Rachel Elnaugh (born 12 December 1964) is a British entrepreneur who founded the UK gift company
Red Letter Days
Red Letter Days is a UK company which was an early adopter of the concept of giving experience day vouchers as gifts and corporate rewards, based in Borehamwood in the offices of its parent company, Buyagift.
The company is now owned by French ...
. She was one of the investors participating in the first two series of
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...
's TV show ''
Dragons' Den''.
Early life
When she was younger she lived above her father's electrical shop, 'Elnaugh and Son' in Chelmsford. Rachel attended
Chelmsford County High School for Girls, a Grammar School in Essex. She originally wanted to take
art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...
, but she was rejected by five universities, and she climbed the corporate ladder from being an office junior in a local firm of accountants to become a qualified tax consultant with
Arthur Andersen.
Career
Red Letter Days
In 1989, Elnaugh founded
Red Letter Days
Red Letter Days is a UK company which was an early adopter of the concept of giving experience day vouchers as gifts and corporate rewards, based in Borehamwood in the offices of its parent company, Buyagift.
The company is now owned by French ...
, one of the first UK companies to sell
experiential gifts, such as motor racing days, hot air ballooning and health spa days.
[ (link via ]Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...
) The idea to set up Red Letter Days came from purchasing tickets to a cricket match for her father as a gift.
The company grew to an £18 million annual turnover and led to Elnaugh being a 2001/2 finalist in the