Paul Smith wears so many hats that he’s often mistaken for Mr Benn. Or the Village People.

Paul is the programme manager and director of accelerator programme ignite100, as well as an award winning writer and radio producer, a travel writer, a failed rocket scientist and startup co-founder. He currently works on special projects for Springboard.

In March 2009 Paul created the Twitchhiker project, an attempt to travel to the opposite side of the world relying on the kindness and goodwill of strangers he met through Twitter. The project won a Shorty Award in March 2010 and was published as a book in August 2010. His second book, Tales from the Edge of America, will be published in February.