Josh Ford is a visionary entrepreneur behind Swingers, Gameshow Studios, and more – in the entertainment industry. He spots opportunities, leads with innovative ideas and assembles talented teams to bring his visions to life.
2000 Rough Hill
With a creative eye for opportunity, Josh started his first events business while at university in Manchester. Rough Hill Productions disrupted the student social scene with its high-quality, large-scale events, quickly becoming one of the most successful student event companies in the UK. Operating events in over 10 cities and selling over 500,000 tickets a year. Josh exited the business in 2007.
2006 Winterwell Festival
After selling Rough Hill to his then business partners, Josh went on to create Winterwell Festival – a small boutique music and arts festival in the Gloucestershire countryside which ran for 8 years.
Swingers – The Crazy golf Bar
In 2014, Josh was the creative mind behind the original Swingers Pop-up Venue. Swingers was a catalyst for the ‘Competitive Socialising Industry’ and remains a market leader. Josh successfully exited in 2018.
Time Run – Escape
In 2015, Josh co-founded Time Run, a ground-breaking immersive team game that took the escape room market by storm. Time Run quickly became a market leader and established a new benchmark of quality for the industry, consistently receiving 5-star customer ratings.
Sherlock: The Game is Now
In 2018, Josh co-founded Sherlock: The Game is Now – The Official BBC Sherlock Live Experience, a 90-minute immersive escape game. It was the first escape room business to license a top-tier TV IP. The experience quickly became the immersive game of its time with countless 5-star reviews and awards, receiving high praise from The Guardian, branding it ‘The future of entertainment.’
Gameshow Studios
In 2023, Josh embarked on his latest project, Gameshow Studios.
