THERE can be some hairy moments when you are launching a business, as Mike Scott knows only too well.

“At one point just after we started we had £200 in the bank with a week to pay everyone and no income. Those are the times where you wonder whether you’ve done the right thing.”

Mr Scott, a computer science graduate, started up specialist social media firm Hydrogen in 2016 after the digital agency he was working as a senior manager for announced it was closing.

“Everyone gets one big chance to make a go of it,” explains the 35-year-old, who started his career with Microsoft. “I had a pay-out behind me, I knew the sector inside out and there was never going to be a better opportunity.

“I knew didn’t want to just go and work for someone else again. But it was a massive risk, too. I had to sit down with my wife, Laura, and explain to her that I wanted to put every penny we had into this venture. Thankfully she had faith in me and told me to go for it.

“My son was only two at the time and I was doing lots of the childcare. In between his naps I was working on the launch of the business. On day one three of us – myself, my business partner Daniel Rae and colleague Ciara Macpherson – launched from my dining room table. It was exciting, but scary too.”

Almost two years later it’s clear the risk paid off, as Hydrogen has grown to become one of the biggest specialist social media marketing agencies in Scotland, with nine staff (and more on the way), a new office in London and a turnover approaching seven figures. Among its big clients is energy giant SSE, which initially approached the company to promote a single report, but was so impressed it later handed over the reins to its entire social media output.

“We are keen to grow and think the model we’ve built would work abroad,” says Falkirk-born Mr Scott.

“We’ve surpassed all our day-one ambitions – I never imagined we’d come this far in such a short time. But we want our growth to be sustained so we can deliver the best possible work to our clients.”

The Hamilton-based entrepreneur says one of the best things about being your own boss is not having to answer to shareholders. He adds that starting a business from scratch allows you to reconfigure the working environment for all.

“I don’t want people to be a slave to the business,” says Mr Scott. “I owe so much to my staff – I’m nothing without them. I got the business of the ground but they make it happen.

“We offer a generous holiday package, pensions from the word go and flexible working. I also cut half an hour off the working day. I have a son that I want to spend as much time as possible with.

“The other side of that coin, of course, is that you never really switch off. And sometimes I have to work from home late into the night. But it doesn’t feel like work when it’s your own business – it’s like your second baby.

“The pressure of having to make sure everyone’s mortgage gets paid is very real. But if you don’t worry about that as a boss you’re probably doing something wrong.”

As for the advice he’d give to others thinking of taking the plunge, Mr Scott says it’s important to be positive – but prepare yourself for a bumpy ride.

“If you think you have an opportunity, go for it,” he explains. "And if you don’t succeed this time, at least you’ll have learned something.

“Take things one day at a time. Plan for the worst-case scenario and hope for the best. You have to be adaptable and go with the flow, but be prepared to steer the ship through the storm...it’s never going to be calm sailing.”