Lee Biggins
Founder and CEO of CV-Library (www.cv-library.co.uk)
Lee Biggins is the founder and CEO of CV-Library, the UK's leading independent job site. Lee has always been an entrepreneur at heart, and even from an early age, his entrepreneurial spirit shone through.
Growing up in Fleet, Hampshire meant that Lee was just a short walk away from the Basingstoke Canal, and on hot days he would sell cold cans of coke to fishermen. This drive led to Lee running his own car washing empire as a teenager, and ultimately carried through to the developmental days of CV-Library.
Where it all began
The site, founded in 2000, came as a response to Lee's identification of a market niche. Having left school and college with some qualifications, he went on to join his father's carpet fitting business as an apprentice. Lee himself admits that even from a young age, he knew he wanted to run his own company. So, he decided to leave the family firm and go it alone.
As he embarked upon his job search, he became increasingly frustrated at the process and quickly saw the need for an easy-to- use online job board, which would benefit both job hunters and recruiters; so, he decided to create it himself. Harnessing the dot com boom, Lee took advantage of the fact that the internet was still up and coming, and that there was a huge amount of potential for his business idea. So, he spent £849 on a computer and an internet how-to guide, enrolled himself onto a local IT literacy course, and went on to make his dream a reality.
A working partnership
Partnering with Brian Wakem, an old friend who had previously created a website for car enthusiasts, they secured a £9k bank loan, and went on to build the CV-Library website. It was soon agreed that Brian would look after the technical aspects of the business, while Lee would focus on the marketing and leadership. By enlisting the help of friends and family to help with hands-on marketing strategies, such as local flyer distribution, Lee lifted the business off the ground and relentlessly pushed the CV-Library brand to the forefront of the recruitment industry. His raw passion and continued desire to connect job hunters and recruiters with the best opportunities is what drives the business' success today; constantly fuelling new product offerings and taking the company to new heights.
His raw passion and continued desire to connect job hunters and recruiters with the best opportunities is what drives the business' success today.
In its early years, CV-Library was based in a local barn, where Lee and Brian worked tirelessly to get their venture up and running. It was in this very barn that the CV-Library mascot was born; Barney the Owl! Featuring on CV-Library artwork across the UK, Barney was the barn's live-in owl, keeping Lee and Brian company as they worked late into the night during the business' early years. Find out more about Barney here.
Modern day
Fast-forward to today and CV-Library is one of the UK's largest online job sites, attracting over 4.3 million job seekers every month and holding one the nation's largest database of over 15 million CVs.
In 2013, Lee completed an internal buyout, holding 100% of the shares. Even now he is still extremely hands-on and involved in the day to day running of the business and is regularly in the office putting his ideas into action. His hard work and passion has led to phenomenal results, with the business continuing to growing consistently year-on-year.
Under Lee's guidance, the CV-Library team is expanding rapidly and now employs over 230 members of staff; the days of two men operating out of a barn is now a thing of the past. The business has kept its headquarters in Lee's hometown of Fleet, and spreads across two large office buildings in the Waterfront Business Park. The brand has grown exceptionally fast; 2016 saw the opening of regional offices in London, Manchester and Birmingham, with the business also setting up shop in Glasgow in 2018. Alongside this, CV-Library.ie was launched in Ireland in 2017.
In 2015, Lee took the first steps towards making CV-Library a truly global brand, as he launched the US-based sister site, Resume-Library. Despite entering a more mature market in the US, Lee's ambition is unwavering as he embarks upon global domination for the company, and so far, the initial results are stronger than expected.
How it was achieved
Lee puts the reason for his success down to working incredibly hard, loving what he does and a strong desire to take the business to new heights. Being the sole owner, he can easily make quick decisions, and he re-invests a significant amount to ensure our aggressive growth targets are achieved. Lee and his company have received over 130 award wins and nominations to date, including 'CEO of the Year' and 'Best Job Board'. CV-Library was also ranked in the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 for two consecutive years, recognising its position as one of the top private companies with the fastest growing profits in the UK.
Lee works hard to give back to his local community and has previously held coaching sessions with local secondary schools, offering 1-on-1 mock interviews and career advice to school leavers and students. He also offers lunch presentations to local businesses, sharing insights and useful feedback from his own entrepreneurial experiences, in addition to offering support and guidance to entrepreneurs in the local community.
In his free time, Lee is a keen traveller and enjoys spending time abroad; he is a firm believer in the importance of experiencing different cultures, and he aims to see at least one new place each year.
Contact Our Marketing Team
For any media enquiries, photos for press, high resolution logos or to speak to someone in our public relations department contact us on 01252 810995
