LDC Top 50 2026
Michael Linsky
Founder and Managing Director
Sensio Lighting Group
After a teacher wrote him off as “useless” as a teenager, Michael Linsky dropped out of school with no GCSEs and a burning passion to prove them wrong. “I am dyslexic,” he says. “My dad gave me £1,000 and told me to start something.” Sensio Lighting was born in 2000 and has evolved from an electrical wholesaler to a specialist design and development lighting company working with major retailers including John Lewis.
Six months ago, Michael launched sister company Bio-Labs to focus on biomedical engineering. “We’ve already filed 20 patents this year. This is a totally new category of lighting with the potential to have massive social impact.”
We’ve already filed 20 patents this year. This has the potential to be a £100+ million company with a massive social impact.”
Q&A
How have you got where you are today?
80 per cent of my life has been rejection, which has made me resilient. I won John Lewis as a customer by calling their buyer every month for eight years. I built this business from my dad’s garage, relentlessly pushing forward. In my thirties I recruited design graduates and engineers from local universities; we’ve now submitted 180 design rights and 20 patents across Sensio Lighting and Bio-Labs combined. If you buy a pantry from Howden’s today, it’s got our inbuilt lighting.
Where will future growth come from?
I want to change the world and I thrive when I’m uncomfortable. Selling a kitchen light is like selling a candle in terms of innovation. We’re moving into light health. Two million people in the UK and 12 million across Northern Europe experience seasonal affective disorder, and emerging research shows light can also address circadian rhythm disruption and sleep disorders. We’re now working with care homes on personalised therapeutic lighting. Studies show that appropriately timed light exposure can improve sleep quality, reduce nocturnal wandering, and alleviate agitation in residents with dementia. Better sleep patterns mean fewer falls and improved quality of life.
Is the UK a good place to grow business?
It’s hard to grow a business here because we lack the infrastructure and support you see in the US. I would love to create apprenticeships for people with low skills or special needs, but the costs are prohibitive. That’s a real shame, because the talent is there.
