Karen Wood left school to go on a gap year and travel. This turned into 10 years of travelling and working in over 100 countries, working as an overland expedition driver and tour manager. Getting fed up with living out of a backpack saw her return back to the UK, where she worked in a Business Development Role for medical companies before starting her own business. In 2009 she started a kitchen table business selling balance bikes before taking on the UK distribution for Strider Bikes. In 2019 she took the leap to manufacture a new range of kid’s bikes.