Richard Cobbold: Digital View

Richard Cobbold
Age: 34
Company: Digital View

A fortuitous meeting on a flight to Hong Kong in 1991 led to Cobbold starting £15m turnover business Digital View. Thanks to his uncle, a director at Cathay, he was upgraded to first class, where he quaffed Champagne with James Henry – the man behind flat screen monitor manufacturer Sygnos Technologies. He joined and in 1995 suggested selling the enabling electronics. Digital View was born. Cobbold received £100,000 from a loan guarantee scheme and now supplies the likes of Heathrow Express, Camelot, Boeing with flat screen display units, with offices in London, the US and Asia.

2016 update:

Cobbold remains as the owner of Digital View. Over 150,000 of its “pioneering” solid-state digital media players have sold to date. The company co-founded Esprit Digital in 2005 – the manufacturer of the electronic advertising display systems found across the London Underground network. Today the entrepreneur is focused on his role as director of digital interior design specialist DV Signage. During his time in the sector, he has designed digital solutions for companies such as Procter & Gamble, Accenture, Camelot, Philip Morris & Nokia.