Biography of Jane

Jane is a director of On Tap Networks – a software development company. She also runs Space Coworking in Rye and the cocktail bar and venue, the Brewery Yard Club. In addition to that she is currently (2023) Chair of the Local Rye & District Chamber of Commerce.

Jane and her husband set up On Tap Networks, a development company for merchants who trade online, in 2006. Over time her role has reduced at On Tap and since Covid, she has spent more time on Space Coworking and the Brewery Yard Club and is more active locally with business. 

Jane left school at sixteen and worked in a warehouse in West London packing mattress toppers. This was in the mid 80’s. She and her only female colleague worked harder than the men who told them to slow down! They were paid piece work.

Her next job in the mid 80s was in a film studio as a receptionist. She also had other temp jobs. In 1986 she joined the Racing Post, an independent national daily newspaper, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makoum, the ruler of Dubai. Jane worked in the circulation department, and ensured the paper was delivered on time to newsagents and outlets around the world. One day, there was a problem getting the paper out to Canada, while the Sheikh was at the 1996 Breeder’s Cup in Woodbine. Jane offered to fly out to Canada herself with a bundle of the papers and she delivered it to the VIP lounge. It was a very male dominated industry but Jane used her initiative to try and get ahead although she says she never got a ‘top job’ there.

After the Racing Post was sold and she was let go, Jane worked in her husband’s on-line business. She also had children. While the children were small she worked as a Domestic Energy Assessor and then for a relocation company who had a contract with Pfizer in Sandwich, Kent, finding housing for any newly arrived staff, and school places for their children. She then came back into her husband’s business On Tap as it was growing, working in the sales and marketing side. 

Jane was interviewed by a student from Rye College. Jane says she was extremely shy but when she worked in a shop in Hounslow as part of her work-experience, she says she learned to let go of that shyness ‘the biggest thing was getting confidence…I had to deal with money. I had to be responsible.’ 

Audio of interview with Jane