Meet Shannon Kate Murray - Founder, Editor & Mentor
As seen in Pepper Your Talk, Over the Edge Magazine, the Clacton & Frinton Gazette, and Blatella Film’s documentary on the Essex Girl stereotype.
The Story Behind High Flying Design
I’m Shannon Kate Murray - founder and editor of High Flying Design, an independent women’s business magazine and growth platform for ambitious-but-human female founders.
The dictionary calls a high-flyer “a person expected to achieve a lot.” But for women like us, that definition has never been the full story. Too often, we’ve been underestimated - for being too quiet, too young, too “different.” I grew up in Essex, outside the London bubble, where ambition wasn’t always nurtured and stereotypes still held strong.
I built HFD to prove that success doesn’t have to mean speed, status, or sacrifice. True high-flyers aren’t racing. We’re building businesses and lives we don’t want to escape from - ambitious without burning out, confident without comparison, and willing to trust our own pace.
MY PATH ᝰ SO FAR
Fashion Journalism
I earned a First-Class degree at the University for the Creative Arts, where I first fell in love with storytelling.
Agency Leadership
I rose from Marketing Executive to Assistant Director at a women-led thought leadership agency, working with both tech startups and global enterprises. That’s where I learned the power of women supporting women - and how strategy, content, and operations fuel real growth.
Entrepreneurship
I launched High Flying Design in 2020 as a boutique web design studio (earning a StartUp Awards finalist spot), and in 2025, I pivoted it into the magazine (ranked #7 in FeedSpot’s Top 50 Women’s Magazines) and platform it is today.
Along the way, I’ve worked with everyone from beauty entrepreneurs and small independents to tech CEOs and consultants - helping them clarify, design, and grow businesses that feel as good behind the scenes as they look on the outside.
How we can work together
Beyond the magazine, I work 1:1 with founders who want more clarity, confidence, and growth. Think of me as your co-pilot: part strategist, part mentor, always in your corner.
1:1 services:
The Flight Plan ✈️ (+ Optional Ongoing Mentoring)
Editorial & Thought Leadership Consulting
Squarespace & Shopify Web Design
Not sure what you need? Fill in the form below and we’ll book a quick call to map your options.
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“Shannon cut through the noise and reconnected me to the work that truly fulfils me. Growth should feel exciting, not exhausting - and she made it feel that way.” — Fay Harris, Founder, Socialuxe UK
“I finally have a structure that works with my brain. I left excited, clear, and actually moving again.” — Mary-Ann Moloku, The Soul Manifesto
“Always two steps ahead - a true self-starter who lifts everyone around her and helps businesses grow.” — Tamara Sword, Agency Founder & former CMO
“Shannon understood my vision and guided what would actually convert. I’d highly recommend her.” — Naomi Sadé, Naomi Sadé London
Brand Partnerships & Press opps
We collaborate with brands and organisations that want to reach and support ambitious female founders.
Opportunities include sponsored content & advertorials, brand partnerships and affiliate features, event and product coverage, and founder-focused campaigns. I’m also available for podcasts, panels, and other speaking engagements on women’s entrepreneurship, confidence, and rewriting success.
PRs & brands: If you’d like to pitch a collaboration, invite me to a press event/trip, or send products/packages for consideration, please get in touch via email.
At the heart of it all is a simple mission:
to elevate women.
Right now, less than 1 in 3 UK entrepreneurs is female, and only 2% of venture funding goes to women-led businesses. Yet women-led companies have higher five-year survival rates - and studies show that closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship could add £250 billion to the UK economy. HFD exists to help shift those numbers. By sharing real stories, practical strategies, and personalised mentorship, we’re building a community where women don’t just start - they sustain, scale, and succeed on their own terms.
And our impact doesn’t stop here. HFD reinvests in visibility and belief-building for the next generation, supporting Kurandza’s work in girls’ education and spotlighting young Future Flyers chasing their own big dreams.
Because when women rise, we all rise.