WHAT DO CEOS OF SUCCESSFUL UK START-UPS HAVE TO SAY?

The UK is still one of the most attractive destinations for start-ups. According to a report by Telefonica released in April 2017, there are about 3,660 start-ups annually in the UK. The people starting up these ventures are of a diverse make-up which includes native Britons as well as people from around the world, both male and female. Talking to the CEOs of these start-ups gives an insight into what drives them and their secret to success.

 

Start-up- Just Add Beauty – www.justaddbeauty.com

CEO – Samantha Freedman

Just Add Beauty is a beauty curation site that helps people find beauty products by allowing the like-minded websites to sell these products.

Samantha Freedman says that having worked in the beauty industry for over 10 years as a beauty and fashion journalist, venturing into the world of fashion came naturally to her. Just Add Beauty was officially launched in January 2018 and is working with beauty brands like By Terry, Benefit, Malin+Goetz. Here are a few questions put to Samantha

What motivated you to start the business?

Samantha says that the idea was to build a new online beauty shopping experience, where customers would be buying beauty products based on curated and expert-led opinions.

What is the business about?

Beauty shoppers are able to buy the best products based on like-minded expert opinion instead of the confusing affair that shopping usually is.

Start-up- Qlearsite – https://www.qlearsite.com/

Co-founder – Peter Clark

Qlearsite is a tech start-up that aims to give organizations insight into their staff based on evidence-based data. The venture was started in 2014 and is working with big names like Virgin Media and Deloitte.  Peter Clark answers some questions on the venture.

What is the business about?

Qlearsite uses predictive analytics and AI to help organizations understand their staff for better retention, work satisfaction and productivity, for example, the insight can tell a company exactly how many hours of overtime a certain worker should work.

How can companies keep staff happy?

Workers need to feel empowered instead of feeling pressured. The marketer who has a six months deadline will feel threatened, but empowering her with a social media marketing course makes her feel more confident.

What is General Data Protection Regulation?

This is a comprehensive law to safeguard private information of EU internet users.  The consequences of not complying are really harsh.

Start-up -Doorstep – http://doorsteps.co.uk/

CEO- Akshay Ruparelia

Doorstep is a crowd-based approach to property selling. Instead of using a real estate broker in the transaction, the property owner pays only £99 to have the property sold by an expert. Here is what Akshay says about this venture.

What inspired you?

Akshay was motivated by the problems that his family experienced when he was young, paying high commissions for simple information. Doorstep is a venture to make real estate dealing easy and transparent.