Photo by Collection 26
Photo by Joe Blackman on Joe Blackman website

Joe Blackman

Chairman

Collection 26

POSITION

Chairman

COMPANY

Collection 26

COUNTRY

United Kingdom

Website

collection26.com

SCENE

Lifestyle & Culture

SOCIAL

LinkedIn

What makes Joe Blackman a Global Shaker?

Many entrepreneurs have gone on to achieve immense fortune after dropping out of University: Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Virgin’s Richard Branson all come as shining examples of what can be achieved after a bold decision. Young British entrepreneur Joe Blackman may have a way to go to catch up with such behemoths, but is certainly going the right way about getting there.

He was the founder of Collection 26, a private events company that organised events for celebrities including 50 Cent, The Killers and even royal families. The company was recently sold to an international events company.

Blackman’s entrepreneurial career began after abandoning a course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama early to fill a vacancy at the 2006 Asian games in Qatar. Blackman had previously amassed experience as Vice President in charge of events at his Students’ Union, taking the union’s bar back in-house, and had grown in experiences assisting his mother with an annual storytelling festival in St. Donat, Wales.

The self-taught events guru taught himself web design, marketing and event accounting in a bid to get his business off the ground, supported with £17,000 from family and friends. At the start of the financial crisis shifted away from the declining corporate market towards private parties, which were known to pay better. At its height, his firm generated an annual turnover of over £3 million.

Last updated: May 23, 2019