Marianne C. Hughes

Founder · Advisor · Speaker

Build something successful without losing yourself—or the reason you started.

Marianne Hughes helps founders and organisations turn ambitious, meaningful ideas into clearer, commercially stronger businesses—without losing the people or purpose behind them.

Work with Marianne Invite Marianne to speak
Marianne Hughes standing in a white suit against a purple background
Build what is true.UK · Finland · Hong Kong

Selected recognition & media

ForbesVoguei-DTatler AsiaPictetSCMPShe Loves Tech
01

What I bring

Practical strategy for ambitious, human-centred businesses.

Experience on both sides of the founder story.

Marianne is not a conventional business coach. She is an experienced founder and operator who has raised investment, sold to global companies, built internationally and experienced both the opportunities and personal realities of entrepreneurship.

Today, Marianne supports and advises international founders as they validate their businesses, raise investment and build sustainable commercial momentum. Her Christian perspective can be brought into the work by request.

From a question to a company—and beyond.

“I didn’t begin with a startup idea.”

I began with a question: who made the things I was buying, and what was their life really like?

Age 18

Marianne started her first business while at university, beginning her entrepreneurial journey alongside her studies.

Marianne Hughes speaking with a garment worker beside an industrial sewing machine
Inside the supply chain
2013

After the Rana Plaza factory collapse, Marianne began researching and writing about the people hidden inside global supply chains. That question took her from the UK to Hong Kong, to sustainable-fashion NGO Redress, and eventually inside a garment factory in China—sewing waistbands into thousands of pairs of sweatpants.

2018

She founded Kno Global to connect workers, factories and global brands through continuous worker feedback. Marianne built internationally from top investors like Sequoia Capital, raised approximately $1 million and closed deals with Amazon, Target and more. The platform reached factory workers across India, China and Vietnam. She negotiated an exit.

Portrait of Marianne Hughes
Marianne Hughes
Now

The journey brought extraordinary opportunities—including Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, Tatler Gen.T and the global ADB Ventures Impact Award at She Loves Tech. It also reshaped Marianne’s view of sustainable success. Today, she uses both sides of that experience to help others build clearer, stronger businesses without losing themselves or their original conviction.

Founder & former CEOKno Global
Investment raisedTop VCs, angels & grants
Europe, USA, AsiaInternational company building
Forbes 30 Under 30Asia, 2022
02

Ways to work together

Clear thinking, grounded in real experience.

Bring the ambition.
Find the next true move.

02

Workshops

Practical, participatory sessions on pitching, storytelling, commercial clarity and sustainable founder performance.

Enquire about a workshop
03

Selective founder advisory

Ongoing strategic support for a limited number of founders who want experienced, commercially grounded thinking.

Focused or ongoing supportOne-off sessions · Monthly advisory · Online

The focused offer

Founder advisory

For founders who feel stuck, scattered or too close to their business to see the next move clearly.

Choose a focused one-off session or continuous, tailored support. Together, we’ll identify the real issue, make the decisions you have been postponing and establish your highest-priority actions.

Advisory call · 30 minutes€200
Advisory call · 60 minutes€350
Monthly founder advisory€1,500 / month
Fundraising advisoryFrom €2,500 / month

Advisory calls include

  • Focused time with Marianne
  • Clear priorities and practical next steps
  • Monthly advisory includes email support between calls and document review
  • Fundraising terms and scope are agreed separately

Prices exclude VAT. VAT will be added.

Choose an option and continueAll advisory enquiries are reviewed before a booking is confirmed.
04

Ethical sourcing advisory

Senior advice on ethical-sourcing strategy, worker voice, responsible purchasing and supplier relationships.

Discuss your sourcing needs
03

Speaking & workshops

Honest stories. Useful ideas. No theatre.

A commercial perspective, with people still in the frame.

Marianne has spoken internationally about entrepreneurship, ethical business, worker voice, women in leadership and building companies with purpose. Her talks move between factory floors, fundraising rooms and the realities of building an international startup.

Invite Marianne to speak Download speaker pack
Marianne Hughes in a white suit against a purple background
Marianne Hughes speaking on stage at Global Fashion Summit: Singapore Edition 2022
Global Fashion Summit · Singapore

Speaking example · Singapore, 2022

Data Scarcity: A Crisis of Measurement?

At Global Fashion Summit: Singapore Edition, Marianne joined Ellen Martin (Director of Impact and Insights, The Circulate Initiative), Ravi Thakran (Founder, Chairman and Managing Partner, Turmeric Capital) and Sean Cady (Vice President, Global Sustainability, Responsibility and Trade, VF Corporation) to examine the data gaps holding back credible progress.

Talks people can use

  • Beyond the audit: ethical manufacturing that works
  • Building a company without losing yourself
  • From purpose to commercial traction
  • Fundraising and pitching with conviction
  • An unhurried approach to ambitious work

Selected appearances

  • Global Fashion Summit, Singapore“Data Scarcity: A Crisis of Measurement?” panellist
  • AmCham Hong KongIgnite talk on courage and ethical manufacturing
  • European Chambers of CommerceWorker Engagement in Supply Chains
  • Hong Kong Green SummitSustainable business & technology
  • Raise the Bar podcastHumanising the supply chain
04

Selected stories

Read, listen and explore.

Stories from the work.

01Forbes

Marianne Hughes — Forbes profile

02Tatler Asia

On the obstacles faced as a young female entrepreneur

03Pictet

Humanising the fashion supply chain

04South China Morning Post

Culture, ethics and seeing supply chains differently

05Vogue

A truly global sustainability summit in Copenhagen

06i-D · Interview by Marianne Hughes

Suzy Menkes, then International Fashion Editor of Vogue, on millennials and sustainability

07Tatler Asia

A platform built to humanise fashion supply chains

More speaking and media links
05

Client perspective

Real results, in their words.

What it is like to work with Marianne.

Founder advisory

“After 1 week of working with Marianne I already felt more confident and got feedback from others that I was calm when pitching on stage. The guided visualisation really helped. I like the reminders to be grounded with God and that we do practice exercises together during the sessions which makes it interactive.”

Chris ZhangFounder · Emprove
Fundraising advisory

“Marianne's strategic insights into fundraising and exit planning were absolutely instrumental to our company's success. She combines deep financial expertise with a genuine, founder-first approach that makes her an invaluable advisor.”

Sidhant GuptaFounder · Clear Robotics

Start with the real question.

What are you trying to build—or change?

For speaking, workshops, selective founder advisory, fundraising support and ethical sourcing enquiries, share the context and the outcome you need.

SpeakingWorkshopsFounder advisoryFundraising supportEthical sourcing

Email: hello@mariannech.com

Every enquiry is personally reviewed within two business days. If accepted, we’ll contact you directly to confirm availability and next steps, including payment details.

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