The Philly & Friends founder on creating a children’s lifestyle brand to inspire her daughter

Vese Aghoghovbia Aladewolu: “You become what you can see”

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Vese Aghoghovbia is a 2022 Top 100 Female Entrepreneur to Watch by Natwest & Telegraph, the winner of the 2021 Consumer & Luxury Rising Star of the Year award by the Black British Business Awards. A Start-up ambassador for Start-Up Loans UK, a Small Business Inspirator for Holly & Co, winner of The Breakthrough Fund by The Break Social, and IFundWomen & Vista ReferHer UK Grant Winner. Vese has combined her strategic and problem-solving skills while unearthing her creativity to bring joy to the hearts of little ones, the Baby & Child industry, and the food & drinks industry.

She is an ex-Baby & Child Specialist at Notonthehighstreet. Also, a Chartered Engineer with over ten years of work experience in Strategy, Operations and Customer Experience working for FTSE-100 Engineering and Technology firms such as Accenture, National Grid and Bloomberg.

She has been involved in conversations about Entrepreneurship, Diversity in the Playroom, raising confident children through the power of representation, and parenting speaking on various platforms, including BBC and Norton Rose. Contributor to Parenting Magazines such as HuffPost Parent, Mother Mag, and Absolutely Mama Magazine.

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<h2>Vese Aghoghovbia, Founder of children's lifestyle and toy company, <a href="https://phillyandfriends.com">Philly &amp; Friends</a>, has been selected by Natwest &amp; The Telegraph as one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs to watch in the UK.&nbsp; &nbsp;</h2>Natwest, a big supporter of female entrepreneurship, came together with The Telegraph to select 100 women from an initial list of over 700 to celebrate women in business who push boundaries, redefine success and inspire others.&nbsp; This is a great achievement for Philly &amp; Friends, which was founded in 2019 as a response to Aghoghovbia's realisation of inequality in play following the birth of her daughter, whose nickname is Philly.&nbsp; Aghoghovbia is part of the first cohort of what Natwest and The Telegraph have referred to as the UK's brightest female founders.<blockquote>It's funny how I never set out to be an entrepreneur. I only wanted to write a 'love letter' to my little girl to tell her how precious she is. So I wrote ‘Who Do I See in the Mirror?’. I didn't realise at the time that I was writing a love letter to many children worldwide and creating a brand they would eventually fall in love with.</blockquote>

Children's lifestyle brand founder named in top 100 female entrepreneurs

<a href="https://www.phillyandfriends.com">Philly &amp; Friends</a> is introducing two empowering new collections, The Arie (Boy) Collection featuring <a href="https://phillyandfriends.com/products/arie-soft-doll-handmade-linen-39cm-phillys-bro">Arie Boy Doll</a> and The Dream Collection featuring Career <a href="https://phillyandfriends.com/collections/puzzles">Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles</a>. Following its recent win of a Silver Junior Design Award. The brand-new boy doll, Arie, is Philly's little bro. He is soft, cuddly and squeezable. The best part is his soft curly hair, but you be the judge. His outfit is removable to encourage imaginative and educational play. He stands tall at 38cm, is easy to grip and multi-textured with a mix of cotton and cotton linen. He's a great companion and offers endless play options. He's already made his debut being listed on <a href="https://www.mybaba.com/christmas-gifts-trending/">My Baba</a> and Sonshine Magazine Christmas gift guide for best-selling 2022 Christmas toys.&nbsp; Boys are often overlooked in the doll industry. However, there are many benefits to boys playing with dolls, from encouraging fine motor skills to developing the capacity to nurture— We are launching a #Boysneeddollstoo campaign to ask people to give the gift of empathy to our little boys through dolls.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/2045/files/9606159f14a5e0802fd50e66edcc9eb45b20119dc9bc8757116a368e34897321bd9345d2e8d7c51ca70a11e0884e02c8562867d5a9b7506aa0e9def9f618f600.jpeg"> <img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/2045/files/faa81ce72cfdac7ed7c879ed6e4df65421a2c7500501e403c683b88f52657ba9660face9df6068f03f95ed08214f0380d4addce23030ef850bf1860630dac920.png"> The Career Wooden Jigsaw puzzles are launching with three designs, A Doctor, An Astronaut and An artist. This wooden jigsaw puzzle set will allow your child to dream and explore various careers. It is perfect for encouraging pretend play, building problem-solving skills and enhancing memory and attention span. These puzzles are 404 x 304 mm and are handmade in the UK with 4mm FSC wood. Each puzzle comes in a reusable tin box for easy storage and transportation to protect the puzzle pieces.&nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/2045/files/5b3ad73f2bcf54351a7e2d98b26e81f0587f569c71ec019eb58298f7e59d0ae176eeb25778126aabed72945b242e40bd091dede5b9396ed5f92a7e5283aa6bde.png"></figure> The Dream Collection is designed to help our little ones do what it says - Dream! Philly &amp; Friends created the collection to show children they can be anything they want. The puzzles allow them to see, picture, and believe it. Children should be encouraged to explore various possibilities. The idea that you can only be one thing when you grow up is outdated. That's why they have created a collection with Philly representing a variety of professions they can pick from or collect all. We make toys that inspire them to dream big. Particularly for our little girls, we want them to know that no career is off limits. Join our #NoLimitsKids campaign<figure class="image"><img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/2045/files/b2b24bf72a6622dcb9408e7de7c52685654fa6edba8c231c7c3742a94a3512fc4012e74889d08d61c8f70dbf26b65f72e0e9a926924d5a7fbf8c2e2a3be43e41.jpeg"></figure><img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/newspage.com-staging/company/2045/files/9671eaae44ba82141ed1df0c47ce7d76390cdb1030ead67e7216f20c446e2f42fa2a99f3c80653f3e1657e9a6a996a93f722634a46de5fcb80950d7bddc47c26.jpeg"> Commenting on the launch of the collection is Vese Aghoghovbia, Philly &amp; Friends' Founder. "Our latest doll and puzzles are a great addition to the range, especially ahead of Christmas. I love the vibrant colours and the quality of the products. They both encourage learning through play, support development, and are open-ended, so offer many play options and make excellent gift ideas for the little ones in your life." Philly &amp; Friends is more than just a children's brand; it's purpose-led. Each product sold sponsors a book into the hands of an underprivileged child. So when you buy from them, you because a change maker.&nbsp; For retail enquiries, contact Jessie Wadham at wholesale@phillyandfriends.com. For press, contact press@phillyandfriends.com &nbsp;<blockquote>Our latest doll and puzzles are a great addition to the range, especially ahead of Christmas. I love the vibrant colours and the quality of the products. They both encourage learning through play, support development, and are open-ended, so offer many play options and make excellent gift ideas for the little ones in your life. Most importantly, they gently help break through limiting societal limitations over our little ones.</blockquote>

Award-winning Inclusive Lifestyle & Toy brand Philly & Friends launches new collections shattering gender stereotypes.

Vese Aghoghovbia is a 2022 Top 100 Female Entrepreneur to Watch by Natwest & Telegraph, the winner of the 2021 Consumer & Luxury Rising Star of the Year award by the Black British Business Awards. A Start-up ambassador for Start-Up Loans UK, a Small Business Inspirator for Holly & Co, winner of The Breakthrough Fund by The Break Social, and IFundWomen & Vista ReferHer UK Grant Winner. Vese has combined her strategic and problem-solving skills while unearthing her creativity to bring joy to the…

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