Josh Taylor

Josh Taylor is a groundbreaking social entrepreneur with remarkable achievements under his belt. With endorsements from the likes of Sir Richard Branson, every venture Josh has taken on has led to him collaborating with influential business leaders and creating incredible opportunities. Starting out leading a very ordinary life in a rural Surrey village Josh now delights in sharing his compelling experiences with audiences around the world.

His recent venture based in Cornwall has seen Josh and his business partner turn down £2 million in corporate investment and instead raise money from the local community in Cornwall to save their village shop. In just a year the shop has tripled its turnover and become a nationally recognised award winning independent retailer. This led to Josh coaching clients on social impact in business including everyone from start-ups to high-profile individuals and FTSE 100 companies.

Acknowledged by The Huffington Post as one of ‘15 Young People Changing the World’, the stage for Josh’s entrepreneurial spirit was set back in 2011. With empty pockets, he decided the only way forward was to capture the curvature of the Earth on film from a DIY weather balloon at 118,000 feet in near Space. The resulting video went viral online and became headline news in the media.

Josh went on to conceptualise the notion of Space Art: a project to send a blank canvas and tubes of special paint to near Space, allowing Mother Nature to draw up some magic. The resulting painting was featured on Channel 4’s Four Rooms and Josh was given the opportunity to put on an exhibition of the art work and his other projects at a top London art gallery name it .

Enticed by a twitter conversation about Josh’s projects, Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group personally issued him the challenge to see how far under the ocean he could explore: ever ambitious, he also became the first person in history to send an amateur submersible to the bottom of the Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rican Trench (the deepest trench in the Atlantic Ocean!).

In between speaking engagements and running his businesses, Josh is a regular contributor and blogger on The Huffington Post and guest blogger for notable sites such as Virgin.com.

Fighting against the odds has carved a fascinating path for Josh so far. The many up and downs and unique experiences has given him stories, ideas and methods that he speaks about with passion and connection. He assures people that ambitions can be achieved by all walks of life. Besides, ambition was all he ever had when he began his journey into the world of entrepreneurialism

“I would like to formally thank you for your excellent and inspirational attendance at our Celebration of Achievement evening and I was most grateful for the way in which you lifted the whole occasion.  I have received nothing but positive feedback from everyone involved and you truly were an ambassador for everything we stand for.” Principal & CEO – Guildford College

“On several occasions I have heard Josh give an illustrated talk on his experimental projects to groups of up to fifty or more people.  Clearly much scientific research goes into the development of his projects, yet Josh is able to convey to his audience in layman’s terms the technical content of his achievements.  His talks have been enjoyed and appreciated by ladies just as much as by men.  Josh has an easy and relaxed style of delivery and responds fully to questions from his audience.  He is always ready to impart his knowledge to anyone who is interested in what he is doing.”
 
“I would particularly recommend that anyone wishing to take photographs of the earth’s curvature from a balloon at 118,000 thousand feet and on a budget of £200 should attend one of Josh’s talks.  His projects are splendid examples of what can be achieved on the back of an education in local state schools and sixth form college.”  The Chiddingfold Society

“Josh came to our school to give a talk about his balloon camera. It was an amazing presentation and the children and staff were enthralled. Josh used high quality visual materials and spoke with enthusiasm and clarity. We were all captivated by his adventures and the skill in which he shared them and can’t wait to have him back to share his next exploits. It was truly inspirational.” Head Teacher at Chandler CofE Junior School

“The Rotary Club of Haslemere first met Josh Taylor and his friend Edward Bishop in July 2011 when they gave Club members a fascinating talk on their successful balloon project. Josh is an outgoing person and his standard of the presentation was extremely good. The photography and the digital video results of the world from near Space were superb. A year later, in October 2012 Josh came along to Rotary and spoke to us about his exciting high altitude art project. We look forward to hearing all about his latest projects and seeing his photographic record when he comes to talk to us again.”  Haslemere Rotary Club

“I listened to your talk and inspirational message at the award ceremony for innovators and business enterprise for students at Brunel University. I would like to say thank you because it really motivated me and continue with the good work.” Student, Brunel University

30 April 2014 – First amateur bid to film Atlantic floor, British man aims to record first ever amateur footage of Puerto Rico Trench, the Atlantic Ocean’s deepest point http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/10796264/First-amateur-bid-to-film-Atlantic-floor.html