From Braintree to Buckingham Palace: Why KOcycle Represents the Next Generation of Essex Growth Businesses
Essex enjoyed a bumper year at the 2026 King’s Awards for Enterprise.
Thirteen businesses from the county secured the prestigious accolade, the highest number Essex has ever achieved and enough to place it second only to Greater London nationally. It’s a timely reminder that some of the UK’s most ambitious growth stories are being built in the next street.
One of those businesses is KOcycle.
In the latest episode of Made in Essex, host Jill Willis, co-founder of Attract & Engage, sits down with Managing Director Mike McLellan to lift the bonnet on a business that has quietly evolved from a bootstrapped start-up in Braintree into one of the country’s most credible circular technology companies.
The conversation begins with the obvious question: did anyone seriously expect that an idea born in a bedroom in 2018 would eventually lead to a King’s Award for Sustainable Development?
Probably not.
Yet, listening to Mike talk through the company’s journey, it becomes clear that KOcycle’s trajectory has never been about chasing accolades. Instead, it has been about identifying a structural problem and building a business capable of solving it.
The challenge is significant. Tens of millions of tonnes of electronic waste are generated globally every year, while only a fraction is formally recycled. KOcycle saw an opportunity to rethink what happens at the end of a device’s life, creating a model built around refurbishment, reuse and material recovery, with a commitment to sending nothing to landfill.
At the same time, the team recognised that sustainability alone would not be enough. Clients needed absolute confidence in how data was handled. Compliance, security and operational rigour therefore became central pillars of the business from day one.
ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001 followed. Then came B Corp certification in 2024, placing KOcycle among the UK’s highest-rated technology B Corps. More recently, the business launched Project Kodi, its digital inclusion platform, donating devices to charities and helping put technology into the hands of people who might otherwise struggle to access it.
What makes the story particularly compelling is that none of this has been fuelled by external investment.
KOcycle has been built through organic growth, reinvesting into systems, people and infrastructure while navigating the same volatility every growth business has faced over the past eight years. Brexit, Covid, geopolitical instability and shifting regulatory landscapes.
Mike McLellan, MD, KOcycle
For Mike, however, the biggest differentiator has been culture.
On the podcast, he talks candidly about hiring for values over experience, building a team prepared to challenge ideas, and creating an environment where flexibility is treated as a business advantage rather than an employee perk.
There is also an important lesson for founders listening in. Too often, sustainability is framed as a cost centre or a communications exercise. KOcycle has approached it differently. By embedding responsible practices into its operating model, the company has demonstrated that commercial growth and social impact do not sit at opposite ends of a spectrum.
As Mike tells Jill, “You can build a business that does good things for people, for the planet, and still be profitable and still grow.”
Today, KOcycle is already considering its next chapter. Expanding its UK and Ireland footprint, exploring new premises and evaluating opportunities for acquisition-led growth.
Listen to KOcycle MD Mike McLellan on Made in Essex with Jill Willis
For Essex, businesses like KOcycle matter.
They represent a generation of founders and leadership teams proving that high-growth companies do not have to choose between ambition and responsibility. They can scale, create jobs, innovate and compete nationally, while still retaining a strong sense of purpose and connection to the communities in which they operate.
To hear Mike McLennan’s story in full, listen to the latest episode of Made in Essex, where Jill Willis explores what it really takes to build a business designed not simply to grow quickly, but to grow well.
And if you enjoy it, follow Made in Essex and share it with someone who’s building something bold.
About Made in Essex
Produced by Attract & Engage, Made in Essex shines a light on the county’s most ambitious business leaders. Each episode is hosted by our co-founder, Jill Willis, and shares candid conversations that celebrate resilience, leadership and growth – the kind that doesn’t always make headlines, but should.
🎧 New episodes drop monthly. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Keep your eyes peeled for more episodes as Jill invites the county’s most tenacious and successful business leaders to lift the bonnet on their entrepreneurial stories.
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