Biography

St Edmund's School

Canterbury

Won a double scholarship and became the school's first non-Caucasian head boy.

Durham University

Grey College

Studied Philosophy and graduated with a First-class degree in 2020.

Wine Scholar Guild

French Wine Scholar

Qualified as a French Wine Scholar and was reported as one of the highest-scoring candidates in the country.

Moved from Hong Kong to the UK

Mark moved to the UK with his younger brother and attended school in Canterbury.

St Edmund's School

He won a double scholarship and became the school's first non-Caucasian head boy.

Durham University

He studied Philosophy at Grey College, qualified as a French Wine Scholar and graduated with a First-class degree in 2020.

Early product research

He began developing an alcohol-free beer and worked with Professor Paul Chazot at Durham University on the early formulation.

Company incorporated

The company now called A1CO Ltd was incorporated as IMPOSSIBREW Limited in November 2020.

IMPOSSIBREW launched

The website launched in January. The company shipped its first production batch and won the Entrepreneurial Impact Award at Durham University’s Blueprint Startup Challenge.

Dragons' Den and first crowdfund

Mark pitched IMPOSSIBREW on Dragons' Den. The five Dragons did not invest. Later that year, the company completed its first Crowdcube campaign and Mark won Great British Food & Drink Entrepreneur of the Year.

Product and company awards

IMPOSSIBREW was named Food & Drink Startup of the Year. Its Lager and Hazy Pale Ale were recognised as England country winners at the World Beer Awards.

BBC coverage and Startups 100

BBC News interviewed Mark about the brewing process. Startups 100 placed IMPOSSIBREW at number 26 and shortlisted Mark for its Exceptional Founder Award.

Second crowdfund and repeat Startups 100 listing

The second Crowdcube campaign closed at £1,538,206 from 1,134 investors at a £12 million pre-money valuation. IMPOSSIBREW was included in the Startups 100 for a second year.

Ocado launch, third crowdfund and operating-model coverage

IMPOSSIBREW launched with Ocado and completed a third Crowdcube campaign. Public post-close figures differ by source, while Crowdcube records a £15 million pre-money valuation. Trade coverage also reported on the company’s four-person, automation-supported operating model.