Jason Perkins Is Reimagining Workplace Wellness Through Perkstation

How the Starting Up, Starting Out™ programme helped one Southwark founder turn a mountain of ideas into a structured, credible and growing business.

Jason Perkins could see the opportunity clearly.

Across offices, hospitals, schools, construction sites and other workplaces, employees were often left with the same limited choices: unhealthy snacks, outdated vending machines or an expensive and time-consuming trip to the nearest shop. Jason believed workplace refreshments could be healthier, more convenient and far more responsive to what people actually wanted.

That belief became Perkstation, a smart vending business created to improve workplace wellness through contactless payments, tailored product selections and technology-enabled inventory management.

But before joining Starting Up, Starting Out™ with Southwark LAP, Jason was struggling to turn everything he knew into a business that decision-makers could confidently buy from.

“I wasn’t stuck because I lacked ambition. I was stuck because I didn’t have the right support system to turn that ambition into action.”

From extensive research to focused action

Jason had spent months researching the smart vending industry. He understood the technology, could identify gaps in the London market and knew which workplaces were being poorly served.

What he did not yet have was the infrastructure around the idea.

As a solo founder, he was carrying everything himself. He needed stronger professional materials, clearer systems and greater confidence when approaching corporate buyers. He was also trying to work out how to move from being the person responsible for every task to becoming the strategic leader of a growing company.

“I was exhausted from spinning my wheels,” he explains. “I was sitting on a mountain of ideas, but knowing and doing are two very different things.”

Jason joined the programme looking for practical support with leadership, business-to-business sales, financial management and operational scaling. He also wanted to build relationships with corporate decision-makers, suppliers, facilities management companies and other founders who understood the realities of growing a service-based business.

Having someone in his corner

The programme’s Critical Friend sessions became an important turning point.

For Jason, their value was not in receiving a ready-made formula. It was in having someone who could listen, challenge his thinking and ask the questions that would help him make better decisions.

“For the first time, I had someone in my corner who asked the right questions.”

One piece of advice was particularly powerful: Jason was encouraged to invest more intentionally in professional relationships, including arranging informal coffee meetings and dinners with people in and around his industry.

It shifted the way he thought about business development. Rather than treating growth as something that would come only from sending proposals or making cold approaches, he began recognising that trust, visibility and genuine relationships were also essential parts of entering institutional markets.

Building the credibility to enter the room

Jason also used the programme’s capacity-building grant to strengthen the foundations of Perkstation.

He invested in key food-safety qualifications, including Food Hygiene Level 2 and HACCP Level 3, alongside the wider compliance measures required to build confidence among facilities managers and procurement teams.

These were not simply administrative exercises. They changed the quality of the conversations Jason could have with potential clients.

“When I sit across from a procurement lead and explain that we are HACCP Level 3 certified, Enhanced DBS cleared and have £5 million in public liability insurance, the dynamic shifts completely,” he says.

The grant also allowed Jason to work with a freelancer or student based in Southwark. Bringing someone else into the business increased Perkstation’s visibility and helped Jason begin moving beyond the limitations of operating entirely alone.

“It might sound small, but when you are competing with companies that have been in the market for decades, building a team matters.”

Becoming a company, not only an idea

The most important result has not yet been a single contract or figure on a spreadsheet.

It is that Perkstation now feels like a company.

Jason has developed documented processes, a structured customer relationship management pipeline and tailored strategies for sectors including healthcare, education, property and construction. He now works against a 12-month execution plan with defined milestones and a clearer rhythm for outreach, content, pipeline management and performance reviews.

“I went from scribbling ideas in notebooks to running a proper operation.”

That structure has also changed Jason’s relationship with leadership.

Previously, he would agonise over decisions and look outside himself for validation. Through the programme, he learned to trust his judgement while building systems that made his decisions more consistent and informed.

He now follows a weekly operating rhythm covering outreach, CRM updates, content and key performance indicators. Instead of feeling consumed by the process, he can see how each activity contributes to the wider plan.

“I’ve gone from a founder who was overwhelmed to a leader who is quietly confident about what’s coming next.”

Support that understood the whole journey

Jason had taken part in business-support programmes before, but many felt generic.

They did not always reflect the realities facing a Black founder attempting to enter institutional procurement: the difficulty of gaining access to decision-makers, the pressure to establish credibility quickly and the challenge of navigating spaces in which there may be few existing relationships or points of connection.

For Jason, Starting Up, Starting Out™ felt different because he did not have to continually explain those underlying barriers.

“It was designed by people who get it.”

Being alongside other Black and Global Majority founders created a sense of community that was as important as the technical business support.

“There were people who understood those unspoken challenges without you having to explain them. It wasn’t just business support. It was community. And in entrepreneurship, community is everything.”

What comes next for Perkstation?

Jason’s immediate goal is to secure pilot sites across Southwark and the wider M25 area.

From there, he wants to build Perkstation into a leading workplace-wellness provider, installing smart vending machines across offices, schools, healthcare settings and workplaces where employees currently have limited access to quality food and drinks.

His broader vision includes creating jobs, working with Black-owned and local suppliers and improving access to healthier options in communities and workplaces that have historically been underserved.

For employers, the offer is designed to be simple: a convenient workplace benefit, delivered without a significant upfront cost. For employees, it means more choice, easier access and a visible indication that their everyday wellbeing matters.

The programme has given Jason stronger systems, professional credibility and a network of people who genuinely want to see the business succeed.

When asked to describe the experience in three words, his answer captures the journey perfectly: Belonging. Clarity. Momentum.