Most businesses begin with a market opportunity.
Amy Cunningham began with a feeling.
The feeling that music — when taught in the right environment — does something to a child that very little else can. It builds confidence. It shifts how they see themselves. It stays with them.
That belief, and a Prince’s Trust loan, was enough to get started.
In 2012, Amy launched The Strings Club with six children at a single holiday camp. She was a violin teacher with a vision, not a business plan. Fourteen years later, that first camp has grown into a national organisation running across 20 locations in the UK, reaching nearly half a million children.
That kind of growth does not happen by accident.
The impact of her work speaks for itself:
- Grew The Strings Club from a single camp to a national organisation in 14 years
- Projected revenue growth — a 118% increase
- Expanding into a new location every quarter
- Nearly half a million children reached across the UK
- Named Businesswoman of the Year at the Birmingham Awards and Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards
But what makes Amy’s story genuinely remarkable is not the scale.
It is the care with which she got there.
Built for Children. Built for Families. Built to Last.
Amy was not trying to build a national brand at the start. She was trying to solve a real problem.
School holidays, for many families, meant more screen time and fewer meaningful experiences. Quality music education was out of reach for too many children. Amy created something that changed both.
The Strings Club runs holiday camps for children aged 4 to 11, mixing music with creative activities and outdoor play. The focus has never shifted: make every child feel safe, supported and genuinely excited to learn.
Parents noticed. Schools noticed. Word spread. Growth followed.
And as the business grew, Amy made choices that said everything about the kind of leader she is. She offers free childcare for mothers working at Head Office and at camps. Flexible working is standard. Women hold senior roles throughout the organisation. Progression is supported, not left to chance.
It is not a statement about empowerment. It is empowerment, made practical.
The Part That Matters Most
Like many female founders, Amy has navigated under-funding and a sector that shifts constantly. There have been hard decisions and uncertain moments.
But the direction never changed.
Parents regularly share that their children leave camp happier and more confident. Teachers see the difference. That kind of impact travels further than any revenue figure
Amy Cunningham is our 2025 Novi Female Entrepreneur of the Year not because she built something big.
But because she built something that genuinely matters — and never lost sight of why she started.
From six children in a single camp to hundreds of thousands across the UK, Amy has built more than a business.
She has built confidence, opportunity and joy into the school holidays of families nationwide.
And that is absolutely worth celebrating.
