Marcus Waley-Cohen & Harry Briggs were friends at school...
"We'd always thought one day we'd start a business - whenever we had A-level coursework to do, we found ourselves bouncing (mostly silly) business ideas around instead."
Then in 2002 we were both working in the city - you know, working late, burning the candle at both ends, trying to stay healthy...
And it struck us - "What are we doing putting these sugary, chemically-infused energy drinks in our bodies? Couldn't we make a healthy, natural alternative that worked just as well?"
It was decision time: perhaps "one day" is, like, right now.
So we looked up the most prominent herbalists in Britain and asked them if there were herbs that could detox, wake you up and focus the mind. We added just enough fruit juices to make them taste good, and designed a bottle that looked the part. (Quite tricky - we needed a glass bottle, in a coloured "sleeve" to protect the herbs - that's how we ended up with those bright colours...)
But we got there in the end, and launched in August 2003 to a great welcome in Harvey Nichols. People seemed to love the idea, the bottles, and the effect... Before we knew it, shops were calling us and asking for Firefly from Paris to Sydney (honest).
And the rollercoaster hasn't stopped. Customers in 40 countries - from Orkney to the Maldives. New drinks. Learning to "Manage" - arghh! Weird and wonderful people galore. And never a predictable month. We like it that way.
Here's to plenty more (mostly good) surprises...
