The island’s entrepreneurial community gathered at MannBenham’s new event space in Douglas for the latest event by networking group Startup Grind Isle of Man.

The guest was Harvey Lowe, Manx-born entrepreneur and co-founder and chief operating officer of Arcube — a fast-growing passenger intelligence platform and technology partner of Etihad Airways.

Interviewed by Startup Grind’s Katie Nicholson, Harvey shared his story of building a globally relevant tech business before even graduating from university.

Harvey grew up in the island attending Ballakermeen High School and first experimented with business as a teenager, selling products from the US throughout Europe. What began as a fun competition with a friend planted the seed for something bigger, and after selling this first business at 17, moved on to study in the UK.

At university, he joined a student-run venture capital society where he met his co-founder Prithveesh Reddy.

Their early projects - from carbon credit consultancy to NFC business cards - didn’t last long. But those false starts gave them the resilience to keep pushing until they landed on something that worked.

That ‘something’ came almost by accident. The pair cold-emailed thousands of businesses about emerging technologies like blockchain and AI. Most replies were rejections, but one stood out: Etihad Airways.

Etihad gave them a chance. Their first project let passengers skip loyalty tiers, earning the airline higher spend per customer. It worked and showed the young founders they had a real business on their hands.

As Harvey explained, Arcube didn’t become what it is today overnight. The business went through multiple pivots, refining its product to find a scalable model.

Arcube now provides airlines with a one-stop platform to sell extras like car hire, airport transfers, eSIMs, baggage protection, and more. With more than 6,000 suppliers integrated, the company helps airlines capture more value from each passenger, a market opportunity worth billions globally.

Perhaps the most inspiring part of Harvey’s journey is the fundraising. At only 21, he and his co-founder raised $1.5 million from a mix of venture capital firms and angel investors, across the UK and worldwide.

It wasn’t easy. Harvey was candid about the months of rejection (they received more than 120 ‘no's’ before they got their first ‘yes’), the learning curve of pitching and the importance of persistence.

He explained: ‘Investors don’t just back a product. They back founders.’

His advice to the room: keep refining your story, send regular updates, and never underestimate the power of persistence.

Harvey and his team now employ eight people and are focused on scaling Arcube to become the leading global platform for airline extras.

With airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet already proving the value of ancillary revenue, the opportunity is huge.

For the Isle of Man audience, the key takeaway was clear: world-class businesses can be built from here.

Harvey’s story is proof that with persistence, adaptability, and a willingness to take risks, entrepreneurs from the island can compete - and win - on the global stage.