How entrepreneur Christina Melling aims to become a consumer champion for the North of England

She is the co-founder and CEO of Stipendium, an online platform which aims to provide all the professional tools required to tackle major life events in the most efficient way possible.

"I was employed at another business and had simply hit a glass ceiling,’’ she recalled. “I realised that nobody had streamlined the house buying process. We wanted to make everything slicker for first time buyers and also support financial education.”

After spending 15 years working in professional services, Ms Melling discovered she had a passion for enterprise and financial education. She also has a gift for explaining complex financial matters in plain English.

"I originally worked in law in commercial litigation and then went into the world of wealth management at a firm based in Alderley Edge,’’ she recalled. “I had started writing articles for FTAdviser and I thought, 'People are listening to what I have to say, what better time to set up our own business?

"I wanted to make a change. I knew there was something that could be done about changing the house buying journey.”

Her own experiences of buying property had provided her with an insight into the frustrations faced by anyone who wants to find a place of their own.

"I had been through this journey myself and I felt it was bizarre that it was so clunky,’’ she said.

"Why was it so archaic? I felt there was a massive gap in the market. It was all about streamlining something that hadn't been streamlined before.”

In 2021, she co-founded Stipendium, which has a suite of products that make it easier to cope with life-changing decisions such as buying a house, moving, investing and writing a will.

She added: "There are three ways to access Stipendium’s house-buying journey; buy it for yourself, gift it, and reward it by way of employee benefit. We wanted, for example, to make a gift card for the house buying journey.”

"In the last 12 months, the economy has been flat and getting external investment hasn't been the easiest for anyone. We launched Stipendium in October 2021 and in April last year we launched our first product. It's been a whirlwind year.

"The property market has been tumultuous but there has been more interest in the last month. The market was affected by the impact of Liz Truss's mini-budget.”

The ill-judged mini-budget cast a cloud over the sector. This week, for example, the house builder Redrow warned that the market will remain tough in 2023 despite signs of a tentative recovery. The group saw house reservations tumble and a raft of cancellations last autumn after mortgage rates soared in the wake of the mini-budget market turmoil and amid warnings of a deep recession.

Ms Melling, however, is determined to keep growing her business in the face of tough economic headwinds.

"I feel I've learned more in the last 12 months, than I learned in the previous 12 years,’’ she said: “I've kept a diary over the last year which has been turned into a book. One of the big lessons I've learned is that you need to be careful who you pick to be your mentor.”

In many cases, the most informed opinions can be provided by people who have witnessed previous economic upheavals.

"People have different perspectives as they grow older,’’ she said. “You tend to get lot more wisdom from older people. I always enjoy talking to people who have been in this space for a long time.

"You have to be careful who you take advice from and make sure they have your best interests at heart. You also have to learn to say 'no'.”

Stipendium has a vast potential market to tap into.

"There are 400,000 first time buyers a year in the UK,’’ said Ms Melling. “We want just one per cent of that market. The goal is to help 12,000 first-time buyers a year. Employee benefit platforms are massively competitive. It's difficult to understand what the unique selling points are for many of them. You need to provide more value to the end user. “We'd like to be the number one place for first time buyers and I would like to become the 'Martin Lewis' of the north.”

She is concerned about the large number of people who put off writing a will until it is too late.

"Half the population don't have a will and we really need to educate people about the value of having a will. This inspired our innovative digital will-writing journey,’’ she said.

"In the long term, I would like to see Stipendium become the Rightmove of house buying. We want to attract generations of house buyers. We already have established a couple of partners in Yorkshire, including a property developer. It's a completely new route to market, bolting a proposition on to other areas.”

Ms Melling, who was recently listed among the Telegraph NatWest Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch, is encouraging other women to take the plunge and set up their own business.

"I've been to Lancaster and Manchester universities and talked about what it means to start a business. I'm also members of business networks that promote the important role women can play in technology. I certainly didn't have the confidence I have now 12 months ago. My advice to anyone thinking of setting up their own business is to know your market, surround yourself with people you can trust, and perfect the art of pitching your business in 60 seconds. Life is always a risk but the rewards can be great."