Founding director and MD of Tradebox Stephen Bales has been selected by Sage to be part of a unique showcase of 50 military veterans from across the world to form the Sage Power 50.
How do you build a life after the battlefield? For many former service people, their advanced resilience, discipline, and drive is perfectly suited to the task of setting up a business from scratch. The Sage Power 50 is all about inspiring the next generation of military veterans to follow in their footsteps and become business leaders.
Inspired by the run up to this year’s Invictus Games in Sydney, Sage who are the Premier Partner believe that by establishing Sage Power 50, the stories told will reach, touch and inspire future veterans to seriously consider starting their own businesses.
Stephen Bales’ story began in 1987 when he joined the Royal Navy at the tender age of 16, achieving the rank of Leading Seaman (Radar), one of the youngest at 19 to achieve this rank. Utilising the skills of leadership, people management and analytical skills as a radar operator, Stephen was able to apply his knowledge and experience to his future positions.
In 2003 Stephen took the brave step to start his own business and launched Tradebox. The business provides order management, financial and stock control software for UK businesses selling online and is the market leader in integrating into Sage software.
“The first five years were the hardest. Creating and taking a product to market is slow and requires resilience and perseverance. These are two attributes I honed in the Royal Navy, digging deep on long shifts, working under intense pressure during drills and learning to be a consistent solid leader and member of a wider team.
Leaving the world of the military and entering civvy street and starting a business can be daunting but with careful planning and a healthy dose of bravery, it can be the very best decision you can make. It can involve a ton of hard work and sacrifice, but the rewards can be exceptional.”
– Stephen Bales, Leading Seaman (Radar) Royal Navy, Founding Director and MD of Tradebox
2 Responses
Fantastic photo of you Stephen. 🙂
Well Done Stephen,
The main attribute i took from being in the forces was the “Can-do” mentality.
Many a time, when i think i have it planned, someone used to come along with a whim of an idea and its all change.
No point trying to push water uphill, so you just get on with it.
Been very useful when digesting seller releases etc
SSgt Pearce (Ret)
Army
1983-2007