Mydeo allows consumers and businesses to deliver their media via a high speed CDN. In short, if you put your media on a CDN, your website loads faster, so your visitors/customers are not waiting. The problem is that CDN’s have a minimum entry level of around $2000 per month, which means millions of consumers and small businesses cannot buy directly. The business model for mydeo is that I buy in bulk from the CDN, and the mydeo.com website retails in small chunks, giving automated CDN access, providing statistical reporting and transacting monthly payments by credit card. Small businesses need their websites to perform in exactly the same way large sites do, so Mydeo allows them access to a global CDN for a tiny fraction of the cost of buying directly. By building a site that automates the entire process, the service is massively scalable.

What was your biggest challenge during the starting up phase? Tell me about the first couple months?

My biggest challenge was raising the first round of seed funding. I applied for DTI Grant for Technical Innovation (known at the time as a SMART award), but the terms of the Grant meant you also need to raise matched funds from elsewhere. I needed to raise £56,000 from friends and family and spent months meeting friends, friends of friends and parents of friends to raise the cash we needed.

When I finally managed to raise the money, the SMART committee turned down our grant application, saying it wasn’t technically innovative enough. Instead of leaving it there, I wrote a 20 page document outlining how all the elements of the software we would be building were being brought together in an innovative new way to address a totally new market. They changed their minds and we got the grant!

Have you gotten any additional investments since then?

Following the seed round I met with quite a few VC’s, but the level of funding we were after (half a million) was too low for VCs, so we went down the angel route. I pitched to two difference business angel networks and had offers of funding from both. We supplemented the angel money with a bank loan under the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme.

In 2007 we did a third funding round and took investment from BestBuy, plus two further business angels, valuing the company at £1.7m.

What has been some of the key things that you’ve over the year on your entrepreneurial journey?

Don’t take no for an answer! There will always be knock-backs, but as long as you get up one more time than you fall down, you’ll be ok.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

The partnerships we developed have been absolutely crucial. The first was with Microsoft where we were integrated into their desktop editing software, Windows MovieMaker. I’ll never forget the morning the partnership went live – registrations went through the roof. It was a real step- change for us as a business, but the partnership with Microsoft was more important than just the uplift in traffic. We were picked up by their Emerging Business Team(EBT) (similar to what BizSpark is now) who support and promote high potential start-ups innovating on their platform. The EBT introduced us the investors and partners we could never had gained access to on our own and was the key to raising the next two rounds of funding.

Would you say the business has changed from the first initial idea?

Mydeo started out at a B2C service, but with the launch of YouTube we just weren’t getting the revenue traction from home moviemakers we’d hoped for. We analyzed our paying user base and it became very clear that the majority were actually small businesses looking for low cost CDN delivery. So in 2009 we launched a B2B version of the service. We had plenty of feedback from the user base about what business users wanted and we used that as the basis of the new service. Within 6 months the B2B service overtook B2C revenues and has been growing month on month ever since. If we had not made this change to B2B when we did, we would have run out of money and joined the list of the thousands of other video startups who have failed in the last decade.

One thing I’ve learnt is that, when starting a businesses, a large amount of your assumptions will be wrong and you will make mistakes. As long as you make your mistakes and make adjustments to your plans before you run out of cash, you stand a good chance of being a success. If the cash runs out first, you’re history.

How has it been raising three boys and running a business?

It sounds like an impossible mix doesn’t it – but it works for me! When I started Mydeo we had enough money to put my first son, Cameron, into nursery one day a week. As the business started a take off and he got older we increased the days at nursery so I could spend more time running Mydeo. I managed to work from home while all three boys were babies, and never had a nanny or any home help. My two eldest are at school now and do sport after school most days. By basing the office in Wimbledon I can do the school run and still be in the office for 9 and pickup at 5. My two year old is at the same nursery the other two attended and I take Fridays off to be with him – which I love.

The best thing about running your own business and having kids is the flexibility and work-life balance it affords you. I never miss a rugby or football match, and I can be there at the drop of a hat if they are sick. I’m CEO from 9-5, but after that I’m mum. Plenty of people would argue you have to work 7 days a week, 18 hours a day to be a successful entrepreneur, but I don’t agree. Work smart – quality not quantity. Life’s too short.

What would you like to say to other mums thinking about starting a business?

My advice would be to make sure you try to understand what you can do by yourself and what you need help with. Knowing what you don’t know is key. I worked with a business incubator in the early years, who put a team around me to support me when I needed help and advice on finance, marketing, legal issues etc. I’d never started a business before and it was a huge learning curve, but by having the support of the incubator I found I could always find a way round the stumbling blocks.

What would you say has been the highlight of your journey so far?

Last year I was named as a winner one of Red’s Hot Women Awards – I won the Breakthrough Pioneer award for Business and Innovation. I got a huge amount of press coverage and it was a very glitzy evening ceremony, but the highlight was a breakfast at Downing Street. It was an amazing day from start to finish – and the other winners were inspirational.

What can we be expecting from Mydeo in 2012?

More features, more growth, more customers – and perhaps even an exit. Watch this space J

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AdTaily is a self-service advertising network that enables any online publisher to sell ads directly on its website.

Hi Jakub, How are you doing, great to have you on YHP?

I am fantastic! Thank you for having me here.

Could you quickly give us some background information about yourself?

I graduated from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland with a degree in Computational Physics and Applied Computer Science.

Straight after my studies I started to work as a software developer in a Norwegian design and technology consulting firm where I developed my project management and strategy skills. After 4 years of work I decided to start my own company which within 2 years became the most popular self-service ad network in Central Europe.

Tell me how you got into business? Were you exposed to entrepreneurship as a child?

I was born in 1981 and at that time Poland was still under the influence of non-capitalistic systems. During my childhood I observed the transformations people went through during and after the fall of Communism, and that was an inspiring lesson of entrepreneurship.

So tell me how AdTaily came into the picture?

In late 2007 blogs and community portals were at the height of their popularity and I investigated the possibility of advertising on blogs. I learned that the processes were very complex. First one had to contact the blogger or website administrator and send an inquiry. Then it was a matter of waiting for the contract, paying the invoice and sending the ad to be placed on the website. I thought to myself, there must be an easier way to publish an ad on a website you visit and this is how AdTaily came along.

What is Adtaily and how does it work?

AdTaily is a self-service advertising network that enables any online publisher to sell ads directly on his website. An advertiser just selects a place where he would his ad placed and without actually leaving the website he could upload an image, pay online and have his ad published immediately.

What were you doing before you started the company?

I was a software solutions consultant working on different international projects, with a strong focus on user interfaces as well as on product strategy. I spent a lot of time abroad in places where I could gain a better understanding of what we had available on the domestic market.

Tell me about the early days of AdTaily, especially starting the business in the middle of the recession – what difficulties did you face and how did you get through that period of hardship?

Actually the middle of recession was a huge opportunity for our business. A lot of online publishers were trying to find a way to diversify their ad revenues and were more likely to test new solutions like our system. The biggest challenge was that, just before the crisis, we talked to several investors who paused their relationships when the recession started. Nevertheless we were able to convince some other ones that our product could benefit from investment, and succeed.

What makes AdTaily different from any other advertising platform out there?

Its simplicity and the large network of publishers we have managed to build on our domestic market. We’ve always been focused on user and customer experience, and have developed many approaches that strongly differentiate us from other ad networks or marketplaces.

What is your business model?

We take commission from advertisers who want to publish ads on publishers websites. We have several tiers. If the ad is bought directly on publisher site the commission is lower than in the case where our sales team find advertiser proactively.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

Since we are an ad network the biggest challenge was to solve the chicken and the egg paradox. If you don’t have publishers no advertisers will come; but no advertisers means no publishers. So our strategic decision was to choose an investor that offers us so-called “smart money”. In this case AGORA S.A., the leading Central Europe media group, provided us not only funds but also their whole network of web properties, publishers and advertisers.

We will talk about AGORA S.A in a few mins, but before that, would you say the business has changed from the first initial idea?

Oh yes! It has evolved from the original idea and crystallised over time. New sales channels and products were born. However our core thinking of delivering high-performing ads in the simplest way has stayed with us.

You mentioned the deal with Agora SA in 2009 earlier? How did that all happen and why did you decide to go ahead with it?

Agora was one four investors that send us their term sheets and we had long discussions about which one to choose. We finally decided on Agora since we knew that, apart from cash, we needed ad-market experience as well as access to publishers and advertisers.

I know you guys have also gone on to raise additional money to grow the company – how was the whole fund-raising process and what are some of the key things that you took away from that experience?

First of all, it took longer than we expected – mainly because it always involves a lot of paperwork, even for a young startup. I think the key lesson is to have several term sheets to choose from and always try to raise more than you think you need.

What tips can you give upcoming entrepreneurs looking to raise money to grow their startups?

Almost four years ago when we raised our seed capital the networks of investors, accelerators and incubators hardly existed in Poland. Nowadays it seems much easier to raise funds and we recommend young entrepreneurs, especially from Eastern Europe, to include investors from other countries in their investor relationship process so as to make the valuation process less subjective.

You’ve just recently stepped down your day-to-day role in AdTaily to become a minority shareholder and Supervisory Board Member – how did that decision come about?

I co-founded AdTaily and served for almost four years as the Board Member responsible for Product Development. My mission was to build the best-possible product team and establish processes that will enable further growth. I get the feeling that my mission has been completed. Apart from that, recent innovations in technologies are creating new opportunities and I was always eager to go for high risks!

What can we expect from you in 2012?

My new venture, just started, is a company working on new technology related to the “Internet of things” trend. We hope that by the end of 2012 we will release the first batch of products and will find their product-market-fit.

What has been your most memorable moment so far?

The most exciting moment when you start your product/company is achieving take-off. More and more users register and they send you positive feedback; new reviews and articles are being published about your product and you can start to have intensive conversations with your customers. That’s memorable!

What pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

First of all focus on your product. Forget about using advertising as the main tool to gain users. Your customers need to love what you offer them and that’s why they will return and also recommend others.

Another thing is to plan long-term. You should always think twice before accepting a quick-money offer that will change your main focus and only fulfil temporary needs. It’s good to say no and come back for the big money later.

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Until recently, many of you were probably stuck using paypal and If you were using paypal – you were stuck. I recently caught up with 1/3 of the Gocardless team, Matt Robinson who explains to me why the Gocardless team are focused on making online payment struggles a thing of the past.

Hi Matt, how are you doing? Great to have you on YHP?

I’m great thanks. Things are going fantastically well at the moment.

Who is Matt Robinson?

I’m a 24 year old entrepreneur. I’m a McKinsey alumni and Oxford law graduate.

How did you get into business? Were you exposed to entrepreneurship as a child?

I ran a number of different money-making enterprises from a young age. I ran my first proper business at the age of 16 which paid for my way through university.

Who was your inspiration growing up and why?

My Dad. He came from nowhere to build a successful life, business and family. Business wise (sadly) it was the stereotypical TV entrepreneurs like Alan Sugar and Duncan Bannatyne.

So tell me about Gocardless and how the idea came about?

I’m one of three co-founders. We had all experienced a lot of frustration with both making and receiving payments. Simultaneously we had been spending a lot of time working with financial institutions gaining an insight into the payment mechanisms that underpinned them. We felt that we could build something drastically better for business than what was on offer.

How did you meet your co-founders?

I worked and lived with Hiroki for the last 2 years before starting GoCardless. We met Tom as we were starting and quickly decided that we wanted him to be part of what we were doing.

What were you doing before you founded Gocardless?

I was working at McKinsey & Co as a Management Consultant having graduated from Oxford University.

What is Gocardless? What are you guys trying to solve?

GoCardless is an API wrapper for bank transfer. It lets Merchants collect money with no Merchant account, no credit card fees (they charge just 1%!) and no hassle. Collecting money, whether for business or from friends, is a nightmare. The problem we’re solving is that payments are fundamentally broken. As a merchant, card companies are a rip-off and the application process is eye-wateringly complex. If you’re paying for stuff, the user experience is dreadful – most check-out processes leave me on the verge of tears.

What was your biggest challenge during the starting up phase?

The payment space is particularly hard to innovate in because you need to strike deals with banks and regulators just to get started. It’s very difficult to get these as a startup with no trading history. What we’ve shown though is that if you work hard enough and can demonstrate the credibility of your team and your product it’s doable.

You recently raised $1.5 million in investment, why did you decide this is the route to take?

Payments is a scale business and funding enables us to operate a scale model from day 1, speeding up Merchant acquisition and helping us get to scale more quickly.

How was the whole raising money process? How long did it take? What are some of the key things that you learnt from the whole process?

Hard work. We were exceptionally quick with the whole round taking less than 3 months from start to finish but it was still exceptionally hard. The key learning was how critical the type of intro is. With a cold email you have essentially a 0% chance of raising, with an intro from someone who has already invested in you, it’s close to 100%.

What advices can you give to entrepreneurs looking to raise money to grow their start-up?

Raising investment is a distraction from running your business. You therefore want to do it as quickly as possible. To do this you need to get significant traction, either in the form of users or deals, before you even think about raising money. Oh and something Paul Graham said: “When you go to investors asking for money you get advice; when you go asking for advice, you get money”.

You guys were previously based at White Bear Yard, what were some of its benefits?

Being based at White Bear Yard was great. We were in the same building as some of our investors and a number of cool startups. It was great to have both around us to pick their brains whenever we needed. Those benefits of clustering are a small microcosm of what is hopefully going to happen across the whole area.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

User growth has come from a couple of great partner deals. Wherever possible you should avoid having to acquire customers one-by-one. If a single company has a relationship with lots of potential customers, going through them is going to be hugely advantageous.

Would you say the business has changed from the first initial idea?

Absolutely – I would be worried if it hadn’t! The key for us has been getting our product in front of Merchants asap and hearing their thoughts on what they do and do not want.

What would you say has been the highlight of your entrepreneurial journey so far?

I think it would have to be going out to the Valley and doing YCombinator. Although, going to No10 Downing Street and meeting with the Innocent founders at Fruit Towers are definitely up there for one-offs.

What can we be expecting from your company in 2012?

Growth, and lots of it! As well as a couple of cool new products which are going to shake up the payments space that you absolutely should keep your eyes out for and our expansion across Europe.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

Make something people want.
Focus on one problem at a time and forget everything else.
Find great people to work with.

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I recently caught up with director, Ian Gott as we spoke about how he got involved in the business and how he has managed to grow the business so far.

Can you give you some background information about yourself, were you the entrepreneurial type growing up?

I was quite a thinker rather than a doer as a child, but I always wanted to find easier and better ways of doing things. I suppose some might say I took the easy route to a career by joining my father’s business but I joined it when it was in its infancy so I enjoyed the buzz of seeing something new take shape. I joined because the company needed a stores and purchasing system to be set up and I offered my services to develop this.

Once this was running smoothly I looked for the next challenge and volunteered to go out selling for the company. After these early bursts of enthusiasm, there was a long period where I was simply ‘following in my father’s footsteps’ but as I matured I refocused and set myself goals to achieve personal success within the business. I often think I have lived my life in reverse compared to most people because I have become more enthusiastic, energetic, innovative and demanding as I have got older.

Tell me how Gott Technical Services came about?

My father was sales manager for an industrial lubrication equipment manufacturer, when he decided he could do a better job, he went off and did it on his own. With agreement from his employers he left and set up Gott Technical Services as a distributor of the product range for which he had previously been sales manager.

In the early years the company’s target market was mining companies that worked at the open cast coal mines in Northumberland, various industrial and manufacturing companies and farming businesses. Basically, any company that required pumping and compressed air equipment to maintain mechanical plant and machinery. I then recognised our products and services could be useful to the vehicle repair trades and started to target these markets with my sales activity, developing and growing our product range to suit.

What is Gott Technical Services?

A family based business, based in the North East of England that supplies, installs and maintains garage workshop equipment.

Why vehicle maintenance equipment?

Our involvement with these products grew from our involvement with industrial lubrication equipment. Not many people know what garage equipment is but it is an essential part of everyday life.

Our equipment is used to keep refuge vehicles, fire tenders, ambulances, police cars, school buses, army vehicles, supermarket delivery vehicles and family cars maintained and on the road. Our MOT test equipment checks that vehicles are safe and meet environmental legislation.

What would you say was the hardest part of taking over your family business?

Trying to establish my own identity and authority and make my parents feel safe knowing that the business can run effectively without them.

How have you been able to fund taking the business forward?

We have always had great support from our bank and over the years we have received funding from Business Link and more recently the North East Growth Fund to support the business growth.

Would you say the initial idea for the company, or that the business model has changed since the company was founded?

The original goal was to distribute industrial lubrication and compressed air equipment and as such our target markets were open cast coal sites and manufacturing industries. With the decline of these industries in the area it was necessary to expand our range of products and services and grow into the automotive market.

In recent years, with the onset of recession, we knew our clients would have less money to spend on the purchase of capital equipment but also knew they would need to keep their equipment maintained. We grew our business by listening to our clients’ needs and developing packages to suit their requirements.

What would you say Gott Technical Services does differently from other vehicle maintenance equipment suppliers out there?

We are straightforward, honest people who take the time to find out exactly what our customers want and we give genuine advice – simple as that. There are so many equipment suppliers and maintenance providers who do not find out enough about their customers’ problems so do not necessarily provide the right solution.

Whilst we have a preferred product line and established maintenance packages, we are prepared to tailor these to suit our customers’ requirements. Many of our competitors seem to think the only way to get business is to supply the cheapest products possible but we believe in supplying value for money products. We do not sell the cheapest products because these will be unreliable or will not last very long. Despite this country’s economic downturn in recent years we continue to grow our business through recommendation because we are known for supplying high quality, reliable equipment.

How big is your team now?

There are twenty-one of us.

What would you say has been some of the most crucial achievements that you’ve done to build the company to this level now?

The key achievements that I have made since taking over the business are, assembling a strong team, securing funding for growth, securing contracts with most local authorities, emergency services and national garage groups.
As well as securing distribution agreements for market leading products and ensuring that all our engineers are accredited to the latest trade and health and safety standards.

What is your business model?

Sell high quality products at competitive prices, whilst providing a first class aftersales service.

Is the business profitable?

Yes.

What’s been your most memorable moment so far on your entrepreneurial journey?

Various contract wins, as well as taking the business from being ‘one of many’ to being the recognised market leader in the North East of England and establishing a national presence.

What pieces of advice could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

I’d say, be decisive. Go with your gut instinct. Genuinely care about people – both staff and customers. Have a clear plan and set stretching goals.

What can we be expecting from you and Gott Technical Services in the future?

Continued expansion and the introduction of new products and services.

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I caught up with the founder and CTO of Searchmetrics, Marcus Tober.

Can you give you some background information about yourself, were you the entrepreneurial type growing up?

I wasn’t necessarily the type of person who thought about starting a business at school. When I was young my real passion was history.

Tell me how the idea for Search Metrics came about?

It happened gradually. As part of the thesis for my computer science degree I had created a set of free SEO tools which I published online on my Linkvendor web site in 2005. At the time, Berlin, where I was living, was a hotbed for web design and search agencies and Linkvendor got a lot of hits and was at one time getting up to 30,000 users a day.

Later when I set up my own search agency, SEOSolutions, I developed some tools to help me work with my own clients. And In 2007 I was approached with an offer from Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. They had heard about what I was doing and suggested that we create a new company to develop and sell software tools for search, as well as to continue providing SEO services. Holtzbrinck Publishing provided the financial backing to start Searchmetrie which eventually became what is now Searchmetrics. Now we also have other investors including Neuhaus Partners and Iris Capital.

What were you doing before you started the company?

My initial career choice was medicine and I actually joined the army after school, where I started my medical training. I was an army paramedic trainee for four years which included a spell in the Kosovo war. This experience had a lasting effect on me as you can imagine and I eventually left the army and decided to switch careers. I went on to study web design and computer science while working for a number of web design and search agencies in Berlin.

What is Searchmetrics?

Searchmetrics is essentially a business intelligence company. We provide search and social analytics software to support search marketers across the globe. Our software delivers data to help them analyse, track, measure and improve their marketing campaigns and to automate a variety of processes so they can work more efficiently.

What are you trying to solve with Searchmetrics?

The data and insights we provide are key business intelligence which helps marketers address knowledge gaps related to search and these insights allow them to develop and improve their search marketing campaigns

Talk me through the first few months of running the business? What would you say was the hardest part of starting the business?

Actually, for us it wasn’t that hard, we were doing good work and our reputation spread quickly. We got business through referrals. We had the typical problems associated with growing very quickly – having to move to bigger offices as we expanded, and finding ourselves having recruiting staff to handle specific areas such as HR and finance – which we’d not really needed before.

Perhaps the one thing I found difficult to get used to at first was the detailed reporting I had to do for the investors. Holtzbrinck Publishing rightly needed to have updates about how the company was being run and what we were doing. However I wasn’t used to preparing those meticulous, time consuming reports and I did become a little frustrated with it. But it’s obviously all part of the job!

Would you say the initial idea for the company, or that your business model has changed since starting the company?

We are true to the original idea, in that we are still providing online business intelligence to support search marketers. But search has now evolved to include a social dimension, so the range of data we provide now also encompasses social insights.

What would you say has been some of the most crucial things that you’ve done to build the company to this level now?

I think one of the most important decisions we made was to become focused on the software business. In the early days of the company, I would find myself doing anything that clients needed; developing web sites, running the SEO and developing content if required. But we had to make the conscious decision to focus on the software side. And that is what our businesses is now known for.

Another crucial decision happened last year, when, against other advice, we made the decision to launch our Searchmetrics Essentials software. Previously we had focused on one product – our Searchmetrics Suite product, a powerful enterprise solution which is designed for larger agencies and in-house search departments. But Essentials is designed for smaller organisations and even includes a lot of complimentary data that anyone can access without registering. It allows a much wider audience to experience our data and has made a big difference in our awareness, with lots of positive feedback and reviews on social networks. Essentials is great for our visibility and reputation.

Is the business profitable?

The business is growing healthily. We are VC funded and today we are in growing mode – which means we need to spend the money to get market share. Once we have achieved market share, we know there are profits to be made. So our plan is not necessarily to be profitable at the moment.

What’s been your most memorable moment so far on your entrepreneurial journey?

To be honest there have been too many memorable moments. My life is a blaze of emails, I’m always in working mode and I’m always thinking about new ideas and new product features. This is my life….and it is too difficult to pick specific moments.

What pieces of advices could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

My main advice is that, first and foremost, you must focus on the product or service you are offering. This is more important today than ever because information spreads so far, so quickly. If you don’t have a good product or you have some problems, then this bad news can quickly be known internationally. And likewise if your product is outstanding – then this positive reputation can quickly spread, far and wide. Keep focusing on the product; if it’s really good, you can generate a viral marketing effect.

What can we be expecting from you and Searchmetrics in 2012?

In the second half of the year we plan to release a new version of the Searchmetrics Suite. This is not just the old Ssuite with a few new features, this will be a completely new product with a new architecture. It’s going to be extremely cool.

Also because there is now a high and well known correlation between search and social, we will be launching some exciting new social data products later in the year. However, it’s important to remember that we’re primarily interested providing in data about how social effects search, so our products will not be competing with mainstream social media monitoring products.

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Mitesh Patel is the Founder and Managing Director of Fifosys, a company he started 10 years ago after completing a Masters in Computer Science at University of Hertfordshire. Fifosys delivers IT support and solutions to clients from a wide range of sectors based all over the world, their key services include cloud computing along with tailored ITsupport, budget planning, auditing and project management.

I recently had a little chat with Mitesh and this is our full conversation.

Hi Mitesh, How are you doing, great to have you on YHP?

I’m fine thanks– thank you for inviting me to YHP

No problem, great to have you here.

Could you quickly give us some background information about yourself? Tell me about yourself growing up?

I grew up in Kent and studied in Victoria before going to University in Hertfordshire. Okay I have missed a few rebel years in Tooting but it was all good learning and allowed me to develop those essential personal skills.

In 1992 I took a year out to become a dancer and lived in India although upon returning to the UK I realised this was not my passion.

How did you get into business? Were you exposed to entrepreneurship as a child?

I started the business at the age of 22 in my University Library, where at this point I had just completed my master’s degree in Computer science.

Who was your inspiration growing and why?

My father was my inspiration as I saw the way he maintained a positive attitude at all times during his challenges in raising our family. He made sure that no matter what we were always smiling.

So tell me about Fifosys and how the idea came about?

The idea actually came about with two friends I studied my Masters with whilst in a university computer centre. Whilst all our colleagues were looking for jobs, we decided to start up an outsourcing business developing applications in India and providing the consultancy in the UK. The model has developed and unfortunately I have no partners, but the message to support businesses in using technology still remains.

Starting up any business the start is always a struggle and I started with very humble growth in an office with no windows and no heating. When the staff left the office on a Friday I would stay behind and clean the office throughout as we could not afford a cleaner. Starting from the bottom up has taught me a lot.

What was your biggest challenge during the startup phase?

Finding someone willing to believe in what I say as I had nothing to show them.

How have you been able to fund the business?

I was able to fund Fifosys from my savings which were from working whilst at university. The £3,000 was the starting point to what Fifosys is today.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

· Delivered to clients what we said we were going to deliver
· Made our service transparent
· Employed the right people
· Acquired a competitor

What makes you different from other players in your sector?

In a crowded market for “IT Support”, Fifosys needs to be different, therefore we provide the link between IT and the business, and ensure that the IT strategy meets the ever changing business requirements. It also helps us explain to clients the risks associated with poor IT decisions, and how good IT decisions can make a big difference. We do this by taking time to understand clients’ businesses and then understand what their users need from their IT.

What is the business model?

Deliver measure and charge for time.

What would you say has been the highlight of your entrepreneurial journey so far?

There have been so many highlights with Fifosys and I personally feel the ability to employ people and help them feel part of a journey of your vision is priceless.

Meeting great people and constantly learning and developing is a lot of fun.

What can we be expecting from your company in 2012?

Another acquisition and larges share of mid-market.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

· Challenge your idea by testing it thoroughly
· Have a plan that you are HAPPY to stick to
· Take your own advise

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Today, Prezi has over 10 million users on its platform

Can you give you some background information about yourself, were you the entrepreneurial type growing up?

More like the innovator type. When I was five, I never ate any sweets I got right away. I wanted to eat a little every day – but my brother and dad always snuck up on my sweets! So, I built a small mechanical alarm system that protected my goods. In my studies in architectural design, I actually focused much more on possibilities of interactivity in architecture than on building plans. Later, I became an artist, and worked with radio waves and heat instead of traditional materials.

What were you doing before you founded the company?

I worked as a media artist. I was also a founding member of an innovation lab called Kitchen Budapest. Examples include Reorient, a space made of thousands of electronic toys, Ping Genius Loci- a field of outdoor analogue pixels, and Brainmirror- a mixed reality experience presenting MRI through a mirror..

Tell me how the idea for Prezi came about?

As an artist, I travelled for my exhibitions extensively, and, often, I would give talks at the local art or design schools about what I do. Frankly – I found it very hard to develop my story on slides— they felt so disconnected, it was hard to see the big picture, and to craft a good thread for the story. So, I built a simple zooming canvas, just for personal use for my presentations. This was about 10 years ago. So, Prezi really came about to answer a personal need.

Then, I met Peter Halacsy, now CTO of Prezi, who liked the idea, but wanted to create an easy-to-use tool for it. I think he was interested in it for himself actually, as he was teaching a lot. Then came Peter Arvai, CEO, who pushed us to become a global product, and SaaS, beyond our personal use

What is Prezi?

Prezis are zooming presentations, that were fun to create. People can create them on prezi.com for free, and already 10 million users have chosen to do so. Because you see you ideas next to each other, prezi helps you to think through what you want to say for the audience, prezis create memorable experiences. Beyond the 1st ‘wow-moment’, actually seeing texts, images, videos on a large canvas, helps you to memorize them much better.

It is like that old technique for learning words – you put them on stickies in your room, and your brain will associate them with a location. same happens in prezi. people associate ideas to location on the zooming canvas, and they remember more.

What are you trying to solve with Prezi?

Sharing of ideas should be both fun, engaging, and efficient. Today people present and email slides for this purpose. I really don’t think that is the best humanity can do.

Talk me through the first few months of running the business? What would you say was the hardest part of starting the business?

Understanding that some people don’t think exactly like we do – to keep track to this, we incorporate user research, user testing, and statistical data for the usage of our product tightly into our core values.

How were you able to fund the business?

Before we launched our product, and were running in private beta mode, we sold single prezi presentations for large events. We delivered the technology and the design too. Luckily after we unveiled prezi to the public, we have always been cash flow positive. Later, we raised capital investment with TED Conferences, in 2009, and then in 2011 with Accel Partners.

How has your market changed in the past few years? How has your business changed to keep pace?

The idea of zooming is becoming more common, people are more accustomed to it thanks to smartphone browsing. This really helps our learning curve.

Would you say the initial idea for the company, or that your business model has changed since starting the company?

Our business model is still the same, a freemium model where privacy of content sets the packages apart.

Our product has matured massively, and we understood that it does not only work great at ballroom presentations, but on daily meetings, and as a remote delivery as well. Prezi also has become very popular in education, given that it is really good for explaining complex matters.

What would you s has been some of the most crucial that you’ve done to build the company to this level now?

Sharing and thinking in a team. Now we are 70 people, and each one is fantastic professional— who know more than us, the founders, in their respective professions! Attracting this talent by giving them intellectual space was crucial.

Is the business profitable? What is your business model?

Yes, prezi is cash-flow positive. Our business model is Freemium. Anyone can use the public Prezi license for free. Paid (Prezi Pro) users receive the desktop app, as well as a private option for their online prezis.

What’s been your most memorable moment so far on your entrepreneurial journey?

Every fews days I receive an email, from someone I’ve never met, from the US or Asia, anywhere, thanking me for doing prezi. They say that they feel creative, happy, and became successful thanks to our tool. This fuels a never ending, and truly fantastic drive to work harder and make prezi better every day.

What pieces of advices could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

- Try your idea as early as you can. get feedback from people, reality.

- Don’t be afraid to change

- Believe in and respect others, who join your journey.

What can we be expecting from you and Prezi in 2012?

Lots of new features, with an even simpler workflow so you can create a fantastic prezi quickly– just before you need to give the talk. (I already do this for my conference talks )

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A lot has changed for Rob since he began programming in QBasic, to starting his first business at age 15 calling local businesses with a offer to build them a simple brochure site.

All of which were successful, but he wasn’t until his time at Cambridge University where he graduated with a BA Hons in Computer Science that he started developing technology, some of which they currently use at his company FusePump today.

FusePump, like any successful business was born over beers one evening, Rob and his co-founder Lee brainstormed the idea for the business on a sheet of wallpaper. FusePump helps create a better online shopping experience for consumers by delivering a consistent user journey.

In my interview, we discuss some of the keys that has helped him build his business into a succesful company, his background, FusePump and his advices for less-experienced entrepreneurs.

Hi Rob, How are you doing, great to have you on YHP?

I’m good – thanks for inviting me to contribute to YHP. Hope you’ll be interested in my story so far!

Could you quickly give us some background information about yourself? Tell me about yourself growing up?

I am Yorkshire born and bred and grew up in Bradford, where I went to the Grammar School. Thanks to one or two inspiring teachers, I became very interested in computers from a young age – but whilst all my friends were gaming, I was programming in QBasic!! It meant I was the butt of the jokes for a few years, but it served me well later in life as I eventually went on to study Computer Science at Cambridge and that is where I started developing the technology we use today.

How did you get into business? Were you exposed to entrepreneurship as a child?

I have been an entrepreneur since a very young age. I started my first business when I was 15, calling local businesses from a directory that had no website listed and offering to build them a simple brochure site. After a while, I started to come across more and more businesses who not only wanted to have a presence online but wanted to sell online too and that was when I started building ecommerce websites.

After my first few experiences, I quickly learned there was no point in building an ecommerce site unless you could find a way to drive users to that site, so I became very interested in Digital Marketing and in particular the ability to leverage other websites as sales channels. At the age of 16 I decided to start my own ecommerce site to put to work some of the techniques I had used for other people’s sites, and by creating an innovative web site that used dynamic price comparison to create offers in real-time as users browsed the site, I was able to make really healthy margins selling DVDs online.

Who was your inspiration growing up and why?

I took a lot of inspiration from my family – my dad had his own small business as an Independent Financial Advisor which really highlighted to me the benefits of working for yourself. My uncle was an entrepreneur too and did some really exciting things in Information Technology. I still don’t fully understand what those things were, but he must have done them very well and it was his success that really got me interested in high growth businesses and the lifestyle that goes with them!

So tell me how the idea for FusePump came about?

Over beers one evening – my co-founder Lee and I were brainstorming on a sheet of wallpaper because he was having his kitchen decorated.

What were you doing before you founded FusePump?

I had been working on ecommerce websites, including the DVD web site of my own. During my time at Cambridge I used my dissertation project as an excuse to build a platform for web data extraction and I was lucky enough to meet Chris whilst I was there. Chris has remained one of my best mates and is now the other co-founder of FusePump and our CTO – he is a technical genius and has been instrumental to our success.

What is FusePump? What are you guys trying to solve?

Our aim is to make multi-channel ecommerce simple for online retailers who sell many different products. We improve the online shopping experience for consumers by delivering a consistent user journey, and make our clients more money in the process!

What was your biggest challenge during the starting up phase?

Our biggest challenge was balancing supply (or production capacity, for us) with demand. We always seemed to have more clients who wanted to buy our services than we were able to service at the time. It might sound silly to turn business away, but it’s not easy to find and train staff on-demand and we were not prepared to compromise on the quality of our service by taking on more than we knew we could handle. Perhaps we were victims of our own success.

How were you able to fund the business?

We didn’t raise any funding from VCs or investors at the start and kicked off with only a relatively small amount of cash that we borrowed from the bank. We must have had a great business plan as it was slap bang in the middle of the recession and their purse strings were terrifyingly tight, according to the press. This meant we had to grow completely organically, generating enough cash from sales to cover our overheads at all times. It’s really hard work to achieve the level of growth we have in this way, but it’s satisfying to know we did it on our own and managed to retain our valuable equity.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

Businesses are all about people – you cannot grow a business on your own, so it is crucial to find the right people who you can inspire to share your motivation and drive in the early stages. It took an awful lot of work to grow out each area of the business in the early stages, but I am now fortunate enough to be surrounded by a fantastic management team who I can trust to manage and grow their own business areas. That’s why I would say hiring sensibly and strategically is one of the most crucial things we have done to grow the business.

Would you say the business has changed from the first initial idea?

Absolutely – any successful technology business needs to be prepared to evolve constantly as market conditions and client demands change. We did a great job of listening to our clients and keeping agile during the early stages, and this was a key factor in our success. Now that we are bigger, it’s about creating an environment where innovation is encouraged and new ideas can be realised with minimal resistance. It takes some getting used to, but innovation doesn’t last forever and it can’t continue to come from the founders alone – it’s really empowering now to see newer and better ideas being developed all the time within the business.

What would you say has been the highlight of your entrepreneurial journey so far?

I am a bit of sales person at heart, so signing our biggest deal to date was probably one of the highlights for me. Before that, my highlight was probably signing what was previously the biggest deal to date and if you ask me in a few months, it will hopefully be signing the next biggest deal to date! Seriously though, the buzz of growing a business is that the highlights keep coming. There are over 40 of us in the office now, but I still get a massive kick every time I am able to go into the office and introduce myself to a new employee – people are the physical evidence that we are getting bigger.

What can we be expecting from your company in 2012?

We are releasing some exciting new products, which are going to really shake things up for our new and existing clients. We are also entering some new markets – including France, Spain, Germany and possibly the US. On top of that, we will be doing plenty more of the same stuff we have always done to help us achieve our target of another 100% growth year on year.

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

1.Make sure your idea rocks – don’t be secretive, talk to everyone you can and tell them what you are planning. It’s human nature to look for problems so don’t be disheartened when they inevitably pick your idea apart, just make sure you learn from their awkward questions. Once you have convinced yourself you are onto a winner, just go for it and don’t look back!

2.Surround yourself with the right people – you can’t do it on your own, even if you own the whole business you will need to hire if you want to get bigger! In the early stages, there is no substitute for enthusiasm so pick people who share your passion for the business above all else.

3.Always have a plan – your plan will probably need to change every 15 minutes so there is no point in writing it down, but always try to make sure you have one in your head. Entrepreneurs are takers of risks – but if you’re doing enough thinking, you should rarely encounter a situation that catches you off guard.

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The dot-com bubble was a hard time for businesses, a lot of companies especially start-ups went from overnight success to bankruptcy, a few survived while others were left hanging to what was left of their companies.

Even though, millions or perhaps billions were lost during the dot-com bubble, a lot of entrepreneurs also made their name during this time.

One of those entrepreneurs is Nina Hampson, Nina was the founder of Myla, an international luxury lingerie brand founded in 2000 during the dot.com bubble and after 6 years of building the startup into a multi-million pound business decided it was time move on and sold the business.

I recently caught up with Nina as she shares her entrepreneurial story with me and also the story behind her latest startup, Zinc.

Hi Nina, thanks for doing this with me, how are you doing?

I’m well, thanks. Currently in Dusseldorf and I’ve just discovered that it has the highest Japanese population of any city in Germany – which explains why the sushi’s so good.

Can you give us some background information on yourself? How did you get into business?

I wanted to be a wildlife photographer but can’t sit still, so I started out as a management consultant and quickly became interested in customer (rather than animal) behaviour analytics. I moved to a customer intelligence consultancy, a (then) small outfit called dunnhumby and worked as an analyst on the Tesco account. It was the late-90s and we trialled and implemented ground-breaking insight work (such as customer segmented pricing) which had a dramatic effect on Tesco’s business (and on dunnhumby!). It was there that I caught the retail bug, and met both my first, and my current business partner, Charlotte and Susan.

Who was your inspiration growing up and why?

My dad. He ran his own business from the age of 20 and taught me that it’s possible to achieve your dreams, with hard work, some luck and a dose of imagination.

You started Myla in 2000 and sold it in 2006, tell me about that period in your life and your experience running the business? It was during the dot-com bubble, things must have been crazy then?

It was a rollercoaster! Typically, the dot.com bubble burst at the time we were raising money for Myla. Not surprisingly it was a tough market. But Charlotte and I were very focused on what we wanted to achieve- Armani meets Ann Summers – and it took off very quickly. A steep learning curve would have been an understatement! We taught ourselves product development, sourcing, buying & merchandising and retail/mail-order/web management. Inevitably we made a few mistakes on the way, but we worked well as a team and had a shared vision, which was key to Myla’s success.

Why did you decide to sell the company in 2006?

Myla had become a very strong brand. We had great product and had a good UK business, but cash flow is critical in retail. We’d opened our first store in the USA and realised that we were over-stretched. We needed investment from an experienced partner to help us roll out distribution. The plan was to stay and grow Myla with them, but that didn’t pan out….!

What would you say were some of the key things you learnt from that experience?

It’s really obvious but focus on getting the basics right. It’s not always the most exciting aspect of business but it’s easy to get distracted by exciting things that cost you money, rather than make you money.

Invest in your best people. Recruiting good people is hard so when you find a star then develop them. Once you’ve gained their trust, don’t let them down and if you make a recruitment mistake (easily done!) then end the relationship quickly.

Love your customers. They pay your salary! If you work in retail then the best way to learn about your customers is by serving them in-store, if you think you’re above working in a shop then you’re in the wrong job.

Looking back and comparing it to now, what are some of the things that have changed in running a business or in building a successful company?

On the upside, you don’t have to have grey hair and wear a suit to be taken. But, on the downside, I do think we suffer from ‘always-on’ syndrome! So, we insist on retro-meeting etiquette – you know – where everyone actually listens to what’s being said and contributes, rather than looking at emails on their phone or tapping away on their laptop….

Let’s talk about Zinc, tell me how the idea came about?

I was working with my business partners, Susan and Stephen Rose who co-founded the customer intelligence company, 5one. When they sold 5one, we decided to start afresh and launch Zinc with Stephen Jones who is an expert in Change Management.

So many companies collect data yet don’t necessarily have the systems, experience or culture to turn this into customer knowledge and profitable actions. Most consultancies specialise in providing a solution to one of these challenges. We recognise that many businesses struggle to identify what solutions they need (and would make them money!) in the first place, and this is where Zinc’s strength and value lies.

What were you doing before you founded Zinc?

Having a nap on a beach in Devon!

What is Zinc and how does it work?

We’re an advisory firm with a difference, as we believe that all businesses should be built on a strong foundation of customer knowledge. We help companies understand how they can translate their data into customer knowledge, turn this knowledge into real actions and support them through the cultural change needed to sustain this in the long term.

So in non-technical speak, we look at client’s data, show them what they can do with it, tell them what it means and how they make money from it. Then help them change their business processes and culture.

What is your business model?

Staying focused and happy – anything else is boring!

What makes Zinc different from any service out there?

We are world-class experts in our field who provide jargon-feel practical advice that drives bottom-line profitability. A rarity in consulting.

What are the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

Developing our client relationships and delivering top quality work to them so that they continue to work with us, and refer us to others. We get a lot of word of mouth referral, so we must be doing something right!

Would you say the business has changed from the first initial idea?

Our initial idea of what Zinc would be remains the same, but we are constantly evolving the business. We like to stay ahead of the game so we put a lot of effort into enriching our methodologies and finding new, smarter ways of approaching our clients’ issues.

How have you been able to fund the business?

Our start-up costs were minimal (laptops and phones). We worked from home for the first year and paid ourselves when we had money, so Zinc has funded itself from inception. Having a client from day one also helped!

What has been the highlight of your entrepreneurial journey so far

So many highlights. Opening our first Myla store, winning various business awards (doing the photo-shoot for Vogue’s Superwomen of Fashion in 2005 always sticks in my mind) and more recently, Zinc winning projects over the big management consultancies – a great feeling!

What can we be expecting from your company in 2012?

More of the same. We’ll continue to build our client base, grow our team and get a bigger office. We also have a few exciting new projects in the pipeline but I’ll have to tell you about these in the future!

What three pieces of advice would you offer entrepreneurs starting out today?

1. Be focused. Write a business plan with financials – then double the costs and halve the revenues and see if you are still making money

2. Work smarter, not harder. Running a business is hard work, so understanding when you are at your most productive is key. The same task can take me 15mins or 1.5hours depending on my mood. Knowing this helps me plan my day more effectively and now I don’t waste time staring at my Mac when I know I’d be better off in the gym…

3. Have the courage of your convictions. You know your business the best. Know your market. Know your customers. There will still be times when you feel like you’re winging it, this is all part of being an Entrepreneur so enjoy the ride!

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