I often get asked how did I get to where I am now, by people presuming I have a technical past. My background was actually in banking; I managed a team of 40 at RBS Direct Banking Manchester at the tender age of 21 (looking back, how naive was I!?!) and had responsibilities in recruitment and statistical analysis, before moving to Smile, the Internet bank, where I was shifted from role to role (presumably my skills were much sought after, rather than being terribly crap). Amongst other jobs from the top floor of The Pyramid (it looks better on the outside, than it does inside folks!), I managed two sales teams, worked in marketing (rewording & helping redesign the website & advertising, usually on the early morning train to London) and managed the e-mail team, helping devise and implement (another word for "my way, or no way") the "smiley" way of communicating with customers. I took the gamble to concentrate on making money from PrideOfManchester.com (my hobby Manchester United / Manchester music fanzine website since 1999 - a drunken idea planted by some Swiss friends on the steps of The Bridgewater Hall over a greasy Allen's Fried Chicken).As they say, the rest is history, and the website - with its offshoots - now enjoys over 8 million readers a year and has 205,000 members. It's now the biggest what's on guide for Manchester, incorporating ManchesterBars.com, Restaurants Of Manchester, and ManchesterTheatres.com, which shifts over £10 million worth (400,000) tickets a year. I've been lucky to have a lifestyle (split mainly between Manchester, Switzerland, Krakow, Copenhagen, Berlin and Vienna) that allows me to employ friends and family. whilst concentrating on my love of cycling and collecting antiquarian travel guides - and writing books about both.Away from Manchester, there's another 3 million or so readers viewing my other sites, which include Europe, Liverpool, Switzerland, the O2, Wembley, Twickenham and...erm...the Faroe Islands amongst others.