Owned and managed by a 20-year-old, an independent cafe in Twickenham has been named a finalist in the 2026 UK Small Business Awards.
Sam Gulati, the youngest person nominated, opened Twisted Ivy in December 2025 and is now on the verge of winning a national business award, with the grand ceremony taking place in Birmingham on 19 December.
Sam, who is half Indian and half Ukrainian, said they are incredibly proud and happy with the nomination. He further added that he was contacted by the Small Business Awards committee as they are the highest rated cafe in Twickenham on Google.
Entrepreneurial journey
Sam said he did not enjoy studying as much and had always been inclined towards business, particularly the idea of opening a cafe. That passion eventually inspired him to take the plunge.
He said: “I have had a lot of support from my family. Everyone in my family is in business. I would see my dad working every day being his own boss and I liked that. I learnt a lot from him.
“It is always a risk in business and I took that risk.”
Born and raised in London, the young entrepreneur said the biggest challenge he faced was waking up early in the morning.
“There is a challenge every day as a cafe owner. You learn daily on this job by overcoming an issue but my biggest challenge would be waking up early,” he said.
Running a cafe at just 20
At the age of 20, Sam is managing a team of people, all of whom are older than him. He said: “The biggest task is overseeing the team around you. Everyone has a different role in our team and the real challenge is to find the right balance.”
Speaking about the one piece of advice he would give himself eight months ago, before opening the cafe, he said it would be to do things quickly.
“I like to do things quickly. Others might think it is like rushing into things, but I believe the quicker you get things done, the quicker you get the ball rolling,” he added.
Inside a typical day at Twisted Ivy
The cafe, located at 51 King Street, Twickenham is open from 8am to 4.30pm every day.
Sam said there is a morning takeaway rush until about 9am, and then it slows down a bit. The busiest time for the cafe is from 10am to 2pm because of the brunch rush. “Now that school has started, we are seeing a lot of school kids buying pastries,” he said.
Sam is eyeing a couple more locations for the highly rated cafe over the next five years.
He said: “I hope, in the five-year timeline, I can get a system running where I don’t have to be at the location physically, everything to be run smoothly without me actually having to be here.”
‘Take the risk’
Sam urged young people not to be afraid of taking the same risk he did when starting a business.
He said the main problem with the younger generation is that they are afraid of taking risks.
“I understand why,” Sam said. “Probably there are financial problems and sometimes there is less knowledge, but I would say just take the risk like me. I didn’t know what I was doing, but as I said, you learn from your mistakes, so I reiterate, take the risk because without the risk there is no reward.”
Featured image credit: Swarali Bodas
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