I recently caught up with Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the founder and CEO of Klarna – one of Europe’s leading providers of payment solutions for e-commerce and took a trip down memory lane. He talks about his background, how the idea for Klarna came about, advices about investments (Klarna raised $155M in Series C funding late last year) and why even though people are moving away from paypal it is still a David vs Goliath story for them.

This is the full interview.

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

I was born in Sweden by polish immigrants who fled the communist regime. Ever since I was a kid, I have been driven to prove that my family “deserved” the same that the rest of the Swedes had, so I got involved in a number of different projects that I thought would enable me to do so. I used to spend a lot of time coming up with business ideas, some just ideas, some I wrote down and some I realized in a small scale.

Tell me about the early days, how the idea for Klarna came about?

Niklas and I were on a trip with the aim to travel around the world without flying, when we got stuck in Australia and had to wait a month for the next cargo ship that would take us to Mexico. Due to the delay, I wasn’t able to return on time to continue my studies in 2003. Instead I got a job as a salesperson at a factoring firm, where I started to learn the business. Eventually I started to gain an understanding of online shopping, and I realized that there was a huge difference in how people were paying and how they would have preferred to pay. The company I was working for eventually went bust after I left, but the idea survived and I joined forces with Niklas and Victor to start Klarna. At the time, we all were students at the Stockholm School of Economics, which has a business lab that supports students who start companies. The opportunity to join the business lab was too good to pass up, so we presented our idea to them and they urged us to pursue it.

What would you say was the hardest part of starting the business?

Probably the hardest part was the decision itself to start. We were in the middle of our studies and all of the other students were talking about getting jobs in banks in London. To do something different and start a business was a huge step. What helped us was when we said to ourselves, “Let’s not talk about a life commitment. Instead let’s give this all that we have for 6 months and then see where we are.” And so we did.

What is Klarna? Tell me how it works?

We provide after delivery payment solutions for e-commerce. The basic idea is that buying is fun, whereas payment is a nuisance. That’s why we want to separate buying from paying, and the one way to do that is to let consumers pay after delivery. In practice that means that consumers pay via invoice rather than for example with their credit card at the moment of purchase. For consumers, this implies total safety as they don’t have to pay for anything before they are able to hold the ordered products in their hands. For online shops we provide a full payment guarantee and handle all payment related administration. it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

How were you able to convince investors to invest in your company at that time?

We were extremely fortunate to meet Jane Walerud. The school we were studying at has a good reputation. When the business lab invited some business angels to listen to pitches from all the companies in the lab, Jane was one of them who attended that Christmas party. Jane has founded and funded a string of successful companies. We were a bit surprised that she gave us more money than we had asked for, and for less of the company. I think part of it was that she liked the idea but even more so that she saw three 23-year-olds who were extremely motivated and prepared to work 90 hours a week to become successful.

How has the business evolved comparing to your first year of running it, the business model? Strategy?

The company has changed a lot. When we started we were 3 students, now we are 600 employees. Back then we were happy amateurs, today we are one of Sweden’s larger companies. We have added more bank like products to the business such as Klarna Account, which allows consumers to make purchases online and then pay in instalments. We have expanded to a number of geographies outside of Sweden. And we have become regulated like a bank and this entails huge consequences, such as the establishment of rules, procedures and processes in a high growth environment. The underlying idea, however, to create payment solutions that help merchants increase their sales has stayed the same.

What is your business model?

The question is how we can increase sales for online merchants by making payments simpler, safer and more fun. Safety comes from the fact that we know that most people who shop online would prefer to hold the product in their own hands before paying for it. After delivery payments make this possible. On the other hand, online shops incur a huge risk when delivering something without having received payment for it. This is precisely where we come in. We let consumers pay safely when shopping online and at the same time take the associated risk for the shops. Simplicity comes from allowing people to buy stuff online with an absolute minimum of information entered. We only ask for email, name and address.

How many users do you have? Paying customers?

We currently have more than 14 000 affiliated online shops in Europe and more than six million people have used our services.

Are you profitable?

Yes, and we have been profitable since the very start. We raised 80 000 Euro during our first round of funding and we spent only about half of it before we achieved profitability.

It must be very encouraging for you as everyone seems to be moving away from Paypal these days?

You have to hand it to Paypal that they are growing at a 30 % per year rate. That’s pretty impressive for such a big company. At the same time the internet is constantly evolving at an impressive speed. Companies who used to rule the net such as Yahoo, Netscape and Altavista are now shadows of their past glory. We foresee such a shift in payments as well and hope to be the leaders in it. However, this is still very much a David vs Goliath struggle for us.

Speaking of Paypal, how do stay competitive? What makes you guys different from the likes of Paypal, Stripe etc..

I think it is a combination of many things. Though it might not be the most important factor,we are one of few players in the market who is not dependent on VISA or Mastercard. All of the other vendors including the ones mentioned and others such as Square are dependent on these brands, which limits them in many ways. They make less money per transaction as they only earn a fraction of the revenue that a payment transaction generates. Moreover, while they may build beautiful shells, they are built on top of the existing infrastructure of VISA and Mastercard that has a Cobol legacy.

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

Actually we see more and more of the market moving in our direction. To us it has been much more about making sure we grow the business and our organization in line with the market’s evolution, so that we can maintain the high quality of our services. We will continue on our mission to provide a shopping experience that is as simple as clicking the “Like” button on Facebook.

What would you say has been some of the most crucial things that you’ve done to grow your business?

I think Klarna has grown partly due to the expansion of our customers (on average e-commerce merchants have been growing at rapid rates, which fuels our growth as wellsince we charge per transaction). But if we look at what we have done ourselves I would note a couple of important things. We have a very strong sales organization that has a great winning culture. We have a track record of being very selective when hiring. What we could have done better is starting on a smaller scale in more markets earlier. Finally, we have had the fortune to work with some of the best growth investors in Sweden and internationally.

Coming back again to investments especially in Europe, a lot of people have talked about how difficult it has been to raise money, how have you seen this change over the few years?

There has definitely been a change. When we started this business in 2005 we did not even know what a series A was. We just needed money and really needed someone to invest. As mentioned, we had the good fortune to meet Jane. When we wanted to raise additional fundingin 2007 before the financial crisis there was no interest. We visited a lot of Swedish investors. However the VC market in Sweden at that time was totally dead. The only firm willing to invest was Öresund and so eventually they did. A lot had changed in 2009/2010 when we ventured on the international VC market. It helped that a number of Swedish companies had proven successful such as Skype and Spotify, while it also helped that we received mentorship from people in companies like Tradedoubler, Gymgrossisten, Pricerunner. The access to this type of money has dramatically changed in the Stockholm startup scene.

Klarna has been very successful raising money, you guys have just raise a staggering amount of $155 million in your Series C funding, why so much and what kind of plans do you have in spending that money?

Part of that money was used to purchase secondary stock from Öresund who had decided they wanted to sell a part of their shares. However it was still a big raise and the reason for that was simply that there are huge international growth opportunities for Klarna. Just as importantly, we believe that if we spend the money wisely to pursue our ideas about how to revolutionize payments, then we will build the foundation for a global giant in the payments industry.

What kind of advice could you give to startups looking to raise money, is there a special route or process that you have?

Well, over time I have learned to just stay in touch with any investor who contacts you and at least update him or her with a few emails now and then. Otherwise reach out to the usual suspects, often the firms that you find written about on sites such as Techcrunch. Make sure you have a good pitch prepared, and never go into exclusivity until you have received indicative bids. All investors will try to spend as much time as possible and keep asking for as much data as possible before they put in a bid. Just give them a deadline and a limited amount of data. If they are not ready to buy into your company at that point, then it’s not meant to be anyway. Don’t spend your time on too many people – choose the ones you feel like working with. Always have a route open to go to someone else if they start pushing too much about legal issues or during the business diligence process. Always raise funding when you still have money and try to avoid winding up in a situation where you need money ASAP.

What would you like to say to an entrepreneur contemplating bootstrapping or getting investment?

With so low start-up costs as we have today I would definitely bootstrap until I would be able to see that your services/products are getting some traction. Then I would raise money as you quickly want to expand the business.

What is an average workday like for you?

No day is like the next. I travel quite a lot between our different offices. I sit in interviews with people for all kinds of positions. I have meetings with my management team and the product teams. I meet existing and potential customers. I answer a LOT of emails.

What could you say has been some of the key things you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

The first thing is really boring but entirely true. If you work a lot, things happen; if you don’t, nothing happens. When we were sitting in the business lab we and one other company were the only ones who came in 7 AM in the morning and left 11 PM every day, Monday to Sunday. It’s also only our two companies that are still around. Scalability is the second thing. Do something that makes money when everyone is on vacation(i.e., that is as little people dependent as possible).

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

There are numerous ones, but I would say the most important thing is that there has been so many. When Niklas and I travelled around the world without flying, we spent 143 days moving from one place to another. When I came back from that trip I felt physically old. My brain was stuffed with as much memories from the trip as I probably had from the rest of my life up until leaving for the trip. It reminded me of the truth in that old saying “the journey itself is the goal.” Or as we say in Klarna, change is not always enjoyable but it is always memorable.

What trends, startups, technology are you personally looking forward to in 2012?

Klarna will launch a new product that we believe will revolutionize the way people shop online.

What are your other plans for Klarna in 2012?

We want to become market leaders in all of the countries that we are present in – a goal that we are now closer to than ever before. And of course we want to continue to push the limits of e-commerce by launching new services and expanding to new geographies.

What pieces of advices could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there looking to start their business?

If you believe in your idea, stick to it no matter what others say. If we had not done that, Klarna would not be where we are today.

I recently interviewed Jens Lapinski, the founder of aiHit, a London-based, VC-backed business information services company and recently one of the new members of the entrepreneur in residence at Forward Internet Group.

In our interview, he shares some of his knowledge and advices on starting a business, raising investment, bootstrapping and advices for aspiring and first-time entrepreneurs.

Hi Jens, thanks for doing this with me, I know you are very busy at the moment

Hi, thanks for having me.

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

I grew up in Dusseldorf, Germany, which is a city of about 550k inhabitants close to the Dutch border. I wouldn’t say I was massively entrepreneurial in school. The only thing I did was to give maths classes to younger pupils. Mind you that was pretty well paid at 15 Marks per hour (about Euros 7.50). I became more entrepreneurial in University.

Tell me about what you do?

Until the end of 2011, I was the CEO of aiHit, a London-based tech startup, which I co-founded in 2007. I hired a new CEO who started in January 2012 and am now a non-executive director at aiHit. I am very excited to now be working as an Entrepreneur in Residence with Forward Internet Group. Forward has some 250 staff and >£100m revenue. I am working full-time with a small team that is focusing on startup up new products using lean startup techniques.

Tell me about the early days, how did the idea for aiHit came about?

I was working at Library House, a business information and research outfit based in Cambridge. In 2006, I went to Germany to watch WorldCup football with about 10 VCs. Later on, one of them, Simon Cook, the CEO of what is now called DFJ Esprit introduced me to my co-founders. They had the technology to automatically extract from the web the data Library House was generating by hand. My thought was that when somebody can automate what had previously been done by hand, this has the potential to revolutionise any industry, so that is why we started aiHit.

What would you say was the hardest part of starting the business?

Starting a business is easy. The hard part is to get to the point where you have sufficient critical traction with your idea in order to pay all the salaries.

What is aiHit? Tell me how it works?

aiHit is a provider of automated company data to business information companies, credit reference agencies, and business directories. The company uses advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to automatically create feeds of structured company data from unstructured sources on the Web. Our customers use these feeds to improve their existing products at an attractive cost point.

How has your market changed in the past few years?

Our market has accelerated in our direction. When we started selling, we had to continuously justify that data generated from web is a good idea. That has completely stopped in the last 18 months, which has been great.

What would you say has been some of the most crucial things that you’ve done to grow aiHit?

Pivot. We initially had the idea to sell business information to customers in a retail model, but that never worked for us. We then pivoted towards selling the data in a wholesale model and that was much more successful.

Coming back again to investments especially in the UK, a lot of people have talked about how difficult it has been to raise money, how have you seen this change over the few years?

I think this has remained more or less the same. The players have changed. How web savvy they are has changed. But in terms of how hard it is has remained more or less the same.

aiHit has been very successful raising money, What kind of advice could you give to startups looking to raise money, is there a special route or process that you have?

Yes, we did. It is described on my blog here: http://jenslapinski.wordpress.com/vc-fund-raising-manual/
Overall though, I think about this as follows: raising money is all about the confidence investors have in you. This means you either have a strong personal relationship with them or you have actual data from your business that proves your business is worthwhile. If you have neither, you probably won’t raise money (unless you are in a very very frothy market).

What would you like to say to an entrepreneur contemplating bootstrapping or getting investment?

The big difference between bootstrapping and getting investment is where the money comes from. When you bootstrap, it is your money. When you take investment, it is somebody elses money. In any case, just make sure you are realistic as to how long it will take and how much money it will take to get to break even. If you bootstrap, you could be both broke and in debt, so make sure you are building a bridge to somewhere where you can recoup that investment. If you take external money, the same applies. Also, when you deal with external investors, you are in fact bringing them into the company. It is like hiring. So screen your investors with the same routines you would screen employees for.

What is an average workday like for you?

That has changed totally for me! Since November last year, I am a father and now I work with Forward. Give me a few months and I will tell you what my new typical day looks like.

What pieces of advices could you give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there looking to start their business?

I have a list of learnings that is as long as my arm. My key learnings are as follows. There are three things that are important: strategy, people, and execution. What this means is as follows:

1. Strategy: When you start, really make sure that there is a market for what you do, before you do it. Read Steve Blank’s “4 Steps to the Epiphany” and Eric Ries’ “Lean Startup” before you start doing anything. Make sure there are a lot of potential customers and that this market is growing fast.

2. Team: When you build your company, make sure you have a small, dedicated, high quality full time team of people who all sit in the same little room, in the same boat, and work their asses off to get out of that small little room. Get co-founders whom you have worked with for a long time. Get mentors to help you for free (or a bit of equity over time).

3. Once you have product market fit, it is about execution, execution, execution. Hiring will be the most important aspect here, as well as building the right company structures and procedures.

What are you personally looking forward to in 2012?

Working at Forward.

I recently spoke to Ville Vesterinen about his latest startup Grey Area Labs. Ville Vesterinen is the Co-founder and CEO of the Location-based mobile company and prior to joining Grey Area Labs, Ville Co-founder ArcticStartup – dubbed as the Northern European TechCrunch and he is also a member of the Investment Council at Finnish Industry Investment Ltd.

This is what we talked about.

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

I have always been very entrepreneurial. I started my first company after high school. Back then snowboarding was my life and we started a retail outlet in the small town as I’m from in Southern Finland. I have also co-founded two media companies and I’m still involved with one of them, ArcticStartup which is like the Northern European TechCrunch.

Tell me how the idea for Grey Area came about?

Grey Area was originally started by Mikko Hämäläinen, Andreas Karlsson and Teemu Tuulari. One summer day we got excited and decided that we want to build it out together. It was a pipedream of three guys who become four guys and who were really excited about the intersection of games and cities. We believed we could build something that would change the urban landscape and games forever. And we did, but are far from done.

What is Grey Area?

Grey Area is a game developer company based in Helsinki, Finland. We released Shadow Cities – a location based MMORPG for iPhone – globally in 2011. It has became a category defining game title. If you ask our fans, they will tell you there’s nothing like it.

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

The hardest part is always the starting. Taking that first step and going all in. You need to really believe in what you do and be passionate because everything will not go smooth and if you’re in it for the wrong reasons you will give up when you hit the first rough path along the way. And there will be a lot of those days.

How were you able to fund the business?

I still remember when Mikko posted to Jaiku (a Twitter like service back in the day) that he had quit his job and sold his car. The guys funded the early days from savings and minimal client work. When I jumped along we quickly raised €100,000 with which we launched the game in Finland. After that we raised €1.9 million to scale the company and launch globally.

Would you say the initial idea for the company, or that your business model has changed since 2010?

The big idea has not changed. We’re still out to crack the location based game play although the road to that has not been linear. If you have a strong and big enough vision, it does not matter even if everything won’t go as planned.

Your first game is called shadow cities? Tell us about that and how the whole idea came about?

We tinkered with different ideas, UI sketches and data sets for a long time before Shadow Cities was what it is today. It was a process of rather long iteration and getting feedback from our friends who played the game. We are super grateful for all those friends in Helsinki who played with us all those months.

How is it doing at the moment? Downloads?

We have a policy of not disclosing exact numbers, but we’re very happy with how Shadow Cities has succeeded.

I know its currently free for download at the moment, will you be adding any paid features to it?

Shadow Cities was build for iOS and at the time it was the only platform with in-app purchase capability. We build our business model around this free-to-play model and it has served us well. It will always be a free game with virtual goods for those who want to buy them.

How does someone who want to get their app discovered do? In other words, how do you succesfully launch your app? what are the procedures?

That’s the million dollar question. It really goes back to what you’re building. Shadow Cities brought so much innovation into the space that it was easier for us to build the marketing around that. Cross-marketing can be really powerful in the app space, but the best way to get discovered is building something that people really want and making it easy for them to tell their friends about it. Nothing beats a great game.

How big is your team now?

We’re currently a solid team of 17.

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

Hiring more skilled people than I am myself. By looking at the raw skill we have in the company and the high standards in hiring I don’t think I would ever get a job at the company if I would have to apply for it.

What is your business model?

Free to play mobile games.

Is the business profitable?

The business model works great. I think it’s the future for all mobile games if you want to build a significant business.

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

It has to be the launch of Shadow Cities in Finland when we were at the office at 5am watching server logs and trying to figure out how we could bring to server down for a minute when there were tons of players playing through the night. I still remember Mikko sending people push message saying ‘Please go to bed people. It’s late’

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

Refuse to give up no matter what. Persistence correlates most with success. Much more than intelligence, network or experience. If you’re still thinking what’s the best time to start a company in your career the answer is yesterday. The second best time is now. You learn so much regardless whether you will be successful or not. You can always go back to where you were, but starting your first company won’t come any easier when you get older.

What kind of things can we expect in the emerging mobile gaming industry in 2012?

There will be more quality games that will push the boundaries of what a mobile game is. The games will become social. Social like we have used to in the web services space. Games will also start to be more like services in that they change every day for the players and are always connected. Playr data will play a much bigger role than it does currently. It will become part of the experience, not just metrics to optimize.

What can we be expecting from you and Grey Area in 2012?

We are currently working on two new games, which will come out in early 2012. That said, we’re just warming up. 2012 will be the year that mobile gaming experiences will stop looking like a shrink down Facebook games and start looking like something designed for mobile handset. 2012 is also the year when location will be cracked. We plan on playing a key role in both of these developments.

Where do you want the company to be in five years

I’m way too impatient to think five years ahead. I don’t think those places are yet invented where we are going.

I briefly caught up with Vladimir Oane, founder of uberVU – uberVU is an end-to-end social intelligence dashboard which is used to track and monitor all social media platforms in real-time.

In our conversation, I ask Vladimir a few questions on his journey so far as an entrepreneur and running uberVU, and how his business has changed over the years.

Hi Vladimir, Thanks for doing this interview with me.

It’s my pleasure.

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

Not at all, I grew up in a small Romanian town. My mom was an engineer and my dad was an history teacher and if I think about it now there was no one around me who started or owned a business. To this day my dad tells me to stop calling myself an entrepreneur because it’s not a proper job and it makes me look jobless.

During my time in high school and university, I studied computer science and never thought of starting a business, I was just passionate and more into computers. My dream job back then was to become a coder and work for Microsoft, it’s funny how things end up.

In my second year of college I decided to start up an interactive agency and later partnered with 3 friends (2 of which are still my cofounders at uberVU). We had no idea what we were doing but we had 3-4 years to learn all about it so why not?. Learning business seemed more interesting than learning how to wire a network.

Tell me how the idea for uberVU came about?

We had an CMS called Bluo (5 years ago everyone had a CMS) and while working on version 2 I had an epiphany moment, at the time we were doing a lot of social media for the company and our clients so I figured out the personal website is loosing its importance.

Facebook and Twitter + all the platforms who were popular back then (remember Delicious or FriendFeed?) were about to steal the thunder of the personal website. So we said: let’s build a CMS for the social web. That was the seed of what has grown to become uberVU.

What is uberVU?

uberVU is an social media intelligence platform. We are a comprehensive end-to-end social media solution helping our clients to monitor anything that’s being said about them, their products or their competitors, to measure and report on key metrics and to engage with their customers or top influencers. Our clients love how easy they can use our services especially the fact that we are a full-package

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

I guess we had no idea what we were doing. You can see this is becoming like the theme of the interview, But we persevered, started talking to clients and 2 years later we got something people really wanted to use. So I guess this is the hardest part initially: coming up with something people need.

Would you say the initial idea for the company, or that your business model has changed since its launch in 2008?

Yes. Many, many times. We moved from B2B to B2C, then we had an API strategy, etc. We had no idea so everyday we brought another crazy idea to the table and kept persevering.

How big is your team now?

We are almost 30 people.

What is your business model?

We are a SaaS business. That means companies buy access to our software by paying a subscription fee.

Is the business profitable?

Yes.

What was the experience being one of the winners of seedcamp in 2008 and how have things change since then?

Seedcamp changed everything. They helped us transform an idea into a business by putting us into the limelight, exposing us to the right investors and charter customers.

What could you say has been some of the key things you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

Everything takes longer than you estimated. So you need to have patience.

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

Start charging for whatever it is you’re building.
Start now!

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

We will be expanding in the US. We already have a very cool office in Boston that we opened in 2011. From a product perspective expect some revolutionaries features and a lot of polish. We hope to disrupt the industry.

Where do you want the company to be in five years?

We will be one of the most important players in this space. If not the most important one.

In my latest NEF interview series, I speak to Videesha Kunkulagunta.

Videesha is a graduate from the Warwick business school and currently works as a Project Researcher in the network innovation team at TalkTalk PLC. She is also working on a consumer tech start-up called TravelClouds which she hopes to launch later this year.

This is the interview.

Hi Videesha, Its great to finally have you on YHP, how are you doing today?

Hi Joseph, I’m great, thanks!

Recently back from Iceland so getting used to having more than a couple of hours of daylight!

Before we move on, could you quickly give us some background information about yourself so that the YHP audience can get to know you better?

Well, I’m a twenty something ex – wealth management professional who last summer decided to take the plunge and leave my role at Barclays Wealth to pursue a life of entrepreneurship.

The last six months have been a bit of a whirlwind, however, I’m now working on a consumer tech start-up called TravelClouds (www.travelclouds.net) alongside my co-founder, Katherine Ferdinand which should be launching later this year.

Concurrently, I’m on a year placement as a Project Researcher in the network innovation team at TalkTalk PLC and am gaining much appreciated support from the New Entrepreneurs Foundation. Both are helping me make the transition from Finance to Tech Start-Up.

So you attended the Warwick business school? What was the experience like, a lot more people are deciding to go into entrepreneurship straight after school rather going to university, what made you realise that this was the right choice for you?

Growing up as the first child of two South Indian immigrants, I saw the hard work and dedication my parents applied in order to give me the opportunity to go to university. My dad has a PHD and strongly believes in the value of a formal education so, as a young person without a clear idea of what I wanted to do, it was the natural choice for me.

Once there, Warwick really helped to focus my energy. I have always had an inquisitive mind and had been interested in how businesses were set up and grown, therefore I learnt a lot from both the Management course I studied and the inspirational people around me.

My time at university also enhanced my passion for travel. I like keeping myself busy so volunteered to join the organising committee for One World Week (www.oneworldweek.net), an annual festival on campus that celebrates international diversity. I’ve always been intrigued by differences in cultures and the experience further fueled my interest for wanting to understand and experience each country and culture for myself – little did I know that this had sown the seeds for my step into entrepreneurship!

You had an idea for a food tour business whilst at university and despite attracting interest from an angel investor, you decided to work for a corporate. What is the whole story behind that?

I had an idea to link local London university students with tourists and provide themed gastronomic walking tours around London. The problem was, not only was I trying to take too much on board, but I also didn’t have the self – belief or courage to fully put aside the offer of a graduate role with a secure salary and a pretty encouraging sign on bonus. The irony was that a stint at Lehman Brothers was my first graduate job.

The experience over the last few years taught me a lot. So this time around I have had the time to assess my motivations and set the foundations for my business. Working for corporates opened my eyes to the practicality of business and it has taken me 12 months to research and develop my idea, identify my weaknesses and find a suitable business partner before I was ready to whole-heartily dedicate myself to the cause.

Tell us about the New Entrepreneurs Foundation (NEF), why did you decide this was the next step for you, what was the process?

After working at Lehman Brothers and then Barclays Wealth I realised I was unhappy with the direction my life was taking. I lived a life that many aspired to. Despite spending time working in Singapore, living in a desirable part of London, being able to travel whenever and to wherever I wanted and never worrying about my finances (it doesn’t sound bad, right?!) I just never quite felt satisfied. This time I felt ready to take that leap, knowing that there were other options out there for me.

Experience had taught me that I needed mentorship and a support system that would champion my vision and guide me through the transition from wealth management to entrepreneur and NEF answered this need.

The New Entrepreneurs Foundation not only gives me the facilities, network and opportunity to develop my business, but they also believe that each of us will be one of the next generation of top entrepreneurs in the UK and that level of support is invaluable.

So you said you were working for TalkTalk PLC and what have you learnt from the experience so far?

Working for a consumer brand was a drastic change from the world I had just left but the support from the management team has been incredible.

I had initially gone into this position with a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve by the end of the year, but learnt quickly that I needed to adjust my approach and work hard to gain trust and respect in a sector I knew relatively little about. Business is business after-all, it’s best not to let negative emotions and ego get involved.

Something that Dido Harding, CEO of TalkTalk highlighted to me is that you will start any role unconsciously incompetent, progress to conscious incompetence, develop conscious competence then only excel during unconscious competence. This is something I now try to apply to my journey with TravelClouds.

Is NEF something that you would recommend to other aspiring entrepreneurs? What’s the value in it?

Definitely. The application process was fairly intensive, however the connections, mentorship and support from both the Foundation and my peers has been priceless.

Tell us a bit about TravelClouds and how the idea came about?

Well, I’ve always been an avid traveller and realised early on that, if I wanted to start my own business, I needed to work on something I was passionate about. After a lot of research I realised that there was a gap in the market for a service that truly allowed people to discover and share unique travel experiences and wanted to fill it.

Setting up TravelClouds has been an incredible experience so far. We’re still early on but it’s exciting to see something that was just an idea on a piece of paper turn into something tangible.

We are now starting to document our journey, so you can keep up to date on Twitter @travelclouds, or contact us via www.travelclouds.net.

What was the main challenge you faced when starting the company and how did you deal with it?

The most difficult part was choosing the right co-founder. It took me a long time to really figure out what my strengths and weaknesses were and to try and spot my weaknesses as strengths in someone else.

Also, it was important to find someone equally as enthusiastic and dedicated to the cause – surprisingly not everyone is willing to answer emails at 3am!

However, I’ve now found a phenomenal business partner, Katherine Ferdinand who not only has a complementary skill set but also ample experience in product development and marketing so I am looking forward to what 2012 will bring.

What would you say has been some of the key things that you’ve learnt along the way?

One of my favourite quotes is “Whilst the optimist, pessimist and realist were debating how full the glass of water was the opportunist drank it”.

So what I’ve learnt is that there comes a point where you need to put the frameworks, strategies and doubts aside and commit to an idea, vision and a team. The only way you’ll find out if your idea is worth it is by putting yourself out there and not being scared of the consequences.

Any type of failure just makes you stronger.

What would you say has been one of your most memorable moments so far?

I remember seeing the first draft of the TravelClouds logo and thinking “Ok…now this is real”, but I’ve had so many incredible opportunities and moments in this journey.

Meeting Charles Dunstone and having monthly meetings with him definitely ranks fairly highly.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own business?

I’ll tell you when we’ve survived our first year.

What can we be expecting from you in the near future?

This coming year a lot more noise around TravelClouds. The programme with NEF finishes in September 2012. Daring to dream, Katherine and I would love to have secured financing by then and be in a position where not only are we self sufficient with TravelClouds but also paving the way to be able to create jobs for other people.

I’m also looking forward to more Travel with trips to Finland, Estonia and Germany already in the diary, more challenges and more fun along the way.

In my latest NEF interview series, I speak to Robert Runge. Robert is a graduate from the university of Edinburgh and currently works at Covetique – an online marketplace to buy and sell pre-owned luxury designer women’s fashion.

Hi Robert, Its great to finally have you on YHP, how are you doing today?

I’m great thanks. It’s been a busy start to the New Year, but I’m excited about the months ahead.

So Robert, tell me how you got into entrepreneurship, what was your motivation?

During my time at school I was always coming up with different ideas to make money, some of which succeeded and some of which didn’t! However, deep down I was always really excited about working for myself.

What was your first taste of entrepreneurship, running a business?

I ran a website and IT solutions business with a friend.

How did you learn how to code and design websites?

The coding was all self-taught from tutorials on the internet and books borrowed from libraries. I learnt some key design principles by trawling through hundreds of websites to understand what looked good and what didn’t.

How did you manage to turn that into a business?

We were confident that we could generate lots of leads between us through various family friends, parents of friends etc. We were doing this at time when lots of small businesses and people were only starting to adopt the idea of having a professional website. However, all we needed was our first break so we could prove our ability – that eventually came from an international architect firm. After that we generated business from referrals.

In terms of start-up costs we had all the equipment in place already, which at the time was a couple of laptops. We originally did all the coding using notepad, so when we first started out we didn’t need software like Dreamweaver! Any other software we needed, we borrowed from friends such as photoshop etc. As we won some business we started to invest a little bit in extras. Apart from that we didn’t need anything like office space – we did all the work from home and had meetings with clients in cafes and at their houses.

How did you manage to run that whilst in the university? Why did opt not to continue after you graduated from the university?

I only managed to run it for a couple of years at University as most of my clients were in London, which meant a lot of travelling down on the weekends, which wasnt feasible. And in the first couple of years there is a lot more opportunity to devote time to “extra-curricular” activities.

I learnt over the few years that my real skills laid in the ability to build good and lasting relationships with clients rather than the coding and design in itself. I decided half-way through University that it was not something I wanted to continue as a business.

So you graduated from the University of Edinburgh? what was the experience like, a lot more people are deciding to go into entrepreneurship straight after school rather going to university, what made you realise that this was the right choice for you?

Going to Edinburgh was the best 4 years of my life – I’ve made countless friends, who I’ll keep for life. I studied Classics, which ironically has turned out to be an extremely useful degree!

Looking back I believe it was the right choice because of all the doors it opened up for me. For example I won a highly coveted internship doing business consultancy in Germany through the Saltire Foundation, which would not have been possible if I didn’t go to University. And all the various jobs I had during holidays and while studying taught me skills, which have been valuable working in a start-up As I said before I’ve made many friends and contacts, who are all interesting and highly motivated, and I’m sure there will be opportunities to work together in the future.

However, if I hadn’t gone to University, and started a business instead I’m sure there are plenty of things I would have learnt and experienced, which would have been extremely valuable

Its hard to make that choice without hindsight so I think its important to think at the time what will be interesting for you.

You worked for Vodafone for over a year, tell me about your experience working there and wat role you performed?

I was accepted onto the graduate scheme at Vodafone so I did several placements. The first was as a retail adviser in the flagship store – I did absolutely everything from selling phones, managing stock, dealing with customer problems and sweeping the floors! The next was as a commercial analyst in HQ where I did financial analysis and modeling. After that I worked as an incident manager and junior investigator in our Fraud & Risk department – think CSI meets Vodafone in Newbury!

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

The key thing I learnt was that I didn’t want to work for a large mature company. At times I found the politics tiresome and making changes could be frustratingly too slow in that kind of environment.

But in all fairness I imagine this is a challenge all mature companies must face as they try to balance fostering an innovative environment with a complex organization. Its just not for me.

Tell us about NEF, why did you decide this was the next step for you, what was the process?

I’ve wanted to do something entrepreneurial for a while either by starting something new or joining a start-up. However, having been on the Vodafone grad programme I know how important and useful it is to continue having support and a large network. So the NEF programme immediately appealed to me.

The process was long and tough. But I didn’t expect anything less given the opportunity. I had to write an application form and send off a CV. I then had a 30 minute phone interview, followed by numerical, verbal and logical tests. After I was invited to an assessment centre where we had a group exercise to build a business plan, and then give a presentation to a panel. The last hurdle was a final interview.

After I was accepted onto the programme I had several more interviews with various placement companies but I couldn’t find a good match. In the end I decided to find a company on my own not offered by the NEF. In the end it was a good move!

What company are you currently working with and how’s the experience been so far for you?

Covetique. It is an online marketplace to buy and sell pre-owned luxury designer women’s fashion. Think Net-a-Porter meets Ebay. The experience has been excellent so far – it has been incredibly exciting being part of the launch and seeing the company evolve over the last few months

What are some of the key things that you’ve learnt so far from working for this startup?

Always be flexible. In the early stages things change so quickly and you have to react to changing priorities

Its crucial to constantly be thinking innovatively about processes, the way you work, how you deal with customers etc. Its all new territory and you constantly need to adapt.

Why did you choose to work in a startup rather being in an established company and how does it differ from your time working in Vodafone, what is so special about working in a startup?

I wanted to work in a start-up as I wanted to be part of creating something new from the ground-up where I could have lots of responsibility and opportunity, so that I could learn as much as possible.

Its special because you are creating and building something completely new, which gives a lot of personal fulfillment. You also develop great relationships with your colleagues as you work in such a close and tight-nit team.

Is this something that you would recommend to other aspiring entrepreneurs? What’s the value in it?

Definitely. Firstly there is obvious value in being able to see at first hand how an idea is practically brought to life, if you want to do something similar – everything from dealing with suppliers, creating new processes etc.

Secondly the experience in itself is important. Being in that very fast-paced constantly evolving environment teaches you a lot.

What would you say has been some of your most memorable moment so far?

Launch day. Nothing spectacular happened as we went live, but there was a great feeling of excitement about the road ahead.

What can we be expecting from you in the future?

I’m extremely excited about where I am at the moment. The founders of the company I work with are highly exceptional and successful individuals, whom Im constantly learning from. Being the first person to join the company there is plenty of opportunity for me to continue help growing the company in an extremely interesting space.

I recently had the opportunity of interviewing an upcoming entrepreneur. Churchill Nanje Mambe is the founder of Njorku - a job search and career platform for Africans world wide.

This is what we talked about.

Hi Churchill, great to have you on YHP, how are you doing today?

I am doing fine though a little sleepy didn’t have enough sleep last night.

Can you give us some background information about yourself?

I am Churchill Nanje a Cameroonian software developer turned entrepreneur based in Buea, Cameroon. I have been doing software and web related business for the past 8yrs.

So Churchill, tell me about yourself growing up? What was your ambition? Were the entrepreneurial – making a quick buck type?

Growing up I have always been the inquisitive type and I always wanted to know how everything works. My dad was a scientist (Civil Engineer) and my mom is a midwife which means I have always been surrounded by sciences and science inclined conversations. My ambitions have always been to do great things in my community and set examples for others. So my drive is mostly doing amazing things that will push the people around me to wonder and also try to do similar.

Let’s talk about your latest startup, Njorku, how did the idea come about?

Njorku was born out of frustration. I have been trying to employ and keep great talents in my ventures but the solutions available for me to do this easier and faster where nonexistent so I decided to fill the void and develop tools that will help job seekers and employers find just the best match including me.

That was not the only reason as the high rates of unemployment in Africa has been a great catalyst in the Njorku journey.

What is Njorku?

Njorku means elephant in my native language (Dikome Balue, Cameroon) but Njorku.com is a job search and career platform for Africans world wide. Its a platform that will host a series of technologies (web, mobile and enterprise) to help the job seekers and employers relating to Africa.

How have you been able to finance the business so far?

Njorku was initially self funded then I brought in a co-founder Betrand Kima based in Baltimore,MD. Who has been financing alongside me till we have successfully raised seed funding from Tchepannou Inc in Canada. So right now we got seed funding covering the servers, marketing and technology.

What’s your business model?

Our business model is a mixture of alot of things and there is no clear cut model right now we will try a couple of things which we are doing right now and by 2013 we sure will be making some profit. For now I can say our model is based in HR solutions, Hr services, subscriptions and advertising.

Is the business profitable?

Njorku is 9 months old and its not yet profitable but it shows alot of potentials

What has been some of the most crucial things you have done to grow your business?

I have spent sleepless nights brainstorming on options
I have written codes for long hours (16hrs) nonstop without a break or food (sort of fasting )
I spend a minimum of 2hrs every morning pondering about Njorku and every step that has to be taken and analysing steps and errors.

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

Research is very important
Devotion, persistence and strong belief in yourself and your ideas
Marketing is as important as programming and even more important when starting up but less when growing.

What plans do you have now to expand your business further?

We plan to take the business into every African country and serve millions of job seekers and thousands of employers within the next couple of years

I recently had the chance to interview up and coming entrepreneur Ashley Allen who tells us about Avenue Magazine and where he hopes to take it. Read on:

First of all tell us a little bit about Avenue Magazine?

Avenue Magazine is a digital youth and culture magazine that is distributed quarterly to readers with access to the internet (we are coming to print in 2012). The magazine is all about reflecting the interests of young people – music, fashion, technology, gaming, film and more – as well as providing them with a platform in which they can showcase their talents and achieve their goals in life.

When did you start this & what was the inspiration behind it?

I started Avenue Magazine in July 2011. The main inspiration behind it came from the London Riots. The negative press that the youth of the world received immediately after was too much for me, although some of it was deserved, but there are young people out there doing well with their lives, and trying to make their careers as successful as they can, whether this be at Uni, working in the community, running their own businesses, etc, and I wanted to put these people on the map. Me being only 23 years-old myself, this is something I really feel passionate about.

So I got myself a desk in my bedroom, set up a basic website, and dived straight in. There was no planning before, it was quite literally “I’m going to set up a magazine for young people” and that was that.

What were you doing before starting Avenue Magazine?

I’m actually still working full time as a sales representative for a local industrial transmissions company. I work 5-9 (and early mornings, and weekends) with Avenue Magazine, but I can’t complain because it’s been an amazing experience so far.

What revenue channels do you have or are looking at?

I’m looking to raise revenue from advertising both online (banners, ad squares, homepage takeovers, etc) and in the magazine (double page, full page, half page, etc). To be honest, it’s not something I’ve really pushed up to now, because the magazine was started so quickly I wanted to build up the audience and content first. Looking back it should have been the other way, I know, but I have no regrets. And roughly three weeks ago a local design agency called Dawson Designs became our first site sponsor with a 125×125 ad square for a three month period!

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

My advice to anybody thinking about going in to business is always the same short but to the point line. If you want to go out and do something, do it and don’t wait around until it is too late.

At what point did you think that running your own business is what you really wanted to do?

You may laugh at this, but ever since I left school and saw people walking around town in suits, I always wanted to run my own business so I could dress like them – that’s a pretty stupid reason, eh? On a more serious note, the drive to have my own business began a couple of years ago when I started reading up on it via books, Google, YouTube, Twitter (basically, as any free tools I could get my hands on). I’ve studied administration, bookkeeping and now I’m studying journalism. Everything I’ve learned is self taught, I’m a big fan of D.I.Y. And 2012 will be the official launch of Avenue Magazine UK as a business.

What challenges have you faced starting a business & how have you overcome them?

Getting people interested in my magazine was a big challenge to begin with. There are a lot of magazines out there that are similar to what I do, but on a much bigger scale. How did I overcome it, I annoyed my friends by posting links on their Facebook profiles, so that their friends would read it and pass it on, and on, and on. Avenue Magazine isn’t a business as such yet, so the challenge in 2012 is to make that happen. How I’ll overcome it… I’ll have to let you know on that one!

So what are your future plans, where do you hope to be in 5 years time? 

In 5 years time I want my Avenue Magazine be a youth-run organisation, a part of the community. A place where young children and people can come on work experience, placements, school holidays, so I can give something back to Ilkeston, the town I grew up in. I also want to have the magazine stocked in local stores, bars, hairdressers, any location that young people go. That’s the plan. BRING ON 2016!

–

You can follow the progress of Ashley and Avenue Magazine via the following links:

Follow @rishi_chowdhury
Follow @officialyhp

Also be sure to check out the YHP magazine and subscribe for news and the latest articles from YHP.

I recently had the opportunity of interviewing the Co-founder of Fantasy Shopper – Chris Prescott. He talks about his crazy journey so far as an entrepreneur, especially with starting Fantasy Shopper.

This is the interview.

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

Thanks for having me, it’s a pleasure to have Fantasy Shopper featured on YHP. I’m actually doing great thanks, a few days off over Christmas has enabled me to recharge my batteries, so I’m raring to go again now after a rather busy 2011!

Can you give us some background information about yourself?

I studied Computer Science with a focus on AI at Exeter University, initially wanting to build robots, but the cynic in me decided to not risk an unfilled life chasing unobtainable AI ideologies. So instead, I opted for a more commercial path focussing on web development and digital marketing. I did this for a few years in between traveling and then decided to come home (to Exeter) to build Fantasy Shopper.

Tell us about Fantasy Shopper? How the idea come about?

The initial idea was going to be called Shop Shares and came to me a few years earlier. Shop Shares’ goal was to ‘turn life into a catwalk’. I wanted to develop a platform that would enable the purchaser of a clothing item to automatically become a micro affiliate for that item. I wanted to reward offline peer to peer marketing but soon discovered it would prove to be a logistical nightmare.

I shelved the idea and forgot all about it until one day, literally a few years later, I dreamt of a solution: if all the transactions were fantasy, the logistical problems of Shop Shares would become redundant while maintaining the same emotional experience. I bolted up in bed, went straight to the stationers, bought a big pad of A3 paper and spent the whole day in a coffee shop sketching out Fantasy Shopper – we still have those original sketches on our office wall today

What is Fantasy Shopper?

Fantasy Shopper centralises, socialises and gamifies online shopping. It’s widely reported that while consumers appreciate the utility value of shopping online, they feel it lacks the hedonic experience of real world shopping – consumers want to be social and they want to be entertained. We see social gaming as a solution to this, but at Fantasy Shopper we’re evolving social gaming by making it relevant through the incorporation of real world product data enabling players to capture real world value.

Tell me about the early stage of turning it from an idea into what it is now, some of the challenges you faced?

Fortunately for us, quite literally every person we spoke to about Fantasy Shopper just totally got the concept and vision straight away, so we were always pushing on open doors. That helped us get momentum but what I have learned this past year is that it’s all about execution and execution takes ALOT of hard work. We each averaged around 90-100 hours per week consistently all year and maintaining that was our biggest challenge. You have great days and you have bad days and startup life is an absolute roller coaster.

One thing that always helped us was to remind ourselves on a great day that a bad day was just around the corner, that helped us stay grounded and focussed. Then on a bad day, we’d remind ourselves that a great day was just around the corner, that helped us stay positive. Our motto is “get shit done” and we just work our way through all the challenges with sheer perseverance and determination. One word of advice to anyone thinking about doing an ambitious startup is to make sure you absolutely love it because it will completely take over your life, physically, emotionally and financially!

How have you guys been able to fund it?

We had the absolute pleasure of being invited onto the best accelerator program in Europe, HackFwd, founded by XING founder Lars Hinrichs. We’ve been the only UK startup invited onto HackFwd so far and the support we’ve received through HackFwd these past 12 months has been absolutely mind blowing.

HackFwd provided us with around £170k of seed funding which is designed to replace our salaries, but we opted to live like paupers on virtually zero pay and invest every penny we could into Fantasy Shopper. We also won Born Global (Southwest Business competition) which gave us £20k, IC Tomorrow (UKTI competition) which gave us £10k and most recently Amazon Global Startup Challenge in Silicon Valley where we beat 1500 other startups from 78 countries to become the first ever non US winner which provided us with $100k and lots of other goodies.

You guys just only launched in October and already having so much impact, how have you managed to do that?

Firstly, we have a great product. Without a great product, we wouldn’t have made any impact. Secondly, we’re absolutely fearless and that goes a long way. The culture within our team is one of complete confidence and we’re all prepared to run through brick walls to achieve success.

You mentioned above about Amazon Web Services’ global Start-up Challenge, tell me about your experience in the challenge and eventually winning it?

It was pretty crazy to be honest. Dan (my co-founder) and I were in London the night before we flew to Silicon Valley and literally didn’t get any sleep that night. We then missed the next night through travel and arrived in San Jose around 4pm having not slept for about 50 hours. There was a cocktail reception party at the hotel from 6pm to 8pm and after that, all the other finalists went to bed while me and Dan ended up going into town clubbing again until I think 5am.

Our first judging panel was at 7am which was a super intensive hour long scrutiny from all the Amazon VPs. Throughout the day we had all sorts of other work sessions and then I had to present on stage at 8pm, 13 hours after the first judging panel and with literally about 1 hour sleep of the last 90 and lots of jet lag and hangover thrown in for good measure.

It was a live web stream and the physical audience was probably around 1000 people and I was really struggling to stay awake by that point! We always promise ourselves that we’ll behave sensibly, but it never happens! Anyway, it was a happy ending because we won the Golden Hammer and leveraged its capabilities very well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyq1-RGO_Rs

What has been your most memorable moment so far?

There have been LOADS of fantastic moments already. The competition wins were great every time. The HackFwd Build Events are always amazing. The recent financing round produced a beautiful conclusion. Meeting each new member of the Fantasy Shopper team for the first time was always very special.. hmmmm.. let me think.. I guess one that really stands out was the day my partner Andrea went into labour. She was having contractions and I had a really important video pitch to do with Dan in the office that morning, so I promised her I’d be back shortly and got up to the office as fast as I could. I asked the organisers to rearrange the schedule allowing us to pitch first instead of last and had to explain my reasons why.

I pitched it hard and fast, left the office asap, picked up Andrea and we went straight to the hospital and Isabel was born a few hours later! Luckily, Andrea is super supportive!! Note: try to avoid launching an ambitious startup, having a baby and moving apartments in the same fortnight, it’s challenging to say the least!!

What can we be expecting from you guys in 2012?

Hopefully more of the same but on a bigger scale. We’ll have to just wait and see because we take things one task at a time.

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to him on Twitter.

A university student at King’s College London is aiming to change the student job market.

Jack Tang, a second year student currently studying a degree in Business Management BSc at King’s College London is hoping to disrupt the student job market with his startup thestudentjob – a social network based platform that aims to become UK’s first immediate solution to flexible labour needs, an aggregator for all temporary and casual work throughout the UK.

Here is the full interview.

So Jack tell us a little about our startup The Student Job?

Thestudentjob.com was founded with an aim to help thousands of students to find casual work whilst at university. We are trying to encourage businesses to offer really flexible work such as a couple of hour shift here and there or even part-time jobs so that students can fit it around their studies. The initiative came soon after the heated debate on tuition fees and student cuts, having a job whilst at university is going to be a necessity to make life work at university.

Students will either be strong-armed from university, or, graduate with a life of debt repayments for many years. Our business is built on strong beliefs that thestudentjob.com, consist of a group of university students can make a difference, reduce youth unemployment and help students tackle the imminent financial hardship we will face. These form the foundation of our core values at The Student Job.

What makes The Student Job different from its competitors?

Firstly from a business perspective, we are a student lead initiative and student run company. We understand the student market better than any other. Aside from that, our website is second to none, thestudentjob.com is a real-time location based job site. We aim to help students to find jobs in real-time and within their local area.

For example, Ellie wanted some money to go purchase some books, her student loan has run out, she can find a one-off job on thestudentjob.com, perform the job on the day or soon after the application and then get the money she needed for the books. Ellie would have been able to save time and money on travel as she’ll be able to find jobs on her doorstep.

Further to this, we are the first casual employment social network, each student has it’s own LinkedIn style profile and each employer has their own profile for students to find out more about the company as well as following the company’s activities.

What was the inspiration behind The Student Job?

I’ve been surrounded by many amazing inspirational people with great motivations. Over the years, I’ve also developed my own internal source of inspiration; my aim is to develop businesses to benefit the masses, for the greater good. This motivation acted as my inspiration to develop creative business ideas that will socially benefit others but also I can make my mark.

Is it your first startup? If no, what was your first startup and was it a failure or success?

Thestudentjob.com is my 3rd start-up, I’ve been experimenting since the age of 12. My previous venture before thestudentjob.com was Tapalog, Tapalog is an IT system used at exhibition events that provided a self-service style information kiosk, visitors could obtain products information on specific companies by using their business card or exhibition pass. Tapalog acted as an information exchange medium, where visitors got the product information they wanted from the businesses but also left their business information for the company to contact them at a later date.

This start-up has been successful for me personally. Financially, we have not made a penny but only losses, but that didn’t matter, why? I have enhanced my technical skills, business skills, skills that are invaluable for entrepreneurs. Tapalog was trial tested at Excel London for the Grand Design Live 2011 and Natural Stone Show 2011. Without spending all the time developing the system and trying, I wouldn’t have been able to meet contacts and test my product at one of UK’s largest exhibition halls. The experience of building the business has been the success of this venture. I’ve learnt many things and being ambitious is a great thing but I was over ambitious and unrealistic with the given amount of resources I had at the time.

What have you found to be the hardest part of building a startup?

Keeping yourself motivated is one of the hardest parts of building a start-up; it really isn’t an easy task. It is a marathon; you need going and also motivate your colleagues because they are extremely valuable resource in getting your business off the ground.

Being an entrepreneur can get lonely, but have a close circle of friends you can talk to and bounce ideas off them. It will make your experience a lot more enjoyable.

What advice would you give to any aspiring entrepreneurs?

My key message has always been, start while you’re young, explore into different ventures now. Don’t wait for things to happen, because it won’t. Even you don’t have the big idea now; you should still look into setting up a small business buying and selling products or services. You will learn a lot of new skills every time you do something different. Accumulate all your skills and really go 110% when you think you have that ‘Big’ idea.

Now you’re still at university, which is great as your target market is right there in front of you, while your but how do you find managing your time around both?

Over the years I have been setting up businesses whilst in full-time education, I’ve learnt to juggle my time and always find time to get things done. I tend to plan my time in advance, equip myself with good communication tools so I can squeeze in an email whilst on the tube and send it when I get off. Those little moments you have nothing to do, I always see that as an opportunity to work on my business. Recently, I’ve started to recruit a lot of interns to work on areas they want to enhance their skills. Although I’ve spent a lot of time training and educating them, overtime, it has saved me time to do other things that warrants my attention.

There is a lot of debate about going to university or starting your own business, considering your doing both, what is your opinion on this?

Well, personally I believe that university is not for everyone. Although it is a great platform to meet new contacts and be exposed to lots of opportunities, I believe that if you are ready to venture out and take risks with your business you believe in, then university is not for you.

The reason I went to university is not the right one, but, the time I’ve spent here at King’s College London, I have met many talented individuals who I can see them working in my business later on. It has been effectively been a ‘incubating’ period for me to develop my ideas and making sure when I do chose to leave university, I am working on something that will surely take off.

For me, I’m using my time at university as an incubator to develop my business. However, theoretically I am still obliged to keep on top of my work at university, which I have if any lecturers are reading this.

How did you go about funding the business?

Funding thestudentjob.com has been a mixture of my personal savings that I have accumulated from previous ventures and by doing slide services to generate revenue that is reinvested into the business. My technical skills and our skills as a company is web development and internet marketing, we have contracted our skills as services to other companies to generate revenue to invest into our brainchild.

What does your revenue come from?

Thestudentjob.com has several revenue streams, which is great for keeping the company afloat. Our main source of revenue comes from our job listing fees; we charge a one-off listing fee per vacancy (similar to eBay). Our second revenue stream comes from advertisements on our website, we have several placements to sell each month. Our third comes from sponsorships, as we are a social enterprise, large corporations have been attracted to sponsor our cause. Fourth, we charge businesses to carried out targeted marketing services to our members and also direct marketing services we offer as apart of thestudentjob.com subsidiary services.

How many people are signed up to the studentjob.com?

To date, and since our beta launch on the 10th October 2011, we have had over 8,500 students registered on the website as job seekers. We have processed over 300 job applications and we haven’t stopped growing since!

How have you marketed your site on a shoestring budget?

Our marketing expenses so far have been less than £1,000 in total, so yes, on a shoestring budget. We have doing all the marketing we can do in-house; most of our budget has gone into printing for the fresher’s fair, which hasn’t had a great response in-comparison to our social-media efforts. We’ve got over 4,500 fans on our Facebook page without spending a penny.

Have you always been an entrepreneur at heart or is it something you grew into?

I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart, I started selling cartoon trading cards at the age of 11, started my first computer hardware business at the age of 12 selling bespoke computers. At the age of 14, I started a web design and online marketing company, today it is known as Interwebs (Interwebs.org). I have had many small ventures that I have not included in my writing but I have learnt many small lessons that I have applied to my latest venture thestudentjob.com

Jack is on Twitter @JackCKTang
Thestudentjob.com @thestudentjob

If you are interested to learn more about Jack Tang and his latest venture, please contact him on jack.tang@thestudentjob.com

Interest in working with Jack? Thestudentjob.com offers you invaluable skills and contacts you can take away with you – you may even land yourself a job! Get in touch info@thestudentjob.com

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