One of Leicester’s most successful startup entrepreneurs says he has a new business launching soon but it won’t be from his home city.
Callum McKeeferey has said he’ll launch his latest startup from the US after his recent move across the Atlantic.
The former CEO of Reviews.io opened up on Linkedin about setting up in California recently, a decision he says was forced because of the NHS’ treatment of children with Mitochondrial Disease. Callum’s son Hudson has the rare condition which affects nearly every cell in the body.
Callum said that ever since selling his Leicester based startup Reviews.io in 2022 for more than $70m, life had been an “emotional rollercoaster”:
“We decided to leave the country…super emotional.
“I still have the base there. I still love Leicester. Still love the city I come from. Still making big investments in the UK.
“But I just cannot live there. I cannot have my child in a healthcare system that at any point could go ‘no, that’s it. We’re pulling the plug on him.”
McKeeferey also spoke about the challenge of no longer being associated with his former startup Reviews.io, which he sold to a private equity form two years ago.
“I think this happens to a lot of founders or entrepreneurs when they sell a business they became massively attached to, that once the business is sold – once you’ve reached that high… it’s very very difficult. I kind of lost a sense of purpose.
“I pushed a lot into doing a lot of charity stuff but at the end of the day I’m still an entrepreneur”
“I do miss the hustle of being an entrepreneur. I do miss the fight. I do miss getting involved and growing something.”