The Gratitude Engine Entrepreneur Mark White believes thankfulness isn't just a mindset - it's a business model. His ventures are proving it.

Gratitude isn't the first word that comes to mind when people talk about start-ups. But for Mark White, it's more than a mindset - it's the engine behind everything he builds. After over two decades of sobriety, White has channelled his lived experience into ventures that prioritise wellbeing over burnout, and connection over competition. Through The Grateful Mile and Daily Five, he's proving that small, consistent acts - like a moment of reflection or a mile dedicated to someone you love - can lead to real, lasting change. Forget the usual start-up sprint. Mark White's journey is about the long game, where small, intentional actions create ripples far beyond the bottom line. Entrepreneur UK finds out more...

Entrepreneurship can be a thankless journey, with rewards often showing up after the hard work has been done. As someone who has incorporated gratitude into the very fabric of your entrepreneurial ventures, how has it helped you not just personally, but in business too?
Gratitude has been a huge anchor in my personal life which organically has shown up and, in my work, it has opened my mind up in so many ways, been a gateway to so much. My entrepreneurial spirit I believe was sparked through the power of gratitude. Gratitude brings me back to the present. It allows me to celebrate progress rather than perfection, and that shift has been transformative. It builds resilience when things get tough, lets the focus be on how far we have come and not how far we need to go, it humbles me and allows me to meet things halfway. Gratitude isn't just a mindset - it's a frequency around me all the time, even when the process of life gets heavy, I can tap into the energy of gratitude to get a different perspective, see things through a different lens which allows me to keep going, keep trusting and keep showing up the best I can.

Talk to us about the core vision behind both The Grateful Mile and Daily Five, who their target markets are, and where/how they operate.
The Grateful Mile is about weaving gratitude into movement. The vision is simple but powerful: imagine if every running event worldwide - from 5Ks to ultramarathons - included one mile dedicated to gratitude. It transforms the experience for the runner, their community, and the person they dedicate that mile to. Daily Five grew out of the same philosophy. Creating a space as often as possible to be present, appreciative, selfless, giving us an opportunity to step back, take some time to give us the chance to navigate life and all it brings day to day. Daily Five is a digital platform built on the framework of MOVEMENT, CONNECTION, REFLECTION - five-minute guided sessions designed to help people build positive daily habits, try new things and support them exactly where they are in life. No matter how busy they are, or what's going on, 5 mins can be life changing. Our target markets are broad: individuals looking to improve wellbeing, corporates wanting to support staff, schools, prisons, and even healthcare settings. We want to become the worlds go-to brand for bite size daily wellbeing, creating a more ACTIVE, CONNECTED and SELF-AWARE world which is a better world for all and to lead a global movement that empowers people to take just 5 minutes a day to MOVE, CONNECT and REFLECT, proving small DAILY actions lead to lasting change Both ventures are designed to be scalable, low barrier to entry, human, and impactful.

The wellness industry is inundated with misinformation, particularly due to the role of social media "experts". How do you maintain transparency and integrity within your businesses in such a landscape?
As a founder, I take my work very seriously, it's rooted in realism and lived experience. For us, transparency also starts with who we collaborate with. Every practitioner we bring into Daily Five is vetted not just for expertise but for integrity. We ground our sessions in evidence-based practices while keeping them accessible. We're also honest about what we're not: we don't promise overnight transformation or quick fixes. Instead, we encourage consistency, curiosity, and small steps that compound into real change. By staying true to that, we've built trust in a space that can often feel noisy and confusing. We are not here to take over, we are here to take part, we don't know it all, we don't have all the answers but we have our very powerful MOVE, CONNECT, REFLECT framework to support, guide, educate and inspire the change needed, but ultimately it doesn't come from us, it comes from those that invest in themselves and Daily Five to take that first step, make the changes, and all the various ways of moving the body and mind on the Daily Five platform have been carefully put together to create a unique experience. Life can be hard, we can't dress it up but we have a way of guiding you through it.

While measuring another person's wellbeing doesn't have one standardized approach, what are some of the metrics you adopt to measure community members' optimism, wellness, etc.?
At Daily Five, the ultimate goal is to encourage the community to MOVE, CONNECT and REFLECT daily, that where true transformation happens. We track engagement, consistency, and completion rates of sessions. Future functionality will invite the community to reflect - sharing daily gratitude, journaling, or giving us feedback on how they feel before and after sessions for example. With The Grateful Mile, the feedback often comes in stories: runners dedicating miles to loved ones, communities coming together, the ripple effect of those postcards of gratitude. These stories, alongside data, show us whether we're making a meaningful difference.

In over two decades of sobriety, and concurrently becoming an entrepreneur, how have your views on what gratitude means changed (if at all)?
At 18, when I went into rehab, gratitude wasn't even in my vocabulary, then it became a survival tool. It gave me perspective, I felt hopeless, uninspired and lost but gratitude pulled me through, allowed me to focus on what I had and not what I didn't have, what could be done and not what I couldn't do, it was my first step and when life felt overwhelming I was consistent with my gratitude practice which has served me well. Over 23 years later, as an entrepreneur and someone who has built communities around gratitude, my understanding has deepened. Gratitude is no longer just about survival - it's about expansion. It's about finding joy in the small moments, building meaningful relationships, and using my work as a way to bring hope to others. Gratitude has evolved from being personal to becoming the very DNA of my ventures.

From a purely business perspective, how do you keep your social impact businesses afloat (i.e. have you bootstrapped them, do you have grassroots fundraising, etc.)?
In the early days, I bootstrapped much of the work. Community support has always been central - collaborations, and partnerships helped us build momentum. Now, with Daily Five, we're building a sustainable model that blends direct-to-consumer subscriptions with corporate packages, while also opening up to investment. The key has been staying creative - aligning impact with commercial models that allow us to scale without losing our purpose. It's been very tough, a lot of sacrifice but I have ultimately always believed deep down that I am on the right path and things will work out, 10 years to become an overnight success springs to mind! I am proud of what's been achieved so far with not a lot at all, always doing what I could with what I had, now its time to take things to new heights!

What sort of a legacy do you hope both/either of your businesses can achieve in the long run? How does that thought process set things up for future plans – both for yourself as an entrepreneur and for both brands?
The legacy I hope for is simple: Be the best father I can be and not let my daughters down, that gratitude and five minutes of positive action become part of daily life for millions of people worldwide. If The Grateful Mile becomes a universal practice in running events, and Daily Five becomes a go-to platform for accessible wellbeing, then we've shifted culture. For me personally, it's about showing that purpose-driven business can be both impactful and commercially sustainable. That sets the stage for the future - building teams, expanding globally, and leaving behind frameworks that outlast me.