington born Tom Burrough has always had a strong affinity with Devon and Cornwall. He also loves the business concept of easyStorage, so when he discovered that the easyStorage franchise for Devon was available, he jumped at the chance. When he divorced and it became clear that he would need to rebuild financially, he was determined to start out on his own again. The easyStorage business franchise model offers the opportunity to do this without the years of product development.

Moreover, he has always wanted to retire by the sea, so moving to Devon brings that dream, too, one step closer. He’s currently searching for a remote cottage on a farm close to the sea, near his easyStorage operating centre in Newton Abbot. Once settled, he’s planning on sharing his new life with his daughter and a dog (and possibly also a micro pig).

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Promoting the business should be easy for Tom. His background is in advertising and film production. Adventurous and organised, we’re certain he has endless people skills and patience!

In the late 80’s, Tom went straight went into advertising from Oxford University. He started as a TV buyer for Zenith Media and then to creative brand building agency, WCRS. He then moved to advertising giant McCann in Paris at an amazing time. The company had just started a huge study into French food and beverage culture to better understand why Coke did not fit in Paris. He also looked at how innovation can be accelerated.

Other agencies and new marketing methods followed, until he helped set up marketing agency Blowfish, becoming more of a marketing consultant than an ad man (as well as being the producer on TV ads and short films).

In 2000, he set up Burrough’s Baby Food, which offered an award-winning range of organic, frozen dishes including liver and bacon, cod mornay and Moroccan lamb.  (The award was from The Soil Association for his lentil and sweet potato dish.)  Whilst other media did cover the company and products, including the national press, his major ‘five minutes of fame’ fell on BBC2 - talking with Chris Evans about baby food!

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Sport crazy Tom spent some time in America teaching water-skiing, and has participated in a wide range of other sports including hockey, cricket and skiing. He boxed for Oxford and was even on the fencing national squad. Today he enjoys rollerblading, weights, running, tennis and golf (handicap 9).

He has enough siblings to create his own team. In addition to his older brother and two younger sisters, his father remarried when he was 8, extending this with a further three step-brothers and a half-brother. He loved it: there was always someone to play tennis, golf or hockey with!

Despite loving the fact that he’s a true cockney (born within the sound of the Bow bells), he loves to travel. On his first night in New York in 1986 he quite literally bumped into Debbie Harry, lead singer of the then chart-topping band, Blondie.

We’re staking bets that this Devon-based enterprise will be full of innovation and surprises and wish Tom and his team every success.