Customers of Manchester-based Wolf Network Security could be forgiven for thinking they’re seeing double.
That’s because the company’s co-founders are 28-year-old identical twins Lewis and Ryan Keeling, who can only be told apart by a slight difference in the glasses they wear.
Delegates at November’s Web Summit, in Lisbon, were literally scratching their heads in disbelief as the pair walked around the tech conference.
The twins are part of GM Business Growth Hub’s ASCEND Scale Up Programme, where other members of the cohort continue to struggle to tell the difference between them.
Lewis, who is six minutes older than his sibling, admitted: “We are very alike. We have the same interests. Nine times out of 10 we will pick up the same item in a shop. Often we will wear the same clothes without talking to each other!
“We studied the same subjects, from school to university. We have the same interests and hobbies. We love coffee, mountain biking or rambling in the Peaks with the dog.
“At school we swapped classes which was fun. The teachers were very confused but our friends knew what we were doing.”
The pair, who even live together, set up Wolf Network Security, which has been trading for two years and has reached £150k turnover.
“It’s always been a distant goal to run our own business,” he told BusinessCloud. “After Covid we finally decided to make the jump. It’s great having a trusted business partner.
“We have the same skills, which sometimes is a disadvantage as we need a third opinion. I’ve always said one of us should have been in sales and the other technical. It would be the perfect combination.”
Speaking about their recent trip to Web Summit he said: “Being a twin breaks the ice quickly. We had lots of double looks and people stopping us to chat.
Identical twins Lewis and Ryan Keeling, co-founders of Wolf Network Security
“The longer you spend with us the more different we look – or so we are told!
“We have just won Pen Testing Company of the Year from the REAL Cyber Awards. We are very proud and it’s a great privilege to be given this award. We collected it together and when we were on the stage there were a few laughs and gasps in the audience.”