Bristol ex student sells university startup for millions

An entrepreneur has become a millionaire after selling the business he created at university.

James Courtney, 30, from Saltford, near Bristol, was studying business at the University of Bath when he started his loyalty rewards company, LuxRewards.

The business connects customers with restaurants that could offer them loyalty rewards, and Mr Courtney believes Bristol’s tech and start up community was crucial to his success.

He said: “The independent ethos in Bristol was really helpful – I was 21 when I started and I never spoke to anyone who talked down to me.”

For the first five years the business struggled, but over the pandemic he decided to focus more on partnering with bigger brands.

“For about three years I walked around Bristol and Bath knocking on hundreds of restaurants doors to try and get them to sign up,” he said.

“We were making a loss for the first five years but then we signed a deal with Barclaycard that took us from 1,000 to 400,000 customers overnight.”

Five years later, LuxRewards has more than 105 million customers through partnerships with banks, airlines and employee benefit platforms.

It has now been sold to global software company Enigmatic Smile for an undisclosed eight-figure sum.

The sale will make Mr Courtney a millionaire but he has not forgotten the support given to him by the University of Bath and small businesses.

“The university was really supportive throughout the whole thing,” he added.

“They even let me work on my own business instead of doing work experience at an established company.”

He won several awards at university that allowed him access to professional mentorship and funding to support him while he grew the business after graduating.