Vegan startup

OK. This is my favourite post in the history of my blog and I’ve only just started writing the thing.

A few days ago I was contacted by someone asking if I would help promote their vegan cookbook. Nothing strange or special about that as I can receive dozens of similar requests during any given week.

The request I got this week was unique and I had no choice but to write about the book.

Alex is a 14 year old high school student in the Sheffield area who has compiled a very sweet vegan recipe collection to sell as part of a youth business initiative launched by his local council.

This is part of what Alex wrote to me:

The book specifically looks at baking, with advice about egg substituting and converting cups to grams. It has both a sweet and savoury section. I wrote the book to try and help people who have no idea where to start when it comes to baking without eggs. I also have a ton of experience in cooking vegan and when we were at school we were supposed to come up with an idea and that was the first thing that came to me.

I also love writing and cooking so i thought it would be really fun.

The book is my entry in a business competition I am taking part in called The Big Challenge, set up by Sheffield Council as a way to teach teenagers to work together and develop skills outside of school.

Alex also wanted me to make sure my readers know he is a fat, gay vegan. I’m welling up down here in London.

How could I not give a platform to a young and proud FGV trying to make the world a better place for animals? I’m bowled over.

I think we should rally around Alex and help him make the best of The Big Challenge. We could even help him win a prize. Maybe the top prize which includes a fully-paid trip to a mystery location for his team.

I am asking my readers to help Alex sell an additional 20 copies of his vegan cookbook. That isn’t a huge number and I’m sure we can reach (or pass) that number without too much hassle. I will revise the quantity higher if we can reach that target. We did it! Readers of this blog have purchased almost 30 books from Alex, zooming past our total of 20 in no time. Let’s try and get to 40 copies sold to FGV readers. Come on, we can do it!

UPDATE: Alex has sold almost 60 copies of the book! Let’s try and get him up to 70. Send this blog post to as many people as possible.

UPDATE: Alex has sold more than 70 copies of his vegan cookbook! Let’s help him get to the next milestone of 80 copies. Tell everyone!

The book is only £7.50 (that includes £2.50 postage, packing and handling).

Click here to order online and then post a comment below this story so we can keep track of how many books we can help Alex shift. Let’s aim for a big number. We have until Friday 13th February, 2015 to help him.

Come on, let’s do it! A young FGV in Sheffield needs our encouragement, support and congratulations. Plus, how awesome would it be to see a vegan idea win this business challenge for high school students?!

Order the book now!

You can also follow the brand new Facebook page for Alex’s project. Click here.