J U N /J U L 2017 ISSUE 17

Double
acts
What goes into forming
an invincible duo?

FEATURING

Dishoom
Frame
Amaliah
It’s Nice That
Echo

PLUS: Monzo — Music — Wah Nails — Petrol stations — Interns — Beavertown — Adult gymnastics
 E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R

Seeing in a frazzled state for what has

felt like months. There’s been
success to the world, and the
self doubt and instability that

double one question we’ve kept coming

back to: how in god’s name
lurks inside.
Having that constantly swirling

Courier Just before writing this, I sent

Jeff (my business partner) a text.
Jun/Jul 2017 He’s been bouncing between
Reading and Edinburgh all week,
courierpaper.com deep in client work and keeping
does anyone do this shit solo?
People do – and it’s little short
of mind-blowing. Yet founders
without a partner do often confess
how much they wish for one.
Perhaps this is why people in
around in a single jittery mind
with no outlet can’t be easy.
The format of dual heads at the
helm of a company seems to have
become more common in recent
years. We explore the dynamic in

LEAP
various plates spinning. sole charge often elevate a senior this issue.
@courierpaper The two of us have checked in person in the company to be a The stories of double acts behind
with each other at the top and de facto partner, a co-founder in companies like Dishoom, Echo
Publisher tail of each day. A business-like all but name. and It’s Nice That reveal the huge
Jeff Taylor call first thing; and an evening Being able to share responsibilities variations in founder relationships;
catch up (more cathartic than and gain a different perspective they’re as diverse as the companies
Editor In Chief
anything else). on big decisions undeniably lies themselves.
Soheb Panja
‘How’s things? [Scottish flag, behind this yearning, but it’s as Something often overlooked in
Managing Editor smiley face].’ ‘Surviving. But it’s much about the need for an ally running a company is the need for
Tomas Jivanda sunny [sunglasses face].’ to share the failures, uncertainty, emotional intelligence. It especially
I sent over some PDFs of pages hope and joy. comes to the fore when you
Senior Reporter
in this issue to get comments back. A VC I spoke to explained why consider what’s required to nurture
Amy Lewin
We exchanged a couple more getting a business off the ground the most valuable asset in a young
Reporter messages (office admin, more takes such a huge emotional toll company – the force that exists
Sarah Drumm catharsis) and got back to our on a founder. He believes it’s between the two people driving it.
to-do lists. because of the conflict between I’m certainly looking forward to
Designer
Both of us have been operating the need to project a picture of getting my business partner back.
Simon Kuhn
Subbing
Harriet Fitch Little INSIDE THE ISSUE
Advertising and Commercial
Tommy Seres 05 COURIER INDEX
Life science startups continue to attract VC cash.

WITH CERTAINTY.
Francesco Fiori
Creative Partnerships A N A LY S I S
The power of the ‘direct to consumer’ model.

07
Luis Mendoza
Contact
07 C O V E R S T O RY

NOT FAITH.
[first name]@wearecourier.com
The magic dynamic between business duos.
—
C O V E R S T O RY
Illustration
Jonny Wan
14 C O U R I E R TA L K S
Is the music industry really making money again?
Alessandro Apai
If a cyber-attack takes down your business we Aleksandar Savić
16 LEADER
Photography Personalised services aren’t always a good thing.
provide the expertise and assurance to get you Jasper Clarke
Tomas Jivanda
back up and running, fast. 17 GUEST COMMENT

29
Interns The relationship between interns and startups.
Charlotte Irwin
Specialist small business insurance. Tom Rees
18 P E T RO L STAT I O N
The £92m service station reinventing the model.
—
COURIER LIFE
Advertising and Distribution
francesco@wearecourier.com 19 M O N E T I S AT I O N
A newsletter with cheap flight tips goes freemium.
—
Work with us 21 TUBE ADS
Why startups love advertising on the underground.
jobs@wearecourier.com
J U N /J U L 2017 ISSUE 17

24 P O RT R A I T
Tom Blomfield, Monzo’s CEO and evangelist.

Double
26 D I S PAT C H E S
Is Berlin’s VR scene more creative than London’s?
acts
27
What goes into forming
an invincible duo?

FEATURING
LOWDOWN
Dishoom
Frame
Q&A with WAH nails founder Sharmadean Reid.

34
Amaliah
It’s Nice That
Echo

29 COURIER LIFE
Wild garlic, colourful chairs and working out.

PLUS: Monzo — Music — Wah Nails — Petrol stations — Interns — Beavertown — Adult gymnastics
34 W O R K S PA C E
Behind the barrels at Beavertown Brewery.
W O R K S PA C E

SP_COURIER_PRESS_320x223.indd 1 25/05/2017 15:43

Cover
Illustration: Jonny Wan
— SUBSCRIBE TO CO URIER.
All rights reserved. Get a year of print editions direct to your door.
© 2017 Courier Holdings Ltd
ISSN 2396-9334 courierpaper.com/subscribe
Hiscox Underwriting Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. EVER ONWARDS 3
#berlinfashionweek www.fashion-week-berlin.com FEB /MAR A N A LYS I S

Courier index
Snapshot on UK investment deals with data compiled in partnership with Beauhurst.
T R AC K E R
Fundraising hit a recent
high in March. Venture
fundraising rounds
accounted for the
largest increases in value,
more than doubling the
amounts compared to
Decoding the rules of
‘direct to consumer’
The American retail giant The average consumer
Investment deals (London) Target recently made a would struggle to say if
360m 160
£780m offer to buy or why the frames from
Number of deals
320m 140 Casper – a four-year-old Sunglass Hut are any
Investment (£)
mattress startup. worse than those from
280m 120 It could be the £155m Warby Parker.
worth of mattresses which Startups may demand
100
240m Casper has sold since in good design and materials,

#berlinfashionweek www.fashion-week-berlin.com the same period last

year. Significantly
smaller amounts are
200m

160m
80

60
2016 which prompted the
bid. But Casper isn’t the
only mattress startup
but that’s not what gives
them an edge.
Even the suitcase
going towards seed- making waves. Simba and startups with their USB
stage companies: the 120m 40 Eve are having a similar charging ports and GPS
total amount of funding effect in the UK. tracking are already being
80m 20
at seed stage has fallen Substitute mattresses copied by Samsonite.
by 19% year-on-year. 51 62 38 40 48 81 for watches, suitcases, Instead, simplification
Oct 16 Nov 16 Dec 16 Jan 17 Feb 16 Mar 17 razors and spectacles, is a meaningful product
and a similar pattern difference. Consumers
TOTAL NUMBER OF BIGGEST DEAL can be seen. are either overwhelmed by
£398m 129 £60m A whole range of choice (over 350 mattress

4–7JULY
INVESTMENT DEALS CELL MEDICA consumer startups are types at John Lewis),
attacking sectors by or exhausted by it (the
deploying a startlingly spurious upgrades on
similar methodology. a razor blades).
HI G HL I G HT S Dollar Shave Club and
Warby Parker were among 3. Brand disconnect
This is Bloom and Wild’s fourth round, bringing its total the first to demonstrate Established brands are
Bloom and Wild
raised to date up to £7.2m. The three-year-old flower that it’s possible to prise failing to resonate with

2017
Flowers £3.75m subscription company will put the cash towards its plans
for expansion into Europe.
open the once seemingly
unshakeable strangleholds
young consumers. ‘They’ve
somehow got their brands
of big companies. stuck in a previous era,’
Startups are already says Oliver Bridge from UK
Three venture capital funds put £19.5m into the digital taking chunks of market razor startup Cornerstone,
Monzo bank. It raised a further £2.5m on Crowdcube from over share, attracting young pointing to macho imagery
6,000 investors. The cash will go towards fulfilling the capital shoppers and, most and sponsorships of
Banking £22m requirements demanded by the financial regulator in order potently, threatening gurning sports stars.
to operate as a full-service bank. (See Portrait, p24). to undermine the very Bridge believes honesty
business models that and authenticity have
have upheld the enduring been more important in
S EC TOR : F I N T EC H success of the incumbents. racking up 110,000 razor
Sectors with fat and subscribers in the three
Investors appear undeterred in their backing of UK fintech startups, despite the fears inefficient supply chains years since he launched
that losing so-called ‘passporting’ benefits as a result of leaving the EU will stunt the and out-of-touch brands than any structural factors.
growth of this active sector. are being appraised ‘People are sick of getting
for their disruption- done over and lied to,’
Stand-out raise Funding from Google Ventures will be used to help cross- worthiness. he says.
Currencycloud

4–7JULY
border payments company Currencycloud expand further There are four The watch industry with

£20m
into the US and Asia. The company, which was set up in fascinating dimensions
east London in 2012, has recently expanded to New York. to the direct-to-consumer
phenomenon.
1. Slicing through
S P OT L I G H T distribution
Spectacles startups are
GROWTH an example of the potential
SEED
that lies in ripping out the
Deals 61 Deals 19 layers of people taking a
its notions of luxury and
aspiration seems especially
mired in a values chasm
with modern consumers.
The luxury watch market
was down 10% last year.
4. Over-deliver on service
Warby Parker said its most
important metric is its Net

2017
Total £34m Total £182m cut in the supply chain: Promoter Score – a retail
designers, manufacturers, standard used to signal
Biggest deal: ApcinteX £14m Biggest deal: Cell Medica £60m lens makers, brand customer satisfaction.
This startup out of Cambridge University Cell Medica is a company manufacturing licensers, distributors, Startups focused on
is developing a drug for haemophiliac drugs to treat infectious diseases and wholesalers, and retailers. service, with total control
patients. The haemophilia treatment cancer. It was valued at £100m at the Stefan Howle, the of every stage of the
market is estimated to be worth £8bn. time of this raise. founder of suitcase startup customer experience,
Horizn, calls this ‘the are vastly different from
verticalization of trade’. the established players.
For him, this ‘v-commerce’ The challengers talk
VENTURE CROWD model takes the supply about making every
Deals 49 Deals 31 chain efficiency pioneered stage ‘frictionless’ and
Total £183m Total £21.9m by the likes of Ikea and ‘Uber-like’. Being born
Zara, and combines it with from e-commerce gives
Biggest deal: Pulmocide £24m Biggest deal: Elvie £4.6m e-commerce learning from them the ability to do so.
Another life sciences company, Pulmocide Elvie produces a wearable, Bluetooth- Amazon and Asos. Gillette, meanwhile, is at
will be able to invest more into research for enabled pelvic floor exercise device for the mercy of retailers like
treatment for respiratory infections. women. It has motion sensors and is 2. It’s not about product Boots which ultimately
linked to an app. Gillette has spent years control the critical point
researching what it takes of interaction between the
Beauhurst provides data and insight on UK startups and high-growth companies. to make the best razors. product and the customer.
5

GOT THE NEXT BIG IDEA?
WeWork is giving away over $20 million in eight cities
to those who are thinking in new ways, building fresh
projects, and achieving real change.
We’re headed to London!
Apply for your chance to win at
creatorawards.wework.com
COV E R STO RY
TWO IS THE
MAGIC NUMBER
I
n 2009, the Blackberry was so popular it
was being referred to as the Crackberry.
It accounted for half of all smartphones
being sold. It was even credited for
single-handedly facilitating a political
revolution in the Middle East.
Earlier this year, it emerged Blackberry’s 50%
share of the market had evaporated, down to a
piddling 0.04%.
This almighty crumbling was attributed to
tough competition from Apple and Google.
But what the story missed was the collapse
of the relationship between the company’s
co-CEOs, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis.
Having steered Blackberry to its highs, the pair
then clashed and split the business between
warring commercial and product teams,
effectively strangling any momentum. They
stopped working as a partnership and it
ultimately led to the downfall of the company.
The format of dual heads at the helm of a
company has become more common in recent
years. It creates a fascinating dynamic where
two people, brought together by history,
friendship, circumstance or design, are thrown
into a profoundly intense relationship on which
prosperity, creativity and sanity are all staked.
What is, in theory, lost in decisiveness with
a single owner is compensated for by having
someone else to share the responsibilities,
as well as the good times and bad.
At its best, having two complementary
It can be the most
emotionally demanding
relationship in a person’s
life. It can also be the
factor which determines
the success or failure of
a company: The double act.
individuals with a common bond and strong
emotional qualities can create a seemingly
invincible force.
There are examples in virtually every sector.
One of the fastest-growing companies in
London right now is Transferwise, a facilitator
of international money transfers that has
just broken into profit and is on course to hit
£100m in revenue this year. The relationship
between the two Estonians who run the
company is credited with powering that
success; they share a common goal and
enemy (big banks and their egregious fees).
The balance between the outgoing and
enthusiastic Taavet Hinrikus and his partner,
the more detail-oriented Kristo Käärmann, is
a template that is so ubiquitous as a business
double act it borders on caricature.
But will the Transferwise founders, and the
thousands like them, avoid the relationship
breakdown of Balsillie and Lazaridis?
The answer appears to lie in whether founders
can successfully grow their business into
something more than the sum of their talents.
Big companies are much less reliant on just
two people, points out Ondine Smulders, a
pyschotherapist. An established business, with
systems in place, can continue to grow even
when the bosses disagree. ‘With two or five or
20 employees, when two owners get into a fight,
it can cripple the whole thing,’ she says.
Lots of startup founders, especially tech ones,
are increasingly seeking professional conflict
therapy or the kind of relationship counselling
more commonly associated with married
couples, she adds. ‘Lots of people think because
they’re friends, it’s going to be okay and they’re
never going to run into problems. If you don’t
put proper agreements in place, you’re setting
yourself up to fail.’
The line between a business relationship
that’s almost magically effective and one that’s
dysfunctional can be a fine one. A considerable
amount of practical guidance is given in the
coming pages around defining responsibilities
in the early days, swapping roles and working
out how to give each other space, while also
making the most of strengths and covering for
weaknesses. But many talk frankly about the
emotional dynamic, and the need to fuel the
relationship with the kind of trust, respect and
affection required when it feels like a business
is taking on the entire world.
7
 C OV E R STO RY
1 animatedly about their team, training schemes,
DISHOOM
Shamil and Kavi Thakrar
Shamil and Kavi Thakrar are
unlikely restaurant revolutionaries;
prior to Dishoom, neither had any
experience in hospitality. But with a
shared fastidiousness and creative
vision, the cousins have created an
impressive dining machine.
In every Dishoom the attention to detail
is almost fanatical. In the Carnaby Street
restaurant, the screw heads in the lobby were
replaced midway through construction – they
didn’t have Phillips screws in 1960s Bombay. In
King’s Cross, guests queueing outside the madly
popular Irani-cafe-inspired Indian restaurant
are handed umbrellas if it starts raining. The
fifth, and most recent, site in Edinburgh has
been designed as though by Patrick Geddes,
a Scotsman who lived in Bombay in the 1920s,
although in reality by the restaurant’s actual
founders, cousins Shamil and Kavi Thakrar.
‘We found this character, and then imagined
a day in his life, his story, and then imagined
him imagining opening an Irani cafe, and then
opened the Irani cafe he would’ve opened,’
explains Shamil.
Dishoom has been a runaway success in the
last seven years. In many ways, it epitomises
London’s transformed food scene: no bookings,
queues around the block, a traditional cuisine
that’s been steadfastly modernised while
retaining something authentic and egalitarian.
8
Kavi Thakrar (left) and Shamil Thakrar (right)
That success can be attributed to the cousins.
They clearly love what running a business like
Dishoom enables them to do: both speak
and employee benefits; the food charities the
business supports; the way in which Londoners
of all ages and incomes come together to eat the
famous bacon naan rolls.
Left brain, right brain
Shamil, the more talkative of the two, covers
the strategic and creative side of the business.
He previously ran their family’s business Tilda,
the UK's biggest rice company. Kavi, who spent
four years at the World Bank, is responsible for
the operational side of the business and is,
unsurprisingly, the practical one.
‘I tend to go off on flights of fantasy and have
quite crazy ideas,’ says Shamil. ‘But I will always
sense check [an idea], and say, “Is this stupid, is
there any point in doing this?’’’
Being family makes asking for, and receiving,
those reality checks easier.
‘It’s trusting the other person to spot your
weaknesses or your blind spots,’ says Kavi. ‘If
I’m not thinking about something that Shamil’s
concerned about, he’ll say, “You know what, I
know you’re taking care of this, but just think
about that.’’ And I’ll do the same to him, give
him my five seconds. Growing up with that
relationship together anyway makes you more
aware of each other’s sensitivities. I think it’s
an enormous benefit.’
‘We have quite different strengths and
weaknesses,’ says Shamil. ‘I’m a bit more wacky
and left-field, whereas Kavi is quite grounded.’
‘But I think we need that,’ adds Kavi. ‘You
want both in what we do, because when you
come here, hopefully you leave feeling a certain
way; you feel looked after, and you’ve enjoyed
yourself. Ultimately [that comes down to] the
creativity that goes into the design and the
story-telling and bringing it all together, but
you also need to make sure the team have
the structure they need around them to look
after you.’
While their roles are now split fairly evenly
between ‘left brain and right brain’, they were
fairly ‘amorphous’ at the start, says Shamil.
At that point, two other founders – brothers
Adarsh and Amar Radia – were also involved
in running the business.
‘We’ve got into a rhythm of working together
much more closely,’ explains Shamil. The pair
share an office close to Dishoom’s Shoreditch
site with their senior management team. They
are both heavily involved in the opening of each
new restaurant, taking multiple trips to Bombay
together to research the story behind a new
location, and then sourcing furniture with
their designers. ‘We go through archives and
museums and look at architecture – we’ll
surreptitiously take photographs of hinges
and staircases – and then take these design
‘I’m a bit more wacky and
left-field, whereas Kavi is
quite grounded.’
ideas and pull them into a very authentic
environment,’ says Shamil.
They say most of their ideas, no matter
how ridiculous, have been executed.
‘There were many restaurateurs who
wouldn’t touch King’s Cross, because it was just
too difficult a site,’ says Shamil (the restaurant
is located in a former railway warehouse). ‘But
Kavi had a mental idea, looked at me, and
said, “Can we do this?’’’ The result: a floating
mezzanine level which breaks up the space
and, unusually, houses the kitchen.
Nowadays, Dishoom’s senior management
team of five provides an additional sense check.
‘We’ve definitely come to a consensus once
or twice,’ says Shamil. ‘And the team has said,
“That’s crap. You shouldn’t do it.’’ And we’ve
said, “Ok’’.’
‘We were really young,
and had all the time in
the world, so we both
did everything.’
2 ‘an in-detail person’, leads on
FRAME
Joan Murphy and Pip Black
As Shoreditch fitness studio Frame has
grown up, so too have the lives of its
founders, Pip Black and Joan Murphy.
With several sites, kids and employees
to manage, they’ve had to become
more structured in the way they work,
and work together.
When the first Frame studio opened in 2009,
Pip Black and Joan Murphy were involved in
everything: sandblasting the walls of the
ex-carpark, fixing the plumbing, managing the
accounts. ‘We were really young, and had all the
time in the world, so we both did everything,’
says Murphy who, like Black, was working in
advertising, boozing hard and struggling to fit
in serious sport when they met.
‘It was totally not time efficient,’ Murphy says
of their hands-on approach. ‘But we got a lot of
experience under our belts.’
Their roles are more defined now they have a
25-person full-time team and five sites to run –
Murphy, ‘more handy’, covers construction,
buildings, teachers and timetables, while Black,
3 Did carving up who does what
HARRY’S
Jeff Raider and
Andy Katz-Mayfield
US razor startup Harry’s
was founded by business school
friends Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-
Mayfield. They’ve borrowed tactics
from Raider’s last company, glasses
startup Warby Parker, and played to
their different strengths; Raider is the
more emotional of the pair, while
Katz-Mayfield is more rational.
Did you have the same vision for Harry’s?
Andy Katz-Mayfield: I called Jeff when I had
this frustrating experience in a drugstore
buying razors. A big difference [between us] at
that point (and still to this day) is my mind went
to ‘there is this big opportunity’ – Gillette is this
evil overlord taking advantage of consumers
and there is an opportunity to disrupt and
provide better value. Jeff saw it from more of
a consumer perspective: to build a brand that
connects emotionally with guys.
marketing, brand and legals.
They don’t have an office, and try
to avoid sending too many emails.
‘We’re quite structured,’ says
Murphy. ‘We have a weekly
meeting, and if you’re working on
something and want an answer we
Whatsapp, because you don’t want
to hold each other up.’
For specific projects, they
allocate each other tasks. ‘That’s a
really easy way of getting through
lots of things,’ says Black. ‘There
are so many different things
going on – you have to divide
and conquer.’
‘We work because we have full Joan Murphy (left) and Pip Black (right)
trust in each other. If the other
person says they’re going to do it,
they’re going to do it,’ says Murphy. ‘So you of all aspects of the business that they picked
can plan forward and you can move quickly.’ up in the early days has made it easier to cover
each other’s roles when one is away.
Forced to focus ‘Back six years ago, we couldn’t both go on
Over the last three years, as three new sites holiday at the same time,’ says Black. ‘We’d even
have opened and both have taken time off for schedule a night off. Now, we could both be on
maternity leave, they’ve drawn back from most maternity leave and it would continue to run.’
of the day-to-day running of the studios and put ‘But we wouldn’t have the element of new,
a senior management team in place. ‘It made evolving, interesting stuff,’ she adds – like the
us start going through a process of looking at pre- and post-natal classes and yoga teacher
where our skills were, and where we wanted training course they’ve just launched. ‘When
to concentrate time,’ says Black. Joan was away, we still spoke once a week – but
‘You become a lot more focused, and question there were so many things I wanted to do, and I
the superfluous stuff,’ adds Murphy. couldn’t get as many of them done without Joan
However, the shared and in-depth knowledge there to keep pushing everything forward.’
impacted by a decision and what they will be
fall into place immediately?
thinking. He really helps me create awareness
Jeff Raider: Because of
and deal with people and organisational stuff.
my experience at Warby JR: Andy thinks and acts in a very clear and
Parker, it was fitting that straightforward way.
I would spend more time on
AKM: Jeff’s positive spirit can lift me up, and
brand and customers:
encourage me to be more outspoken and bring
technology, customer
experience, service, front
energy to a situation. It’s been so important for
us, especially in the early days when you’re
of house. Andy was more around
living on optimism and spirit.
operations: factory, supply chain,
research and What about each other’s weaknesses?
product development.
JR: Andy likes to get information and make a
Are there any areas where you work together call. I think sometimes you need to get into the
more closely? weeds a bit more. That takes a lot of time and
JR: We align on planning. He will push for
emotional energy.
timing, and there is a bit of back and forth. I AKM: I suppose for Jeff, it’s just the flip side of
trust him to make really good decisions to make being an emotional guy. You know when he is
product, and he trusts me to get products into very stressed out. I like to think I can be a
customers’ hands. We’ve known each other so calming influence.
long, I know how Andy’s thought process is
What are the challenges of working so
evolving, so we can be really efficient. I can get
closely together?
more done in 15 minutes with Andy than I can
in an hour with someone else. AKM: Maintaining a friends’ relationship.
Give me an example of where the emotional/ JR: It’s hard to get past Harry’s; it’s the baby we
rational contrast manifests itself. had together. It was the same at Warby Parker.
The 10 minute walk from the Little League our
JR: I sometimes take negotiations more
kids went to would be a Warby Parker meeting.
personally. Andy sees it more as sport.
Have you had any major disagreements?
AKM: He’s better at negotiation than he gives
himself credit for. He likes to throw me in there! JR: Andy was really up for international
Jeff has very high emotional intelligence and expansion, while I thought it was [too] early.
he can identify and explain how people will be But we did it, and I’m happy we did.
9
 C OV E R STO RY
4 NB: I would hate to be doing the stuff Selina
AMALIAH
Nafisa and Selina Bakkar
Last year, sisters Nafisa and Selina
Bakkar founded Amaliah: a curated
fashion site and community voice
for Muslim women. Decades living
together has made pitching and
dividing business responsibilities easy.
You’re sisters. How does that make working
together different?
Selina Bakkar: We don’t have to over-explain
things. It just kind of clicks. She’ll finish my
sentences or say, ‘I’ve already had that idea’.
Nafisa Bakkar: And there are no pleasantries.
SB: The first three months, on the [Ignite]
accelerator, were very intense. We were
constantly messaging each other, voice noting
each other – got this great idea, talked to this
investor… That ease of communication, being
available to each other all the time, has allowed
us to move relatively quickly.
NB: Even when we’re at home, at family
gatherings, we have to actively be like, ‘Don’t
talk about work or everyone’s going to get
pissed off with us’. Because it’s so easy...
SB: The barbecue!
NB: I was going to say that. Everyone was sitting
around, talking about how Ramadan’s around
the corner. And me and Selina looked at each
other, and she was like, ‘Are you thinking what
I’m thinking?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, content?’
You can’t help but have work blur into your
personal lives.
10
Selina Bakkar (left) and Nafisa Bakkar (right)
Tell us more about being on the Ignite
startup accelerator.
SB: You have to be very strong – as a team,
as co-founders, as a company. Because you
do see people crumble. We were a double act;
you have to be able to command a room, and
you have to have that synergy between you.
NB: People were really compelled by the fact
that we were these two sisters on a mission.
I would do the unveiling of the site, and the
demo. Selina would do the speech about the
community, and how the Muslim voice is
really taking off.
SB: There were certain sentences you had
to get in.
NB: It’s like speed dating, so you’re going to see
12 people, and you’ve literally got 20 minutes...
SB: And some people are going to chat shit to
Three founder fallouts:
Planet Organic
Co-founders Renée Elliott and Jonathan Dwek
disagreed over how their food store should be
run. As both were equal shareholders in the
company, they got lawyers involved to end the
dispute. After a 14-month court case, Elliott
bought out Dwek for an undisclosed amount.
Google
In 2013, it emerged Sergey Brin was cheating
on his wife with a Google Glass employee
(who was the girlfriend of another Google
you. And what was hilarious, we both had our
laptop screens open…
NB: And we’d be on the same Google Doc –
‘He’s chatting nonsense, please don’t even
let it subliminally enter your mind…’
SB: Or, ‘Really good idea, love this guy’. And
whenever one of us had that gut feeling, we
both had it.
Were you in-sync even as kids?
NB: Interestingly, even though Selina’s seven
years older than me, I assume the CEO position,
while Selina takes care of the community,
writers, on-boarding, marketing…
SB: The mother.
NB: And I think that stems from our personal
relationship, because even growing up, I was the
disciplinarian out of the two of us. And I think
that has gone into Amaliah as well.
SB: I was that older sibling like, ‘Oh mum
and dad have gone on holiday, shall we get
our second ear pierced?’
NB: I don’t think we’ve ever felt like, ‘Why are
you the CEO, why aren’t I the CEO?’ We know
very clearly what our roles in the business are,
and what we need to be doing. I think for some
founders, that’s a very difficult thing. On the
accelerator, there was a trip to America, and
only one person from each team could go. Some
of the teams hadn’t distinguished who was the
CEO, and you could see there was real tension.
But for us – Selina was eight months pregnant
anyway…
SB: But it was a given [that Nafisa would go].
does… But that’s because she’s really good at
community building, talking to people. She’s
the funny one, the warm one.
I guess that’s why I’m good at building
business relationships, because they don’t
have to be intimate and personal.
SB: And as sisters, you’re cheering each other
on. You’re each other’s fan girl.
Nafisa, you’re off to San Francisco for two
weeks. How does it feel when you’re
separated?
SB: It’s a bit emotional, actually.
NB: It is, and because Selina’s also talking at the
Southbank Centre [while I’m away], I really want
to be there and hear it. We want to be there to
support each other.
And when we're communicating what we’re
doing, it comes across better when there’s both
of us. We have different perspectives, and we
cover very different demographics. We’re almost
like activists, and I think both of us in the room
together is very compelling.
executive). Brin’s co-founder Larry Page was
reportedly so scandalised by the whole episode
that the pair stopped talking. The two had been
friends since their college days at Stanford.
Seenit
Emily Forbes has lost two co-founders. She
split with the first over the direction their
production company should take. When she
founded video collaboration tool Seenit in 2014,
she hired a technical co-founder, Max Werner,
to help build the site. He left a year later.
Essentially, it’s a meat market
for coders. Here, people with ideas
(‘hustlers’) hunt for people with
the technical skills to build those
ideas (‘hackers’). I’m just not
convinced that this is the best
place to catch a coder.
Decent developers are a rare and
expensive commodity. They rarely
have to apply for jobs, let alone
attend meetups to hawk their skills
– and many want to do more than
simply build somebody else’s idea.
So what calibre of developer,
then, would bother coming along?
There wasn’t even any of the
obligatory free booze or pizza.
‘You have to kind of separate the
wheat from the chaff,’ says Rob, a
startup founder who’s been to this
event a handful of times and says
he’s lucky if he meets one useful
person each time. There was the
'A meat market
one occasion when he got chatting
without the teams or, it would to an ex-Google and Deep Mind
for coders'
seem, much bonding. developer. Tonight he’s had no
such luck.
Developer demand Yet every two weeks the show
When Courier’s senior reporter The problem tonight appears, goes on. And it’s not the only way
went speed dating. in part, to be the wildly varied founders date in town. Practically
businesses present. It feels like the every evening there’s a networking
‘It’s normally quite high energy,’ through a talk on branding and evening could benefit from a more event where potential CEOs and
one guy tells me. Looking around growing social media fans from focused approach. CTOs awkwardly size each other
the half-empty room at Google a guy with 188 followers on On stage, a pair hoping to start up. Entrepreneur First, the
Campus, I am unconvinced. Instagram. I then stayed firmly a ‘Shazam for fashion on TV’ are London-based tech accelerator,
It’s 8.30pm on a Wednesday seated while about 20 others followed by the founder of a is more upfront; it forces
night. I’ve been sidling up to queued to brave the ‘speed pitch’; robotics seed fund and a woman participants to buddy up to
strangers with my best awkward 30 seconds to sell yourself or your with an idea for a dating app for continue on its programme,
party side-shuffle for an hour, and business idea, with time marshals people of African descent. There’s and proudly match-made Magic
I’m yet to find anyone I really want armed with water guns ready to one dreadlocked man from the Pony’s co-founders.
to give my business card to, let
alone start a company with. This,
shoot down ramblers.
The event – ‘Hipsters, Hackers,
Netherlands on the hunt for
female ‘impact philanthropists’,
Clearly then, these arranged
marriages can end happily ever
it seems, is founder dating. Hustlers’ – is marketed as a way to a politics app hopeful and a food after. But after my first brush
find ‘co-founders or connections’. delivery startup founder. If they with speed dating, I wouldn’t
Speed pitch Yet it has all the trappings of a have anything in common, it’s that forget about the idea of forming
Before the networking and sizing skin-shudderingly embarrassing the majority are looking for the companies with friends or tried
up can commence, I’ve had to sit team bonding session, albeit same thing: a developer. and tested colleagues just yet.
when home and work lives are entwined. To otherwise I’ll be up all night worrying.’
exacerbate matters, founders’ moods always He adds that certain qualities – such as
weigh heavily among staff in a company, ‘noticing every little detail’ – that make Ruth
especially in a small one. Tension is palpable. an exceptional asset for the business ‘became
hell as a wife’.
For richer, Separating work and play
Taking time off is a recurring gripe for couple Fears for the future
for poorer founders. It can become impossible to take a
holiday together, and consequently shut down
Investors can be nervous about backing
couples who might split up, which demands
the business for that period. Maternity/ confronting unromantic questions over what
For co-founder couples, pillow talk paternity leave, weddings and honeymoons would happen to the business. Investors also
can be a professional minefield. become even more complicated. tend to ask founder couples about their plans
Couples fall into one of two camps on the for children – invariably directing those
In the second ever issue of Courier, we talked to subject of demarcating work and home. Many questions at female founders.
Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, who were a are evangelical about creating clear divisions; Gender stereotyping extends to the roles
year into their new London restaurant Honey others say it’s impossible to choose strict ‘no the founders take – the assumption being
and Co. ‘We do argue, but we just fight it out
and move on,’ said Srulovich.
work talk’ time.
Sonu and Eva Shivdasani are the husband-
that the creative founder will be female, the
commercial founder male.
There are countless couples who wake up and-wife partners of the Soneva group of hotel One half of adtech firm Unruly’s founding
and work together, ricocheting between two resorts. Sonu says: ‘Eva would read emails in team, Sarah Wood, says she was once assumed
emotionally-intense powder kegs. Hospitality, bed at midnight… and refer to what she was to be attending a meeting as the PR officer,
fashion and retail have the most examples: the reading or [ask] questions. That clearly didn’t despite having been introduced as the CEO.
Firmdale hotel, Lonely Planet, Mr and Mrs work.’ Since then the couple have established Her partner Scott Button takes a more
Smith; Prada, Clements Ribeiro, Preen; Toast, ‘clear boundaries’ around work and life but, product-led role as co-CEO.
Tiger and Links of London, to name a few. Sonu says: ‘It’s difficult as Soneva is our However they divide the roles, couples say
Most pairs echo Srulovich’s sentiment: passion. So we discuss things like design and the biggest advantage of working together
personal and business disputes demand concepts but not day-to-day working issues.’ is being able to reconcile their personal
immediate resolutions by sheer necessity. In the book The Art of Marriage, Tom and ambitions with the aims of the company.
A barney over putting a red sock with the Ruth Chapman – the pair behind the fashion They may want to work on something forever,
whites or blowing the budget on someone to retailer Matches – explain they have a similar exit when they have a family or sail off into
run the Instagram account simply can’t linger rule. Tom says: ‘We don’t talk shop after 8pm the sunset together.
11

C OV E R STO RY
5
IT’S NICE THAT
Alex Bec and Will Hudson
University design blog-turned-
media business It’s Nice That has
just celebrated its 10th birthday.
A decade in, founders Alex Bec
and Will Hudson say their student
friendship has morphed into
something much stronger.
‘It’s a funny old thing the relationship we have,’
says Will Hudson, who’s been running It’s Nice
That with his university friend Alex Bec for 10
years. The days of voluntarily hanging out
together at the weekends are long past; now
there are kids, and the two live in different
cities. Despite that, they often spend more
time with each other than they do with their
partners.
‘Are we best mates any more? Probably not,’
says Bec. ‘Do we have something completely
different? Yes.’
Trust and autonomy
While their roles have shifted over time, Bec has
always managed the day-to-day running of the
company – from events to client work. ‘What
we’ve learnt is Will is good at starting a new
thing; he’ll get his head down and not care if
people really doubt it. Whereas that would
derail me,’ says Bec. ‘What I like much more is
analysing what we’re currently doing and going,
“Have we made those things better?’’’
Each is entirely responsible for his area of the
business. ‘A reason why it works and we run a
successful business is that we trust that the
other one is wholly invested in what we’re
trying to do and where we’re going. It doesn’t
require a daily check-in to go, “Right, what do
6 running my own thing. Sai was coming in with
ECHO
Sai Lakshmi and
Stephen Bourke
Sai Lakshmi and Stephen Bourke
founded repeat prescription app
Echo, in July 2015 – despite never
having worked together before.
A few ego clashes, two investment
rounds and several hires later,
they’ve found their roles.
12
Will Hudson (left) and Alex Bec (right)
you do? Where did you get to on that thing?’’’
says Bec.
Hudson agrees: ‘You couldn't question
what someone was doing – that would drive
me insane.’
They have a regular 8.30am meeting on
a Monday morning to run through what’s
happening. ‘It’s a time we will make available
for each other to chat, almost always in-person,’
says Hudson, who works remotely half the
week. ‘It gives us an opportunity to have a
Before starting Echo, the two of you hadn’t
worked together. How did you decide who
took what role?
Stephen Bourke: When we started, it was a lot
more contentious as to who did what – because
we had less to do. The trivial stuff we argued
about at the start…
Sai Lakshmi: Macs or PCs? That was a good one.
SB: Just so much bullshit. I look back at it now
and I think, what the fuck were we wasting our
time on?
I was the GM [at Lloyds online pharmacy],
the vision, so there was a natural clash.
By the sheer fact of being a startup founder
you have to have an ego. So there’s always going
to be that friction. Difference is, can you wake
up the day after you have a fight and come back
into work and say, ‘Fuck it, we’re going to do
this’?
When I saw Sai, I saw someone who was
tenacious, a guy whose ambition and energy
matched my own, and who wanted to get stuff
done. I think that’s the main thing.
SL: I had a skill set that Stephen didn’t, and vice
versa. It’s kind of like… The machine needs to
turn and we’re the cogs that fit together. But you
need to figure it out, it’s kind of like dating.
Now you’ve got a team of 21 and £1.8m in
funding. What’s different, day-to-day?
PA RT N E R C O N T E N T: C O U R I E R FO R B E R L I N
Partner content: Courier + Airbnb
The city with
‘Are we best mates any more?
Probably not. Do we have
2,500 fashion
something completely
different? Yes.’
businesses
In the second instalment of our sector-by-sector
3
series on startups in Berlin, we take a look at the
German capital’s fashion scene.
1 entrepreneurs meet and relax are all things
2,500 that demonstrate Berlin’s open-minded nature.
fashion But it’s not enough to be surrounded by
companies creative minds. Fashion startups need space
to design and manufacture their creations,
which Berlin can offer at an affordable rate.
Herbert Hofmann, creative director of Voo
Store and originally from Austria, moved to
Berlin over nine years ago. Based in the city’s
hip Kreuzberg district, the concept store
200,000 stocks a curated selection of fashion, art
visitors to Berlin and design brands.
Fashion Week He says Berlin’s cheap rents are what allow
businesses to take risks on new concepts.
‘[In Berlin], you have a business idea and you
sounding board before anything get actioned,’ just try it,’ Hofmann says. ‘In the beginning for
adds Bec. ‘There’s no agenda necessarily; we Voo, to find the furniture, pay the rent and all
bring things we want to talk about.’ the necessary parts to actually run the shop,
Having someone to check decisions with is
2
£3.2bn all these costs were so low.’
invaluable, says Bec. ‘If we weren’t working Annual turnover of
together, I wouldn’t be quite sure of some of Berlin’s fashion
the decisions I was making. I slightly lose industry
conviction.’ 1 and 2. Voo Store in 4
‘When [Will’s] on holiday, the thing I miss Berlin’s Kreuzberg district.
more than anything is just someone to go, “Am 3. Angela Spieth and Michael Oehler, founders of
I being a complete dick about this?’’’ he adds. fashion footwear brand Trippen. 4. A light-up gown
from Elektro Couture’s ‘#MarleneGlows’ collection,
a collaboration with Swarovski.
SB: Now we have so much to do our roles are
really quite fluid. We have support coming in,
but sometimes things take a certain complex Germany has generated more than its fair available year-round. Its progressive designs
knowledge so it’s easier to just do them share of world-leading fashion designers and have been a hit at home and abroad; the brand
brands: Karl Lagerfeld, Jil Sander, Hugo Boss, has collaborated with high-profile designers
ourselves. We sweep up – we’re like the
company’s janitors. Adidas and Puma are just a few of the fashion like Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto.
greats to emerge from the country. ‘The people in Berlin do not care too much
SL: We do whatever needs to be done. I do
But Berlin is where fashion truly rules. In the about fashion itself – they like to follow unusual
people, money and vision. Stephen’s in charge
early 2000s, it hosted the first Bread & Butter, concepts of creativity,’ Oehler says. ‘Following
of customer experience – a combination of
Premium and Mercedez Benz Fashion Week the principle of “form follows function” in our
product and marketing.
trade shows. Today, Berlin’s bi-annual Fashion work, it’s a great help being based in Berlin.’
SB: We talk every day of the week, Saturday Week has expanded to include more than 10
and Sunday included, and hang out a lot both trade and fashion show formats. Each season, Where fashion meets technology
inside and outside of work. Sometimes we don’t Fashion Week is attended by more than 200,000 Germany’s industrial heritage does shine
say anything, just ‘uhh, I’m so tired’. visitors, adding over £100m to the city’s economy. through, however, where fashion and
Now we don’t so much have different engineering collide.
© Photo 3: Juergen Holzenleuchter, Ottensoos
opinions, but we’re looking to each other for Forget the fashion rulebook Elektro Couture is one of many Berlin-based
answers, because the questions are so big. We’re
It’s a rather unassuming fashion capital. Unlike startups exploiting Germany’s manufacturing
so busy with so many things that frankly you’re
Paris or Milan, fashion hubs synonymous with prowess. Its projects include luminescent
glad to have someone to take a decision.
old-school haute couture and luxury, Berlin’s outfits that react to sound, and vegan-leather
SL: You have a problem, come up with a experimental approach to design is something fabrics. The company has turned to the city
solution, go to the other person, say ‘what do startups are using to their advantage. for artistic direction as well as tech know-how.
you think?’ Most of the time, you do the logical ‘When you think of fashion in Berlin it’s more ‘Berlin is a place that’s really bridged both
thing, and the logical thing you agree on. or less a white page,’ says Aymeric Malfait, who worlds,’ Malfait explains. ‘When you bring
How much do you lean on advisers or speak moved from Paris to Berlin earlier this year to [artists and engineers] together, it’s something
to other founders? join fashion-tech company Elektro Couture. ‘In completely new.’
Berlin, you can set new standards.’
SL: One of the best people I’ve ever worked with Angela Spieth and Michael Oehler founded Room to scale
is our lead investor Ophelia Brown. She’s a their fashion footwear brand Trippen in 1992. The merging of the fashion and tech worlds, the FOR MORE INFO VISIT:
fantastic sounding board. If she comes to the
The Berlin-based company doesn’t replace expats who have moved to Berlin to join them,
same conclusion as Stephen and I, that’s three www.fashion-week-berlin.com
its collections every season, keeping styles and the vibrant nightlife where creatives and
people aligned going forward.
13
 CO U R I E R TA L KS

Full stream
labels from early on. Apple sits
outside of this – music is just one
thing Apple does.

ahead for the

CP: Spotify has an advantage
in that they never had a service
before. Apple struggles because
it had iTunes. You'd think it’d be
a strength because it already has

music business
everyone’s credit card details,
but in reality it’s very clunky.
Google seems to be held back by
Youtube; it’s difficult for it to build
a credible alternative it can charge
people for.

2016 was recently revealed to have been the best year for the music Spotify continues to lose
money, though.
industry in nearly two decades. At Spiritland in King’s Cross, Courier
talked streaming, live events and brand money with three people BB: Right now they have to pay
out such enormous sums to labels
celebrating the news: Blaise Bellville (Boiler Room), Caius Pawson to get that competitive advantage
(Young Turks) and Tom Mansbridge (Lost Music). over Soundcloud.
It feels we’re getting too good
a deal, like we’re in a period of
experimentation where we’ve got
just such an extraordinary music
Courier: It seems the constant back of labels feeling they have you probably weren't making discovery experience. Maybe that
gloom surrounding the music to be more open with technology. much money before. Where it won’t survive long-term.
industry might be changing They can’t slow it down; they have gets dodgy is when the labels
(see box). Is this a picture you to be part of that future instead of have non-disclosure agreements How have labels responded Left to right: Blaise Bellville, Tom Mansbridge, Caius Pawson, Courier's editor Soheb Panja
recognise? trying to stop it. on the deals they do with the to streaming services?
I don’t think fans ever saw it streaming partners.
Caius Pawson: Streaming this year as the enemy. Technology has CP: We’re here to make music, either learn how to play an record is completely different. BB: Sometimes it’s a dud and
finally overtook downloads – we’re radically changed the relationship TM: It seems the conversation is support artists and amplify their instrument or sing, then you’d My advice to artists would be to you’re just taking the money to
about to hit a golden period of between fans and labels – the fan more around the relationship vision. I’m not in the retail game; have to work out how to record find a great team. It doesn’t have do the thing you want to do, and
recorded music. I'm feeling very has the power now. between the label and the artist I’ve got no interest. Labels will your music before the label could to be a label, but it can be. sometimes you’re smart and the
optimistic about the situation. find you. Now all you need is brand is smart, and you invest it Why 2016 could
Having said that, I got into the
industry 13 years ago, so I’ve
How does money move around
in streaming?
access to [Apple’s music software]
Garage Band.
Let’s look at live music. The
hypothesis is that live used to be
back into something that’s actually
of value. I'd say we’ve probably had mark the year
seen 12 straight years of decline.
CP: It’s similar to how it was Malaysian dubstep brought It means artists are being
exposed to the public at a much
about promotion, and listening
was the product. Now, that’s
about a 50/50 success rate with our
brand partnerships.
streaming
Tom Mansbridge: When you before. But let’s say you sold a CD
to you by British American earlier stage, not as developed been inverted. To what extent saved music
benchmark it, this is the year before for £10, £4 went to the label as they were before. The majors is that true? CP: We’re at an interesting

Tobacco?
of success; we’re seeing the and 20% of that went to the artist; aren't really interested in acts who juncture. Kids aren’t really
consolidation of what technology those are big chunks of money at - C A I U S PAW S O N haven’t developed themselves, so CP: The live industry is much watching TV or reading For the past two decades,
has done to the music industry. the beginning of your career. Now, there’s a space for the indies to bigger than the recorded music magazines, so you’ve got to reach the music industry has
although there’s a long tail, come in and develop acts. industry and has been for a long them in another way. Music has endured sustained decline.
Blaise Bellville: There’s more payments are considerably lower. time. It’s easier to discover always been something young Labels have tried and failed
music being made, more different Labels love Spotify because their rather than between Spotify continue to have a role as long BB: This is an extreme hypothetical, information about artists, and people are interested in. to protect their traditional
types, and a far larger audience for entire catalogue gets revived. All and the labels. Universal have as they’re the main people but if you took back catalogues people’s connection to artists is I don’t think something like sources of income and
each of those types globally than those Steely Dan records that just renegotiated with Spotify, developing and backing new away from labels, they would serve stronger. So there’s more of an Boiler Room would have been pursued legal battles as
there has even been. Someone told Warner Bros have are suddenly and managed to get a good deal artists. I don’t think Apple or very little role beyond providing appetite for live experiences. possible 10 years ago, not just downloads, then streaming,
me MTV had an audience of 80 making far more money than they [where artists can release music Spotify want to get into the market support for musicians to develop. If someone can find a way of in terms of the technology but became the norm for how
million at its peak. Now billions of were before. to premium users first, allowing of developing acts. I think they So the labels doing well, the ones digitising that experience, then because of where brands were people consumed music.
people consume and watch music. But young artists and small them to make more money]. It want to be in the market of taking you’d invest in, would be the ones there’ll be a crash. with spending money. Yet things appear to have
labels depend on that cash does feel like it’s going in a fair acts that are quite well developed being innovative and playing a To be honest, I thought the live turned a corner last year.
To what extent has the industry injection. The majors quite quickly direction, empowering the artists. already and buying them up. But I genuine role in artist development. industry could have died after BB: A lot of the time when we For the first time in 19
resisted new technology? worked out how much money they don't think they want to be down Like Young Turks, with how Boiler Room (see profile). talk about this we’re being really years, the world’s music
were going to make, but small How do the different streaming The Dublin Castle [pub] teaching they position artists and the idealistic. We work with a lot of industry saw its income grow
BB: With the birth of the MP3 it independents fought against it services – Apple Music, Spotify, a band how to play guitar. distribution, you’re a much BB: We always get journalists brands that artists, musicians and in 2016. Sales rose by £850m,
went from being a very controlled, because they rely on the cash flow. Soundcloud and the rest – more bespoke package. asking, has Boiler Room replaced fans wouldn’t touch with a barge 7% year-on-year. Music was
well-distributed, monetised compare? How has the business of running If you took back catalogues away the live experience? But when DJs pole until they’ve been endorsed worth £12.4bn.
ecosystem to falling wildly out Are these economics fair? a label changed in recent times? it would expose the majors’ value talk about why they value Boiler by Boiler Room or a credible artist. Half of that total came
of control. TM: They’ve all built their to artists, which I think seems Room, they’ll always say, ‘I got   from streaming; a medium
CP: Every artist has a different businesses in different ways. CP: There’s a growing gulf between fairly minimal. bookings in countries I wasn’t CP: Malaysian dubstep brought to which not that long ago was
TM: Technology was generally deal with their label. If you’re Soundcloud built a huge customer the majors and the indies. Going being booked in at the time’. you by British American Tobacco? considered the mortal enemy
seen as a threat. Streaming is small, you're not going to be base and then started working with back 15, 20 years, if you wanted to CP: There will be some artists who Like Caius said, it’s piquing of the music business.
something that’s come off the making very much money. But the labels. Spotify involved the be a recorded artist you’d have to don’t need labels. But not many. people's interest. Imagine. Seriously though, have Investors in Spotify are
The main reason that people go you seen any real examples of nevertheless still holding
with labels isn’t just the money or From an outsider’s point of terrible collaborations? out for the company to
B L A I S E B E L LV I L L E C A I U S PAW S O N TO M M A N S B R I D G E the fact they’ve got a big catalogue, view, it seems like a lot of turn a profit; the dominant
it’s because you want to build money coming into music at the BB: Mixmag did a partnership with streaming company lost
B O I L E R RO O M YO U N G T U R K S LO ST M U S I C relationships with people who moment is brand money. Is there HSBC last year, where they were £133m in 2015.
might help further your career. a conflict of interest there? sponsoring a golf tournament. Digital downloads
Bellville started broadcasting club nights In 2006, Pawson founded record label Mansbridge co-founded Lost in 2016, after That could mean anything from They had DJs playing with a HSBC meanwhile fell by 20%.
live on the internet in 2010, allowing people Young Turks as an imprint of XL Records. 15 years working at ad agencies for clients artistic development to working TM: Brands have always been banner behind them. On a golf Peer-to-peer file sharing was
to experience a rave in Warsaw in their The label’s big break came in 2007 when like Adidas, Sony and Universal Pictures. on the music, the marketing, the involved in music. Things have course. It was just nonsense. once the music industry's
room. Boiler Room now reaches over 72 it signed The xx – the band went on to sell The app aims to streamline the music promotions. It’s different for each come a long way in terms of bugbear, but MP3 is now
million people a month and broadcasts more than three million copies of their listening experience – from discovery to artist, and according to the stage matching the right type of brand widely assumed to be a
more than 1,000 hours of content a year. first two albums. streaming to booking live event tickets. they're at in their career. What with the right type of artist. This is a condensed and edited moribund format.
established artists need compared If the brand is appropriate version of a conversation that
to what they needed on their first those partnerships can work. took place on 3 May 2017.
14 15
 LEADER CO M M E N T

The intern GEORGE JOHNSTON ON MANAGING INTERNS

‘You have to support interns

equation beyond just giving them
enough work to do’
Young companies are desperate for talent and smart
students are itching to roll their sleeves up and get
experience in the real world. It should be a dream
match, so why do so many interns wind up making We’ve been taking on We set out key goals for the basics such as setting
coffee and tidying cupboards at startups? interns for three years, our interns so they know them up with a desk and
but only in the last two what they’ll achieve in the an email, is essential. Make
have we been serious about three months they’re with sure they’re invited to any
DANIELLE GOFF ON WHAT INTERNS WANT providing a structured us. It helps them see their social events, too.
programme for them. progress and for us, if there’s
‘Don’t treat
3. Money matters
That first year, we didn’t an opportunity to hire, it’s

The push for

realise quite how much
interns like
support interns required.
We were just two founders
interns’
trying to run the company
– it was too much of an ask.
Finally, there’s the question
easier to evaluate them.
of pay. When we started
We also found that
taking on interns we could
allocating interns to
only pay expenses, although
projects, rather than
we were transparent about
vague roles like marketing

personalisation
I’m studying Theatre, Film
and Television Studies
at Brunel University. As
part of my degree, we’re
It was a lot better
than hopping between
departments each day
Internship vs ownership
We’ve since hired
several associates and they
manage the interns. It’s a
lot better; the interns get to
do more and, in turn, they
or sales, helps them to
do more productive work.
2. Social responsibility
There’s a moral obligation
this with them from the
start. As we’ve grown, we’ve
increased our offer to a
salary of £1,000 a month,
plus expenses.

Bespoke isn’t
encouraged to intern, and
my most recent placement
was at Frugl, an events
discovery app.
Even though I was an
I worked intensely
with Suzanne, helping
film videos for the
website’s relaunch.
She had a list of places
to support interns beyond Then there’s the
are an invaluable support.
just making sure they’ve technical bit: tax. Are you
We focused on three
got enough work to do. going to take on interns
key areas to improve our
Have they just moved as contractors, freelancers,
intern experience.
to London? Do they have or short-term employees?

always best
intern, I wasn’t treated like
one; it’s something more
companies should do.
It’s frustrating to be
seen as a youngster
who doesn’t have the
experience to get stuck
in. If a company has
selected someone it thinks
is a good candidate, it
should treat them like
another employee.
1. Set goals accommodation? You need In most cases our interns
she wanted me to film,
What are interns going to have that conversation are contractors, so we
and let me deal with
to get out of their time with them – you don’t want teach them how to do an
everything. When I filmed
with you? Tech City a situation where an intern invoice and what their tax
at the Covent Garden
Ventures is a network of suddenly has to leave obligations are.
Comedy Club, I arranged
companies, all at different because they don’t have a
my own filming permits
growth stages, so our sofa to crash on anymore. George Johnston is founder
and negotiated with the
interns get a lot of insight A proper welcoming and CEO of Tech City
venue’s management.
into what it takes to run process where you cover Ventures, a startup
I’d also go out looking for
a business. these things off, as well as organisation network.
shoot locations, and did
some photography work
for the website. It was

‘Y
It will give the intern much more exposure ALEC DUDSON ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PAY
ou liked that, so you’ll probably Founder Nick Popovici wants to sell personal consumer data.
the tools to succeed than you’d get at ITV or
‘Don’t shut out people who
like this’ has become the modern Vita Mojo’s software to other restaurants. The Economist recently billed data as the
after graduating, and the Warner Bros, where you’re
day sales pitch. The films we He says it moves food ‘from mass production most potent commercial commodity in the
company will get more typically one of a crowd
can’t afford to become part
watch, the music we listen to, to mass customisation’. world today; dubbing it the new oil.
out of them as well. of interns who are all on
and the stuff we buy is increasingly funnelled He points to what he believes is a broader Companies, it pointed out, can accrue a
Interns should be week-long placements.
of your project’
through some kind of recommendation filter. shift: ‘The millennial wants customised ‘god’s eye view’ in what is rapidly becoming
paid, too. I come from a I also got to do things
Recommendation of this sort is being things: not a newspaper but their [own] a data-driven economy.
working class background that were outside of my
heralded as the stepping stone to something newsfeed; their own trip, rather than a An early pioneer was Dunnhumby, a
and, fortunately, Brunel role as a videographer, like
much bigger: personalisation. It spans packaged holiday.’ company set up by a west London husband- A stunted economy and and training them up, only professor, used a computer
provides grants for student working on Frugl’s social
everything from suggesting products to letting and-wife team back in pre-internet 1989. breakdown of traditional for them to inevitably leave simulation to show how
interns; I couldn’t have media. I use social media
people design the thing they’re about to buy. Gimmickry The founders extracted vast amounts of
given up two months of in my personal life, but
industries birthed not when they find a pay cheque diversity and productivity
This sweep of personalisation has been a This may well be true, but it’s worth noting information about customers on behalf of only the era of startup, elsewhere, does nothing go hand in hand. He set
my time for free. it was a new experience
buzzy business theme in the last few years. companies have a bad record in trumpeting their clients and were the architects of the but the proliferation of for company morale, two test groups the same
doing it professionally.
It’s not yet clear, however, that personalised ‘structural changes’ in consumer behaviour loyalty card. In one of the couple’s early The right environment unpaid internships. reputation or productivity. series of mathematical
always means better. which later transpire to be fads. meetings with Tesco, which became their I previously did work Staying in touch Taking on unpaid workers Recruiting carefully, problems: one consisting
Lots of startups, in particular, are A lot of Fitbits are certainly collecting dust. biggest client and ultimately bought them experience at a much Suzanne has become like is a tempting strategy. The teaching someone all of highly competent yet
attempting to usher in this new era. On Companies also tend to mistakenly place a out, then Tesco chairman Lord MacLaurin bigger company, the a mentor to me. We’ve idea of someone being so about your business and similar problem solvers;
the surface, it makes sense to personalise remarkable amount of faith in how much said: ‘What scares me about this is that you Polka children’s theatre, stayed in touch since into what you’re doing – or providing the conditions the other with varying
some things. Others less so. thought customers put into the stuff they buy. know more about my customers after three based in Wimbledon. I finished my internship so desperate for experience (financial and otherwise) levels of ability.
As things currently stand, the need for months than I know after 30 years.’ Polka does everything last summer. – that they’re willing for them to grow can While the homogenous
Production to customisation personalisation in most categories (except in house, so I was able to She’s worked for to gift time and skills is produce skilled, loyal and group got stuck at similar
In fashion, Grabble, Trunk Club and Stitch perhaps health) isn’t particularly persuasive. Popularising personalisation experience most aspects Channel 4, Warner Bros particularly seductive for tremendously valuable parts of the problem,
Fix offer punters customised selections of It’s hard to see anything but gimmickry in Today, there’s an entire industry claiming of the business, from and Universal, and businesses starting out or team members who will rise the diverse group found
clothes by filtering their body shape, style and, many of the products being touted as game- that the data-for-bespoke product or service production to set building, working one-on-one with growing apace. to the challenge when the solutions faster by using
of course, previous purchases. Meanwhile, changers: just how much better are they than exchange is a fair one. A retail research but I was only picking up her gave me a lot of insight Along with the pressure company scales. If there’s different approaches. For
Mon Purse, Myswear and Unmade give people the tried and tested shampoos, snacks and company, iVend, put out a report in January little bits of what they into the industry that I to make a company no budget for a full-time businesses, faster and
the chance to contribute to the making part: shoes already on the shelf? this year which claimed ‘18% of UK shoppers were doing. can take away and use in profitable by any means living wage, it’s better to smarter solutions typically
customising the colour or material of bags, In lots of areas, people like buying wanted retailers to leverage online data to As a startup with my studies and hopefully possible, if a few middle- take someone on part-time equate to more revenue.
shoes or jumpers. something because it’s cheap (the scale provide a more tailored in-store experience, just two founders – my future career. She’s class kids work for free and make it possible for Diverse teams are vital for
The cosmetics startup Functions of advantage mass production has makes the while 71% said they would happily share Tikiri Hulugalle and also been able to help me along the way no-one gets them to stick around and achieving sustainability and
Beauty is offering 12 billion unique shampoo case for personalisation hard), or well- their purchasing history with a retailer Suzanne Noble – Frugl find more work through hurt. Right? be part of what you do. growth; taking on unpaid
combinations, while supplement seller VITL designed (deferring to the talent of the if it meant they would receive a more was a totally different her other projects; I Considering how Unpaid internships workers will limit you.
promises to post its customers vitamins that designer). Even recommendation sometimes customised experience’. environment. recently did some filming expensive and difficult stymie diversity, too. To my Don’t create a
are perfectly calibrated to their seemingly falls down; our choices aren’t always so Many companies and analysts are eager Working with the people for her online magazine, good recruitment is, it dismay, the moral argument homogeneous workforce,
unique profile. predictable or algorithmically determined. to push the view that personalisation is the who actually founded Advantages of Age. surprises me that so few for a diverse workforce and don’t shut out people
Vita Mojo does personalised lunches. It future. Yet beyond issues of privacy, the the company and put companies take a long-term doesn’t get through to who can’t afford to become
adjusts ingredients around a person’s weight God’s eye view personalisation industry needs to convince their money, time and Danielle Goff studies view when working with many businesses and the part of your project.
and gender and whether they are looking to In fact, it’s hard not to see the push more of us that there is inherent value in energy into it made me Theatre and Film and new talent, even interns. individuals behind them.
bulk up, lose weight, or train for a triathlon, for personalisation as a Trojan Horse bespoke. So far, it’s offered little more than feel passionate about Television Studies at Bringing an unpaid Scott E. Page, a Alec Dudson is editor of
for example. designed to mine what is often deeply a sticker with your name on a jar of Nutella. the project. Brunel University. intern into the workplace University of Michigan Intern magazine.
16 17
 W O R KS H O P
Future forecourt
S E RV I C E STAT I O N S S H I F T I N G FO CU S
Retail has become a cash cow for motorway
service stations. Westmorland Family brought
in £92m last year from just two outlets thanks
to posh sausage rolls.
About 30 miles north of Bristol
along the M5, there’s an artisan
petrol station.
Gloucester Services houses an
on-site butchers where people
pre-order meat, stating whether
they’ll be travelling north or south.
Many don’t even stop for petrol.
The side of the M5 might seem
an incongruous place to sell the
kind of fare normally found in a
village farmers’ market. But black
pudding scotch eggs, wild boar
sausage rolls and cheeses from the
Cotswolds’ finest producers have
been selling in strong numbers
alongside petrol since it opened
in 2014. There’s not an arcade
machine or a KFC in sight.
Retail fuelling growth
Gloucester Services has been
referred to as a noteworthy
example of how petrol stations
could well be an emerging format
for retail.
More fuel-efficient cars and
higher forecourt rents have
squeezed the business of selling
petrol, especially in cities (see box).
Meanwhile, motorway service
stations are thriving. UK operators
Moto, Road Chef, and Welcome
Break have grown by partnering
with the likes of Burger King
and WHSmith.
This year, Pizza Express
announced it would open its first
motorwayside restaurant at a
service station near Oxford.
Back in February, Welcome
18
Break was reported to have
a £700m price tag.
Two-station chain
For Westmorland Family, the
company behind Gloucester
Services, the foray into roadside
retail started in 1972 with its first
project, Tebay Services in the Lake
District. When the family learnt
the M5 was going to be built
straight through their Cumbrian
farm they put in a bid to run the
service station.
It featured a farm shop with
fresh baked goods and a small cafe.
Then, four decades after opening
Tebay, Gloucester Services became
the company’s second outpost.
Last year Westmorland Family
brought in £92m in sales and profit
of £6m. Over eight million people
came through its doors.
Sarah Dunning, CEO of
Westmorland Family, says the
goal is to be the ‘stoppers’ choice’,
meaning that drivers actively seek
out a stop at Gloucester Services.
Another petrol station, Parkfoot
Spar in West Malling, Kent, has
spent the past four years also
bringing food to the forefront of its
business. Owner David Charman
estimates that less than 30% of his
customers buy fuel when they visit.
Wealthy village people
Both Parkfoot and Gloucester
Services have benefited from being
located in affluent areas. King’s
Hill and Painswick – a stone’s
throw from Parkfoot and
Gloucester Services respectively
– are two of the wealthiest villages
in the UK.
The emergence of service
stations as places people come
to shop has further potential.
‘Our shop is our key profit
earner, and it’s the reason why
people choose to come to us,’
Charman explains. ‘Ten years ago,
virtually no [filling] sites in the
country could claim that.’
Petrol station
transformations
Motorway services are
doing well, but city petrol
stations are struggling.
Some ex-forecourts have
had unusual facelifts.
The Cineroleum
Clerkenwell
A design collective’s 2010
architectural experiment to
turn a derelict petrol station
into a pop-up cinema.
The Filling Station
King’s Cross
A placeholder during the
King’s Cross redevelopment,
serving a US diner-style menu
instead of fuel.
The Residence SE5
Camberwell
A slick redevelopment of
nine flats, on the site of
a former petrol station in
south-east London.
No 27
Limerick
This abandoned site was
repainted with bright colours
in 2014, inspired by pop artist
Ed Ruscha.
Pump
Shoreditch
A former Texaco petrol station
has been transformed into
a street food market on
Shoreditch High Street.
Flower Station
Marylebone
The forecourt of this ex-petrol
station has been a flower
shop since 2001.
INSIGHT
• Forecourt rents have soared,
increasing on average by more
than 50% in the last six years.
Most stations make just a 7%
profit on petrol sales.
• Meanwhile, fuel-efficient cars
and supermarkets opening
their own petrol stations have
created more competition.
• It’s led to a wholesale closure
of petrol stations. In the past
50 years more than half of
British petrol stations have
closed. Last year, Shell, Esso
and BP sold 1,085 stations
between them.
• The Petrol Retail Association
says food is where the future
lies, accounting for more than
10% of annual revenue growth
last year.
Dealing with a PR disaster
E Y E O F T H E T W I T T E R STO R M
Just after it opened in Hackney, owners of The Bonneville
feared they’d lose everything over an insensitive tweet.
In the summer of 2014, another
cocktail bar opened in Hackney.
It shouldn’t have been anything
newsworthy or remarkable.
But, on its opening weekend,
a man stumbled into the bar after
being stabbed nearby. It was a
stark reminder that the nickname
‘Murder Mile’ was still a valid one
in gentrifying Lower Clapton.
The founder of The Bonneville,
Ruairi Gilles, says he attended
to the stabbed man, called for
an ambulance and waited for
the police to take statements.
He asked one of his staff to tweet
Money-making
newsletter
H O W TO STA RT C H A RG I N G
Turning a digital hobby into a money-making business has flummoxed
many. Jack’s Flight Club has made it work by offering paid-for
supplements on top of a free service.
Jack Sheldon has a talent for
finding the cheapest flights.
Thousands of his newsletter
subscribers would attest he’s
better at it than even famous sites
like Skyscanner and Expedia.
Sheldon is a private travel agent:
all he needs for work is a laptop
and his geeky insider know-how
concerning every aspect of how
that the bar would be closed
that evening.
The tweet read: ‘#CSIClapton
due to events on Lower Clapton
Road this evening, we will
unfortunately have to close
#WelcometoHackney’. It was
accompanied with a picture
of the bloodied floor.
A Twitter storm ensued,
attacking The Bonneville’s
seemingly insensitive attitude.
‘Boycott @BonnevilleE5,’ one
Twitter user wrote. The Daily Mail
and Evening Standard piled in and
amplified the outrage. Residents
airlines price their flights.
In September 2016, Sheldon
spent £30 on setting up Jack’s
Flight Club. It was nothing more
than a newsletter containing
cheap air fares – a simple service
that he thought could strike a
chord with some of the 40 million-
plus people that search for flights
on Skyscanner each month.
organised a street protest. When
Gilles spoke up and attempted to
explain what had happened, he
was met with accusations that he
was ‘victim blaming’.
‘I thought we were done for,’
Gilles says.
But he decided to ‘ride out the
storm’. He stopped responding to
the tweets and instead approached
Hackney residents in an attempt
to win them over with pleas that
he had ‘put [his] heart and soul
into this place’.
His advice is to prioritise local
relationships: ‘People who live
200 miles away jumping on the
bandwagon don’t matter.’
But The Bonneville still hasn’t
fully shaken off the damage from
three years ago. ‘Some evenings I’ll
stand outside and hear someone
say, “Oh no, that’s the Twitter
place”,’ he says.
Three months in, nearly 3,000
people had subscribed through
word-of-mouth. Promoting his
newsletter on Reddit gave it
another boost; his AMA (‘Ask Me
Anything’) generated 42,000
more subscribers.
Could he turn this popular
email into a moneymaker?
Sheldon considered several
ways to monetise his newsletter:
a total paywall felt too aggressive
and likely to alienate people, while
‘affiliate links’, where Sheldon
would take a cut on bookings,
seemed antithetical to the idea of
finding cheap flights. He settled
on a ‘freemium’ model. For £35 a
year, users could opt in to receive
‘DON’T FEED THE FIRE’
Samantha Phillips, co-founder
of Catch Communications,
on how to cope with a social
media storm.
1 Regroup.
‘Find out exactly what’s
happened, how it happened
and what the current state
of play is online. Gather staff
and make it clear what’s OK to
communicate and what’s not.’
2 Act first.
‘Get your apology out before
the media goes to press so you
have a voice and don’t look
disorganised. Keep it sincere,
simple, and never try to excuse
your actions; it will only feed
the fire.’
3 Respond carefully.
‘Keep responses brief. The
longer you make them, the
more opportunities there
are for people to pick holes.
[Refer] people who are being
particularly vocal back to
your statement.’
4 Keep it in perspective.
‘On social media a storm can
blow over as quickly as it blows
up. People are quite forgiving of
human behaviour if things are
dealt with in the right way.’
Sheldon’s flight alerts on a more
regular basis. Non-paying users
would still receive semi-regular
flight updates.
His 165,000 original subscribers
were offered a £10 discount. Of
these, he says 25,000 signed up –
generating £625,000 in one hit.
The challenge will be keeping up
momentum now these users are
paid up for the year.
INSIGHT
Sheldon ensured an attractive
product was still free, while
affording sufficient additional
value to people who pay.
19
 W O R KS H O P
Ditching the
dreaded chatbots
G E N E R AT I N G O N L I N E S A L E S
Ace and Tate’s flirtation with Facebook, Snapchat
and Skype is emblematic of how companies
everywhere are turning to social media for
customer service and sales.
Mark de Lange’s
engagement
insights:
1 Keep it human. ‘Avoid the
temptation to use bots
for Facebook chat.’
2 Focus on one or two
channels. ‘Don’t go
across the board from
the get-go.’
3 Don’t force it. ‘The beauty
of online shopping is
giving people the choice
of interacting or not.’
The wisdom of
strangers
A S K I N G FO R H E L P
With no experience in the food and drinks
industry, Tea Rex’s founder landed a veteran
to help get his tea brand off the ground.
Like many a startup founder,
Andrew Walker was left scratching
his head when it came to several
technical aspects of launching his
fruit tea startup.
How to get stocked in a
supermarket? What’s the right
price? What’s the distributor’s cut?
Questions about production and
marketing kept occurring to him.
20
Selling glasses in shops isn’t easy.
People get overwhelmed by the
choice, and frustrated by trying
on lots of frames. Doing it online
is even harder.
Amsterdam-based Ace and Tate
has thrown the digital kitchen sink
at trying to leapfrog the hurdles
that selling spectacles through the
internet presents.
Skype advice
Founder Mark de Lange initially
hired someone with a background
in social networking to take charge
of the shopping process.  capitals where Ace and Tate has
What started off with the team
simply replying to messages over
Facebook has since grown into a
range of options, including to
interact over WhatsApp, schedule
a style consultancy on Skype or get
Luckily, a chance encounter
put him in touch with a man
who had the answers and who
Walker would later convince to
become his unofficial chairman.
Since last December, Chris
Copestake, founder of a big soup
and sauce manufacturer, has
been informally advising Walker
on his business.
feedback on mailed-out frames
over Snapchat.
Retailers everywhere are
experimenting with social
channels and chat mechanisms to
create a social following, persuade
customers to buy, and minimise
the hassle and expense of returns.
Middle ground
Facebook, Instagram and Snap
are all trying to develop new tools
to help retailers, despite the fact
just 1.5% of online sales came from
social media last year.
De Lange says around 20% of
online customers ask questions
and seek out style advice through
Ace and Tate’s social channels.
He recruited heavily in customer
experience early on, noticing a
jump in loyalty and purchasing
from those that discussed their
style and frame choices with
a professional.
Warby Parker effect
Spectacles startups have been
among the most experimental in
driving their efforts online. The
most famous among them, Warby
Parker, grew in popularity thanks
to a scheme that sent customers
lots of frames to try on at home for
free. The company has continued
to invest heavily in Facebook,
which founder David Gilboa has
described as its most effective tool
for hooking customers.
It’s a scheme Ace and Tate has
replicated. De Lange is banking on
the ‘try before you buy’ mail-out
format to lead a push into the UK.
Unlike in the other European
established itself since its founding
in 2013, the company isn’t opening
a shop in London right away. ‘It’s a
middle ground; not completely
online, not completely offline,’
he says.
‘Within 48 hours [of his
involvement], he’d
opened up one of
England’s biggest ginger
importers to us,’ says
Walker. ‘He put us in
touch with a factory we
would never otherwise
have found or got
access to.’ Copestake
also recommended
Walker quote suppliers much
shorter lead times than necessary
so Tea Rex could batch produce
sachets, and has given hours of his
time advising on the finer points of
manufacturing fresh products with
a long shelf life. ‘It’s obvious stuff
when you say it out loud,’ admits
Walker. ‘But it’s not stuff I’d got my
head around.’
Will chatbots take over
customer service?
The benefits and limitations
of chatbots are a major
talking point in retail.
→ SAME OLD SERVICE
Retailers have been using
rudimentary artificial
intelligence software to
replicate the kind of human
interactions that people are
used to having over the phone
to a call centre.
Facebook in particular has
been shouting about how
chatbots are a game-changer
for customer service, and is
already integrating them into
its messenger platform.
Companies including
Sephora and H&M are using
bots through apps like Kik.
However, many believe it’s
impossible to replace humans
with bots for anything
other than the most menial
enquiries.
→ TOP OF THE BOTS
One company that’s come
up with a mixed approach
is Hero. Its founder Adam
Levene has created a website
plugin which allows customers
browsing a site to speak to
real-life shop assistants.
Rather than the customer
receiving a text response, it
enables engagement with a
sales assistant on the shop
floor over video call.
Levene argues that for big-
ticket products like furniture
or jewellery, customers want
more information before
making purchases, and shop
assistants who are often
standing idle in empty shops
can be put to use helping
close sales over the web.
Having launched in
September 2016, the
company’s challenge will
be adapting consumer
behaviour fast so the shops
that have started using
Hero see continued value in
subscribing to the service.
Walker has tried to find others
like Copestake to help him. He’s
been relying on goodwill and
‘gentlemen’s agreements’ with a
photographer, an ex-buyer from
Waitrose, an investor, printer and
nutritionist, who have given their
time and services now for reward
in the future when Tea Rex raises
investment. ‘I’ve created a vision,’
says Walker. ‘I know exactly what
I want out of people, and I’m
incredibly specific.’
INSIGHT
Even experienced business
people can be energised by
the prospect of being part
of a startup.
Pound of the
underground
A DV E RT I S I N G
They’re unsophisticated, untargeted and seriously
old school: so why do London’s tech startups still
love tube advertising?
Strange as it may seem in the
age of Facebook and Google
ads, a growing number of
London startups are turning to
tube advertising to attract new
customers and help their brands
stand out from the masses.
‘The tube cuts through the
noise,’ says Tom Cavill, co-founder
of property Isa firm Brick Lane,
which first tried its luck with the
underground’s users (up to 4.8
million of them per day) in
January this year. ‘Other ad
formats are thirsty for your
attention.’
Companies can be reluctant
to advertise on London’s
underground as it’s sometimes
associated with trashy brands
and ugly adverts.
But Cavill believes that
commuters are a relatively
captive audience. They’re looking
for distraction, rather than trying
to avoid it.
Facebook: loud and expensive
‘With other areas of advertising,
like Facebook, you have to think
about how to dress an ad up as
something other than an ad. With
the tube, people almost want to
be entertained,’ says Cavill.
But advertising on the tube isn’t
just a way to catch commuters’
eyes and distinguish a brand. It’s
also a means of future-proofing
against Facebook and Google’s
99% share of the digital ad market.
Personalised children’s book
publisher Lost My Name has been
experimenting with advertising
channels in the US, from TV
campaigns to podcasts, for some
time. ‘Last year, one of our biggest
pushes was to diversify our
marketing,’ explains head of
marketing Anne Thouas. ‘We’re
pretty Facebook-dependent,
but it’s only going to get more
expensive. It’s added two million
more advertisers year-on-year.’
Over 60 million businesses now
advertise via Facebook users’
news feeds. In the last few months
of 2016, the average cost per
Facebook ad click in the UK was
21p, while the cost per app install
was £4.33 – more than double the
cost in the US. Thouas is also
convinced that, after three years,
it’s getting harder for Lost My
Name to reach new customers
through Facebook.
Experimental advertising
Lost My Name trialled its first tube
campaign before Christmas 2015,
after noticing several other
startups advertising on the tube –
Hello Fresh, Dog Buddy, Swoon
Editions among them – and asking
them for feedback. It ran a second
set of 2,200 ads inside tube
carriages for two weeks in March
this year.
‘You don’t want to make eye
contact with anybody, so you end
up looking around,’ says Thouas.
‘Ads are memorable in the tube.’
Exterion, the media agency
responsible for selling TfL’s ad
space, says the majority of its
clients come through word-of-
mouth referrals. ‘The startup
world is a small one,’ notes Killian
Barrins, who heads up Exterion’s
ventures arm, which was set up
in 2015.
To encourage consumer-facing
startups with limited marketing
budgets to dip into tube ads,
Exterion offers various payment
deals, from a share in revenue, to
a percentage per app download,
for example. One of its longest-
running advertisers is Made.com,
which has seen a 50% increase in
sales year-on-year, and is one of
the fastest growing retail brands
in the UK. ‘Lots of startups use us
just before looking for funding,’
adds Barrins.
New customers
Brick Lane’s objective was to gain
new customers, stand out from its
competition and build trust in its
brand in the run up to the Isa
deadline; it wanted its campaign to
be ‘remarkable’. It created two ads
– one that was simply descriptive,
another that was ‘more creative, to
make you think’ – and opted for
the large ‘16-sheet’ posters
opposite platforms favoured by big
brands. 150 adverts were pasted up
in stations throughout zones one
and two for one month.
‘We’re a considered purchase,’
adds Cavill. ‘People like to see us a
few times, and seeing us in places
other than the internet builds that
story of the brand.’
Tracking success
Although quantifying brand
recognition is hard, Lost My
Name took a forensic approach
to monitoring the success of its
London underground ads, using
surveys on the order complete
page to find out how customers
had heard about the site, then
verifying the responses against
users’ IP addresses.
Thouas says there was a definite
uptick in sales from the capital
on both occasions, although she
admits the March campaign was
less successful than the initial
Christmas one. ‘It’s a difficult time
of year for a seasonal business,’
she explains.
While Exterion’s data can
pinpoint how and where to best
target specific user groups, Barrins
recommends ‘reaching as many
people as possible, as often as
possible, as quickly as possible,
instead of zoning in on a
particular station’.
Costs
£127,600
for 4,400 panels ads in every
tube carriage on every line for
two weeks
£103,600
for 200 16-sheet poster ads,
one in most stations in zones
one and two for two weeks
CARRIAGES
13 minutes
average dwell time
PLATFORMS
3 minutes
average dwell time
21
PA RT N E R C O N T E N T: C O U R I E R FO R H I S C OX
Every business faces challenges as it
grows. Here, we meet the three companies
that’ll be sharing the story of their
Grow
expansion, and all the ups and downs that
come with becoming your own boss, over
the next few months. Our first question:
how did they make the leap?
your way 1 DESMOND & DEMPSEY
The idea for Desmond & Dempsey came about
when its founders identified a gap in the market –
in this case, for high-quality yet affordable
pyjamas. Molly Goddard had been searching for
In this ongoing series we an alternative to her husband’s business shirts
that she had taken to wearing when lounging
follow three flourishing businesses
at home on the weekends. ‘Joel finally had
enough when he had to go into a meeting with
a Vegemite stain on his sleeve,’ says Australian
and reveal the secrets behind expat Molly. ‘But I couldn’t find any pyjamas that
I liked that didn’t cost hundreds of pounds. So we
thought, why can’t we make them?’
their growth. With zero experience manufacturing clothing,
the pair were faced with a steep learning curve.
‘So it was a lot of trial and error,’ says Joel Jeffery.
‘We had no idea about sewing or even where to
buy fabric.’
The first 100 pairs of pyjamas went on sale
online in September 2014. ‘We sat up all night
watching the analytics,’ says Molly. ‘We thought
we might get a few orders but we [only] got one,’
adds Joel.
But sales quickly began to rise. Further proof
of success came in the form of orders from
department store heavyweights – although this
did force a rethink of their e-commerce-focused
business plan. ‘When Bergdorf Goodman knocks
on your door, you’re not going to say, “Oh, no
thank you”,’ says Molly.
Now the pair aim for a combination of 80%
e-commerce and 20% wholesale.
While their five-year plan includes adding
new product lines, for now Molly and Joel are
focusing on their core product. ‘We want to be a
household name,’ says Molly. ‘The goal is for your
top drawer to have D&Ds in it – not PJs.’
TIP FOR GROWTH:
Never underestimate the
power of good customer
service
Molly and Joel relentlessly go above and beyond
to please their customers and their efforts have
paid off. One mystery shopper was later revealed
to be a Vogue editor, who has since become a
vocal supporter. ‘Everyone says you can build a
business using social media and influencers, but
it’s not really about that,’ says Molly. ‘It’s about
genuine personal connections.’
22
2 ACCEPT & PROCEED
When David Johnston decided to strike out on his
own by starting a design studio in 2006 he didn’t
have a business plan or more than one month’s
wages in the bank. ‘But I had notions of grandeur
from the get-go,’ he says, with a laugh. ‘I knew that
I wanted to be a company, even though it was just
me at that point.’ To give this impression, he admits
to invoking a split personality: ‘I made up staff
members; I created email addresses and would pick
up the phone as one person, and then pass on the
calls. It was quite confusing and unsustainable – but
it worked!’
David’s team vision began to be realised when
3 KITCHUP
When Charlie Jones launched Kitchup, a company
that connects commercial kitchen space with food
businesses looking to rent it, he had solid market
research to draw upon. ‘I’d been working for a
government scheme that provides mentoring and
loans to new businesses,’ Charlie says. ‘I’d seen a
huge amount of food startups coming through and
one of the biggest problems they had was finding
kitchen space.’
With many food businesses only using their
facilities at certain times of the day or week, Charlie
saw an opportunity to introduce commercial food
production to the sharing economy. He took out
a £5,000 personal loan and launched a website in
creative director Matthew Jones joined him as
a business partner in 2008. The pair have since TIP FOR GROWTH:
turned Accept & Proceed into an award-winning Encourage your staff to
design agency with 13 staff and a client list of
eminent brands including Moleskine and Nike. spread their wings
Last year the pair opened Today, a co-working
space in Hackney. David encourages his staff to pursue personal
The curation of a ‘fun and lively’ atmosphere design projects outside of their commercial ones,
has been a central concern. ‘I’ve been at agencies and credits this as a factor contributing to Accept
that are driven by profit or expansion alone, and & Proceed’s high retention rate. ‘We have the
I didn’t want that for us,’ says David. ‘We’ve been 43M3 gallery where we show self-initiated work
careful not to grow at a rate that will overstretch sometimes, and we do other personal projects,
us – we want to be able to do ground-breaking for no other reason than we love them.’
work and not have to take on contracts just to pay
the overheads.’
TUNE IN
We’ll also be following the
inspiring stories of these three
companies through a series
of podcasts. Listen in for tips
TIP FOR GROWTH: and advice on all aspects of
Source another pair of hands growing a business.
‘If I had my time again, one thing I would have
done earlier is act on the feedback I was given to Subscribe via your
have someone else come on board,’ says Charlie.
‘Since Emma has joined we’ve done more in the
podcast app, iTunes,
last three months than I had done in the last six. Soundcloud or visit:
Having another person is just so valuable on so
many different levels.’
courierpaper.com/hiscox
In partnership with
September 2015, with five kitchens on his books.
‘We had a flood of enquiries almost from the off,’
he says.
By March, Charlie had enough confidence in
Kitchup’s potential to quit his day job. Early this
year, his twin sister Emma Jones joined him.
 The pair are now looking into funding in order to
further scale their business. ‘We need to take things
to the next level,’ says Charlie. ‘Our priority is to
improve our technical platform so we can automate
some of our processes – at the moment it’s very Hiscox provides a range of cover for those
labour intensive.’ bold enough to start their own business.
 With Kitchup fielding enquiries for its service
from cities across the UK and Europe, expanding hiscox.co.uk/businessinsurance
into other territories is a long-term priority, ‘once Hiscox Underwriting Ltd
we’ve got London perfected’.
23
 P O RT R A I T
The Pied Piper
Monzo’s founder has combined Silicon Valley zeal with
a predilection for publicity to position himself as digital
banking’s consumer champion. Will he pull it off?
Monzo is hiring. Monzo, it seems,
is always hiring; the newly-licensed
UK bank is arguably the hottest
startup in London right now.
‘We’re working to become the
Google or Facebook of banking,’
runs the job ad. It’s the kind of
extraordinarily ambitious
statement Monzo’s co-founder,
CEO and pied-piper-in-chief Tom
Blomfield makes on a regular basis.
Blomfield is the man who must
simultaneously instil in customers,
financial regulators, and investors
a sense that Monzo is both a rock-
solid bank and something much
more thrilling.
His formula seems to be working.
People are keen to work for Monzo,
investors want to invest, and
the neon pink Monzo card has
somehow become a coveted
object even outside coder circles.
The hacker and the hacks
For a bank CEO, Blomfield spends
an outrageous amount of time
talking to journalists. It’s not
unusual for him to clock up
two interviews per day, he says.
Spreading the good word about
how the banking sector is set
to be wobbled seems like his
favourite pastime.
‘It feels like we are at a tipping
point where the entire industry is
teetering on the edge of a cliff and
it is about to give way,’ Blomfield
told Techworld in 2015.
And yet, for all his column
inches and podcast minutes,
Blomfield is not your typical,
brashly confident CEO. He is a
softly spoken coder. He built the
site for Boso (an Ebay for students)
while at Oxford university, and
then became technical co-founder
TO M
at direct debit startup Go Cardless.
Nor is that the only way he’s an
unusual public face. At 31, he still
projects a boyish but sensible
image – all while shouldering the
B LO M F I E L D
responsibility of selling Monzo as
the business that will transform
consumer banking.
Masterminding the hype
Blomfield appears to have
The quiet coder turned enemy mastered the way publicity works.
A huge chunk of Monzo’s 200,000
of the big banks. users voluntarily talk about it, and
new features are trickled out to
keep chins wagging. It’s a tech
startup that others follow closely
(whether they want it to succeed
or fail), and equity crowdfunding’s
darling – last year it banked the
fastest ever raise on Crowdcube
24
(£1m in 96 seconds), followed by
a raise of £2.5m this February,
which attracted a record-breaking
6,500 investors.
‘Let’s be honest – he doesn’t
need to do this,’ admits Luke Lang,
Crowdcube founder. ‘Passion
Capital [Monzo’s VC investor]
would’ve put in another million.’
About a year ago, Blomfield
significantly stepped up the time
he spent on PR. ‘It was pretty
conscious,’ he says. ‘We don’t pay
anything for marketing really, or do
much paid advertising. That’s why
I spend half my time on it.’
Often, he plays the role of the
consumer champion. ‘I’ve stood up
as an individual and said, “I’m a
frustrated bank customer, I bank
with Natwest and I feel like I’m
stuck in an abusive relationship”,’
he says, using one of his go-to
metaphors. He speaks at fintech
events. He’s been on Newsnight.
And he makes regular visits to
corporate offices. ‘We take 100 or
so cards to Transferwise or Sky or
Facebook, and the secret is actually
it’s a really great recruiting tool,’ he
says. ‘We wait about a week, and we
get a flood of applicants.’
Seeing a billion
Blomfield is clearly good at selling
his vision within London’s tech
bubble. Whether he can sell Monzo
further afield is another matter.
The question is, what lies behind
the hype? Rival banks, both digital
and on the high street, are all
waiting for Blomfield and his
company to be properly examined.
Ignore the noise and, critics say,
Monzo is right now a very well-
designed app that lets users split
bills (with other Monzo users),
track spending, and take out cash
abroad at good rates with a kooky
charge card. For a massive chunk of
people outside of the early-adopter
network, that’s far from enough to
entice them to download the app,
let alone leave their trustworthy, if
frustrating, high-street bank.
‘On the front of our investor deck
it says “Monzo will be a financial
control centre for a billion people
around the world”,’ says Blomfield.
‘If we grow at 3.5% per week,
which is less than we’re currently
growing, we’ll reach a billion users
in 2023,’ he continues, spinning
his water bottle. ‘I did the maths
last week.’
Such bare-faced ambition
is fascinating, as is the steady
conviction with which it’s
explained. Blomfield has a habit
of looking off and upwards when
he’s thinking. It’s like he’s acting
the part of the visionary – or
perhaps that’s really what they do.
Monzo says it aims to be a ‘bank
the size of Facebook’. ‘When I say
that to people they laugh,’ says
Tristan Thomas, Monzo’s head of
marketing and community. ‘When
[Blomfield] says it to people they
believe him.’
Blomfield’s confidence is
clearly compelling.
Outlandish ambition
It’s telling that Blomfield was the
first founder who VC firm Passion
invested in twice. ‘They certainly
believe in Tom and think he’s
great,’ says Matt Robinson, one
of Blomfield’s co-founders at Go
Cardless (and another founder who
Passion has invested in twice).
‘We went to them and said,
“Look, we’re thinking of starting a
bank, and we need some money”,’
says Blomfield. ‘And they said,
“How much?” At such an early
stage it has to be about the founder
and the investor because there is
no traction, no market.’
It’s a very self-assured statement.
Yet Monzo wasn’t an entirely
novel idea. Blomfield isn’t allowed
to talk about why he left his role as
—
‘Monzo will be a financial
control centre for a billion people
around the world’
—
chief technical officer at what is
today one of Monzo’s chief rivals,
Starling, the bank founded by Anne
Boden in 2015 and where Blomfield
worked prior to launching Monzo.
There were reports of rifts and
tension at the time. Whether that
stemmed from diverging strategies
or a desire from Blomfield to run
his own venture is unknown.
But he claims hunger to assume
the CEO role wasn’t what made
him leave Go Cardless in 2013. ‘Go
Cardless is a great business, but I
sat down and thought, “Do I really
want to be running this for the
next 5 or 10 years?” And I thought,
“Not really”.’
Instead, with Monzo, a
consumer-facing tech company,
Blomfield can do something much
more public – and potentially
much bigger. ‘We’re talking years in
the future, and we probably won’t
get there… but I think to be able to
have a huge impact on the world
for what you’ve built and then take
an amount of wealth and use it to
cure malaria or something… that’s
pretty cool.’
If such outlandish ambition
seems terribly un-British, that’s
because it is. Blomfield’s been
through YCombinator and soaked
up its values. Even his staff seem
to be under the influence: ‘Most
people come at a problem and say,
“Okay, how do we solve it? This is
what we’ve done in the past.” Tom
and Jonas [Huckestein, Monzo
CTO] attack it from first principles,’
says Thomas. ‘[They ask] what’s
the root cause of this problem?
And how can we attack it in a
different way?’
It’s all classic Silicon Valley lingo.
Mathematical mindset
That scientific approach isn’t new.
Blomfield’s university law tutor,
Nick Barber, remembers him as a
thoughtful, focused student: ‘If
you asked him a question he would
think about it carefully, and give an
answer that exactly answered [it].’
At Monzo, that precision shows
itself in the tech, the roadmap,
the speed of execution, and even
people management. ‘He’s super
direct,’ says Thomas. ‘He’s not
someone who is going to mince
around words just to be polite.’
‘Tom’s greatest strength is that
he’s an incredible doer,’ adds
Robinson. ‘When something needs
to be done, Tom doesn’t muck
around.’ He recalls a time at Go
Cardless when the three founders
were writing a list of potential
bank partners. ‘Tom hadn’t said
anything in 30 seconds, and then
he was on the phone, saying,
“Hello, is that the RBS team?”’
‘That’s amazing; it can save a lot
of time. [But] it can be impulsive.’
Recently, Blomfield’s started
talking about Monzo developing
into a marketplace where users can
find other fintech startups to buy
insurance, take out loans and earn
brand loyalty points. ‘It’s definitely
the 20-year vision,’ he says, but
that doesn’t stop him meeting with
other startups frequently.
‘I love new things, new ideas.
[I’ll] have a meeting with a startup
that wants to build on our API and I
go, “This is amazing, I want to help
with this,” and I go to our team
[and say] “How can we help these
guys?” And they go, “Are you
kidding me? We set our quarterly
priorities, and that’s explicitly not
a priority”.’
‘I miss being hands on – writing
the code, being able to put your
headphones on for 12 hours and
have a new feature,’ he admits. ‘I
really love the process of making
something grow from scratch.’
Robinson thinks Monzo’s far
from the last company Blomfield
will start: ‘He’s going to build
three to five more business in his
lifetime, and one of them’s going
to be a breakout success.’
Is that business Monzo?
No comment.
25
 D I S PATC H E S
NEW YORK
The New, New Media
‘Still the most newsworthy
W
town in the world.’
hich comes first: the city, or
the creative fuel that feeds it?
While political, economic, and
geographic factors all play their
part in establishing the profile
of a metropolis as ‘The X Capital
of the World’, it’s the people
who maintain that rep. Media,
you might argue, is to New York
what movies are to Los Angeles
and fashion is to Paris. Arguably
Phoebe New York’s biggest cultural
Lovatt export, it’s also the one that best
reflects the characteristics of its
working population: innovation,
industriousness, and more than
a modicum of outright hustle.
It makes sense, then, that New
York’s media industry has been
quick to adapt to the challenges
presented by the new media
revolution of the past 10 years.
Venerable publications The global shift towards rampant
are getting into bed with content creation has been
absorbed seamlessly here in NY,
brands in ever-new ways. where you’re only worth as much
BERLIN
VR finds its Bohemia
‘If it’s weird and wonderful
you want, then Berlin has
B I
that in spades.’
erlin is a city legendary for its
immersive experiences, with several
nightclubs famously open for days
on end. It’s perhaps little surprise,
then, that this town has found itself
home to a small but growing virtual
reality tech scene. It’s a scene that’s
Musa been shaped by Berlin’s playful
Okwonga approach to life, which attracts
creative types – and left-field
thinkers – in their droves.
This, after all, is the place
where a friend once sent me
a picture of a man on public
transport accompanied by his pet
– a pony. The city’s residents are
also supremely creative with their
buildings. A good friend of mine has
London for the head, just opened a studio whose facade
is a butcher’s shop, and one of my
Berlin for the heart: favourite cocktail bars (sadly now
VR is a shiny new toy for closed) could only be accessed
through a secret door in a kebab
Europe’s creative capital. shop. Even the geography of the
26
as your work ethic. ‘Feeding the
content monster’ has become
an around-the-clock occupation
for New York’s media hustlers,
who acquiesce to the pressure to
post, publish, and live tweet at a
seemingly insatiable volume. But
just how sustainable is this frenzied
level of output, for both the workers
and the rapidly evolving media
structures which pay their bills?
For the most optimistic clues
of the future, look to The New
York Times; currently undergoing
a huge restructuring by taking its
cues from Netflix and HBO. The
big idea is, unsurprisingly, more:
more journalism, more supporting
content, and more ways to read,
watch and listen to all of the
above. The ultimate goal, Wired
reported earlier this year, is to
make a digital subscription to
The New York Times seem less like
a luxury, and more like an necessity:
an IV drip of content you just can’t
live without.
No fumbles with native
advertising to be found here,
either; many leading editorial
platforms have established slick,
in-house brand content operations
in their place. From Condé Nast’s
city itself encourages non-linear
thought. Just look at the way the
street numbers joyously jumble
themselves up, so you might need
to walk down each road at least
twice to work out where you are.
Given these characteristics, it’s
easy to see why Berlin is a natural
home for the diverse talents needed
for a thriving VR scene. At any
given party you can find an Italian
architect, a Spanish scientist, a
Brazilian advertising executive,
and an American scriptwriter. In
an example of how regularly these
worlds overlap, I was invited last
November to perform poetry at
State festival, a two-day event
celebrating the relationship between
art, science, society and artificial
intelligence. Of course, the event
took place in a giant warehouse.
London’s VR scene, by contrast,
has a more earnest, corporate
feel. It’s dominated by gaming,
followed by manifestations of what
Kevin Molloy, head of production
at London-based Inception VR,
calls ‘VR as a tool’. Here, he
says, companies are building VR
experiences to train doctors to
operate, build virtual hotels so
potential guests can figure out
which rooms they would like to stay
in, take children on ‘virtual school
trips’ and treat those recovering
from post-traumatic stress disorder.
In terms of maturity, London’s VR
industry is also far further down the
road than Berlin’s. Startups which
23 Stories to The New York Times’
T Brand Studio, these self-styled
creative content agencies are a
one-stop shop for brands looking
to commission, produce, and
distribute campaigns in one
place. A myriad of major brands
have invested accordingly: T
Brand Studio has landed clients
including Belvedere and Cartier;
23 Stories have worked with Olay
and Microsoft, and Gen Z-focused
lifestyle site Refinery 29 has used
brand dollars to transform a four-
person team into a worldwide
‘media entertainment business’,
with over 400 staff and a valuation
of $500 million.
As New York’s media industry
keeps growing and evolving, the
country’s bright and brilliant young
professionals continue to show
up to job-hunt in their droves. As
a former resident of Los Angeles
who relocated to New York in 2015,
I can testify to the city’s enduring
appeal: despite its overpopulation
and overpriced apartments, New
York is still the most newsworthy
town in the world – if you’re
engaged in the messy business
of feeding that content monster,
at least.
benefited from initial injections of
VC cash must now find their own
way, and work out ways to monetise
their content.
In Berlin, the VR scene is
significantly smaller, notes Sönke
Kirchhof, CEO of the year-old
company INVR Space, which focuses
on arts rather than business-based
applications. And while large entities
such as Unreal Engine are putting
substantial money into this field, the
public sector is also playing a vital
role with local and regional funding.
Elsewhere in Germany, VR
applications are increasingly used
in the automotive, military and
medical industries; INVR, though,
retains an artistic emphasis.
Having just received its first funding
tranche, it’s about to branch out
into education. Using images and
footage from Berlin’s archives, it will
create an experience where visitors
can ‘time travel’ through the history
of the Reichstag, one of Germany’s
most famous buildings.
These days, Molloy says, ‘you
can be a global VR studio based
out of any city you choose’. But
it’s clear Germany’s capital has
something unique to offer. ‘Berlin
is full of artists,’ he says. ‘The first
wave of people who came into VR
were technologically savvy, but not
necessarily creatively brilliant. In this
second wave, I think creative minds
coming in and making really weird
and wonderful things is where Berlin
will help to excel.’
? LO W D O W N
‘I’m always surprised that nail
art hasn’t become a dead fad’
SHARMADEAN REID, WAH FOUNDER
Sharmadean Reid is founder of
WAH, once a hip-hop zine and now
a futuristic London nail salon, and
co-founder of Future Girl Corp, a
business network for women.
WORK /LIFE
STEERING CLEAR
OF STUFFOCATION
‘The minimalist hotdesks’
nomadic inhabitants appeared
breezier, less burdened.’
Jamie
Millar
Can a tidy desk and an
empty inbox really jump-
start creativity?
Sum up what you do.
I have loads of ideas and find
the best people to execute them.
Why did you decide to get into
nail art?
I set up WAH because I thought it
would be a fun thing to do with my
mates – I didn’t realise it would be
a game-changing trend and a
cool business.
When were you last surprised
by something?
I’m always surprised that people
keep coming to the salon and that
nail art hasn’t become a dead fad.
What’s the best ever invention?
Google Maps API.
Does modern capitalism work?
Yes, as long as it’s 50/50 with
creativity.
What would you go big on if you
became PM?
Childcare. It’s such a massive barrier
for economic progress in this
recently hired a fixed desk at the
new London Fields branch of We
Work. But after a couple of days
I found myself holed up in the
hotdesking area. To borrow the
title of trend forecaster James
Wallman’s book, I was suffering
from ‘stuffocation’.
The computer towers, packing
crates and packets of Frosties
cluttering the fixed desks were
seriously cramping my feng shui.
Maybe it was just me, but their
occupants seemed subdued by
their surroundings.
On the minimalist hotdesks,
which were strewn with the
contents of one backpack
maximum, I felt like I could
breathe. Their nomadic inhabitants
appeared breezier, less burdened.
Less is more and more popular,
thanks to Japanese organising
consultant Marie Kondo and her
country. If women could go and do
what they want, the whole country
would benefit. And it’s not just a
female problem. I share [my son]
Roman 50/50 with his dad. He also
has to go to work and has exactly
the same problem.
What would you outlaw?
Advertising. It’s basically the biggest
cause of anxiety in society today.
Who would be your three dream
dinner guests?
Elon Musk; Beyoncé; Richard
Rumelt, author of Good Strategy/
Bad Strategy.
What’re your bucket list
destinations?
Santiago, Chile; Cambodia;
Big Sur, California.
One thing you read or did
recently that you’d recommend?
Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey
Moore. I bloody love this book!
It’s about how to market high
technology products to mass
consumers. Plus, a facial by
Pfeffer Sal.
Where would you like to go in our
time machine?
1970s LA, where for the first time
it was pretty cool to be black.
four million plus-selling book The
Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying.
The crux of Kondo’s credo is that,
as part of an epochal sort-out, you
should discard any items that fail
to ‘spark joy’ when you hold them.
With everything in its right place
– which, for many items, is the local
charity shop or a skip – you’ll liberate
yourself from the oppression of
unwanted possessions. It sounds like
a load of shui – until you’ve tried it.
You don’t have to watch many
episodes of the TV show Hoarders
to conclude there might be a link
between physical and psychological
baggage. The Princeton Institute of
Neuroscience has determined that
clutter impairs your ability to focus,
forcing your brain to devote precious
bandwidth to junk filtering. Tidy
desk, tidy mind, it would seem.
There are plenty of apps
capitalising on the desire to
organise: most of us are familiar
with note-taking app Evernote.
Then there’s Smartsheets and Trello,
project management tools that
turn deadlines into aesthetically
pleasing Gantt charts.
There’s even a chatbot, Astro,
that archives emails, sets reminders
and pulls out top-level questions
from your inbox.
Real or virtual, the optimal clutter
level is highly individual, which
explains why neighbouring workers
can have polar opposite habits.
Mess has historically been
portrayed as another mother
If we hit ‘most listened to’ on
your music, what would come up?
Lil’ Kim – Big Momma Thang.
Favourite app?
Slack.
Best person you follow on
social media?
I don’t really look at other people’s
accounts – I just look at my own, like
a diary.
Who’s your hero?
I don’t have one – they always
disappoint. Every hero is human
and fallible.
What superpower do you wish
you had?
To be able to naturally respond to
how everyone’s feeling in the most
appropriate way possible.
What’s your death row meal?
Jerk chicken, rice and peas with
coleslaw and plantain.
Do you have any regrets?
None whatsoever. Every single thing
I’ve done has led me to where I am
right now. If I’d worked harder in my
20s, I wouldn’t be as cultured and
connected as I am now. If I hadn’t
been through hard times, I wouldn’t
be as resilient.
of invention. Albert Einstein once
asked, ‘If a cluttered desk is a sign
of a cluttered mind, of what, then,
is an empty desk a sign?’ For every
Marie Kondo, there’s a Tim Harford,
economist and author of Messy: The
Power Of Disorder To Transform Our
Lives. Researchers at the University
of Michigan found that students
came up with more and more
innovative ideas in an untidy
environment. They were students,
after all.
The truth, and the creative sweet
spot, lies somewhere in the middle.
Too much clutter overwhelms our
attentional selection mechanisms
and, on a logistical level, makes it
hard to identify what we should be
dealing with. But too little stuff
shuts those mechanisms down
altogether, and excessive time and
energy diverted into decluttering is
misplaced. Kondo has been known
to collapse from organising, which
clearly isn’t healthy.
We’ve all experienced the
sudden compulsion to tidy – one of
procrastination’s sneakiest disguises
– when we have something much
more important to be doing, which
is akin to the fetishising of ‘inbox
zero’. Ironically, achieving email
nirvana in the name of productivity
all too often comes at the expense
of actual work, and the arrival
of every subsequent message
is an even greater torment. Inner
– and inbox – peace starts with
acceptance.
27
 COURIER LIFE
STORE CURATION PROFILE FOOD ACTIVITY
NOOK YINKA ILORI MIRANDA YORK MOVEMENT

Keeping good company

“The keys to longevity are happiness at work and loving what you do,
being adaptable to change, staying focused on quality, not being distracted
about what others are doing and staying original and true to your identity.”
– Rana and Peyman from White Mulberries cafe My week in food:
Miranda York runs through
Read the full story on our new site allpressespresso.com her favourite ingredients and
places in eat, p32.

NOOK, STOKE NEWINGTON
How the duo behind the Church Street shop decide what goes where.
Gemma Ridgway and Jack
Simpson are considering a rejig.
‘We’ve never changed the position
of the departments in our mini
department store,’ says Ridgway,
who co-founded Nook in 2012.
‘Bath and body has always been at
the back, cards have always been
at the front…’
Plenty of minor shuffling goes on
everyday. ‘I’m a display geek,’ says
Ridgway, who used to work as a
visual merchandiser for high-street
fashion brands. Now, being the
one who buys, displays, and sells
products means she can be even
more analytical with what works
best where. She’s also got to know
her customers very well.
‘There aren’t any real hotspots
30
STORE CURATION PROFILE
YINK A ILORI
Courier talks Afropop and hunting for discarded furniture with the artist-designer.
Yinka Ilori spends a lot of his spare In one collection, titled ‘If owner how they interact with each His work has been featured in
time wandering around London, Chairs Could Talk’, Ilori created piece; they could hang it on the wall an African art fair at Sotheby’s,
looking for abandoned chairs. five chairs based on different real or sit on it at the dining room table is currently touring as part of a
Two or three finds provide the raw life characters from his school days. – although it may not always be exhibition called ‘Making Africa’
materials for one new creation, ‘Some went through the education that comfortable. and he’s spoken at South African
which is painted in vivid colours and system, some ended up in the Ilori says his work is a vehicle design festival Design Indaba.
re-upholstered. The fabrics, sourced criminal justice system. Some have to express and celebrate his It’s something Ilori has
from London or Lagos, are inspired emerged triumphant whatever their intersecting Nigerian and British undoubtedly benefitted from,
by the bold patterns his Nigerian path,’ he says. heritage. ‘In the outside world but can nevertheless be a source
mother – ‘the queen of colour’ – I’m British. At home I’m Nigerian. of subtle frustration. ‘I hate being
wears to church and weddings. I speak Nigerian, I eat Nigerian put in a box of ‘British’ or ‘African’
‘Every chair has a narrative,’ he ‘When you take two food, I watch Nollywood. It’s like design, I’m inspired by both,’
Spotlight says. ‘The furniture I see around found chairs that a double life but I love both. The he says.
When Simpson first met the French team behind London is to me representative belonged to two chairs are a celebration of being The ease with which Ilori fuses
Kerzon candles and scents (pictured above), they of the city’s diverse people.’ both African and British.’ his dual identities also feeds into
hadn’t even made their first products. ‘I said, While the original chairs have
different people from He adds: ‘When you take two what he calls his first love: music.
‘When can you ship them?’ And they said, ‘When their own back stories, Ilori attaches different backgrounds found chairs that belonged to A huge part of his background is,
can you pay for them? Then we can actually new imagined stories to the and merge them, you two different people from different he explains, the pop music his
make some stuff.’ Their product range has grown, upcycled final pieces. Drawing merge their lives.’ backgrounds and merge them, you parents played around the house.
sold well, and the company has opened a store in inspiration from the parable merge their lives.’ ‘When I hear the words sung in
Paris. ‘We stick by lots of suppliers, because we traditions of the Nigerian Yoruba Despite being made by a Nigerian, it goes into my veins,’
like what they do,’ adds Ridgway. tribe, each has a deeper meaning. Although Ilori trained in product British man in the UK, the explicit he says. Grime, on the other hand,
Growing up, every ‘lecture’ his and furniture design, his chairs now exploration of his Nigerian has served as the counterbalance.
parents gave to Ilori and his siblings straddle the worlds of design and background in both meaning It’s a genre he first discovered
in the shop where you have would end in hour-long parables, fine art, and are often exhibited in and aesthetic, has led to Ilori’s in secondary school and one
guaranteed sales,’ she says, adding he says. gallery shows. It’s up to the new work being branded ‘African design’. he continues to love today.
that it’s more about finding the
area that best suits a product.
ILO RI’S DEFININ G TR ACKS
‘There aren’t any King Sunny Adé Kano Fela Kuti Nas Orlando Owoh
real hotspots in Ja Funmi P’s and Q’s Water got no enemy You’re da man ‘Any song’
the shop.’ Each Christmas my mum When Kano’s Home Sweet Fela Kuti was an activist I’ve always thought of Owoh is a real old school
will play King Sunny while Home (2005) came out as well as a musician. He Nas as not just a rapper, Nigerian. My mum was in
cooking Jollof rice and I was living in an flat in spoke his mind and didn’t but a bit of a philosopher. tears when he died. He’s a
Cards sit near the window so spinach and drinking wine or Islington. I still remember give a fuck. It often got him He crosses genres and story teller and a life
they’re easy to spot by passersby. Guinness. The music and going and buying it in into trouble, but he was a is very intelligent. The teacher. From the minute
The window display, meanwhile, aroma make my Christmas. HMV in Angel, putting my man of the people. I like to ‘you’re da man’ refrain the lyrics kick in you’re
changes on a three week rotation; Every one of his songs tells a speakers out of the window think that how music gave always sticks with me. hooked. The stories also
‘It’s very strict,’ jokes Ridgway, story. The lyrics are a source and blasting it to the whole [him] his voice, chairs and To call it empowering contain important lessons.
adding that it’s enough time for of inspiration; Ja Funmi estate. P’s and Q’s was stories allow me to connect probably isn’t quite right, In one he tells how if you’re
their regular customers to spot means ‘fight for me’ and I played on repeat. I refused to to people. Water got no but whenever I listen to it jealous of a neighbour’s new
something they like and return find it particularly let mates burn it, I was like: enemy - it doesn’t get much I’m like ‘yeaaah’; it gives shoes, remember that they
to buy it. motivating. ‘Fuck you I just bought it!’ more true than that. that boost. could be hurting his feet!
Courier Life Courier Life 31
 MY WEEK IN FOOD ACTIVITY

M OV E M E N T
Exploring the back to basics training philosophy
with Erdi Ibil at Momentum gym

The ingredient
I’ve been buying bunches and bunches of wild garlic while it’s in
season. I’m planning to make pesto with it so I can continue to
enjoy its punchy flavour after the season ends.

M I R A N DA YO R K
The food writer behind At The Table, an
events company and magazine based around
British food culture runs through her favourite
places to eat, drink and buy produce, as well
as sharing her dish of the moment.
‘Kids have got the right idea; largely body-weight based,
running around the park, training can be carried out
I’m obsessed with markets. Bermondsey. There I’ll pick The dish climbing on the monkey bars, anywhere from the gym to the
I love the bustle and the in- up sourdough bread from The mozzarella, borlotti playing hide and seek. That’s living room (although a chin up
teraction with traders. During The Snapery, cultured butter and wild garlic green what Movement is all about,’ bar does help).
the week, I’ll go to Borough from Grant at Ampersand, sauce dish from the says Erdi Babili, who runs ‘It transfers really well to the
Market for fresh produce – I and homemade cardamom Ducksoup Cookbook is Movement classes at Momentum rest of the world and sets you
like Chegworth Valley and granola from Rock My Bowl. my current go-to. I’ve Gym in Haggerston. up to do pretty much any other
Ted’s for fruit and vegetables, Sweet treats come courtesy lost count of the number Movement is a training activity. If you want to play with
Bread Ahead for baked goods of Fatties Bakery, and ice of times I’ve cooked method which combines an your kids or take up a new sport,
(and also, those doughnuts!), cream sandwiches from it. It’s quick to make and eclectic, non-traditional range of Movement gives you the mobility,
and Neal’s Yard for milk and Happy Endings. I can happily most of the ingredients activities. Broadly characterised strength and balance. It makes
cheese. while away every weekend are usually lurking in my as improving mobility, balance you a conditioned human.’
On Saturdays I run a small wandering through markets, kitchen. I use wild garlic and body strength, it’s a Babili first got into the sport
market on Druid Street in tasting and chatting. when it’s in season. If it’s combination of gymnastics, after attending a Movement
not, basil works just fine. parkour, street workout, dance camp in Thailand led by Portal.
Crusty bread is a must to and bodyweight training. He started teaching classes at
mop up the salty sauce In a typical class, participants Momentum last year.
laced with olive oil. will swing and lift themselves on
bars and rings, jump and bounce ‘It makes you a
YO R K’ S TO P S P OT S off boxes, crawl and cartwheel
along the floor, play balance conditioned human.’
games with a partner and
attempt head or hand stands. It’s one of a roster of group
The Snapery Quo Vadis José Popularised by a group of classes at the local gym, founded
The Snapery makes I usually head to Quo I’m always returning trainers with big online followings by Geoff Stewart, that aim to
some of my favourite Vadis, where you can to José on Bermondsey such as Tristan Kobayashi and inject fun into working out.
loaves in London - all always find a cosy Street. Partly because Ido Portal, it’s been taken up by Other workouts on offer are
naturally fermented spot. Plus if it’s getting it’s local, partly everyone from dads wanting to adult gymnastics, metabolic
and made with time late, the cocktail menu because José Pizarro be more limber in the park conditioning and Cross Fit – the
and care by Richard is there to tempt you. is the loveliest chef, through to UFC champion Conor global phenomenon that has
Snapes and his team. Jeremy Lee makes but mainly because McGregor who regularly trains become the gym’s signature
The Seeded Field the best bar snacks – the croquetas are to with Portal. class.
Loaf is particularly cheese straws and pis- die for. It’s the perfect ‘The practise can take you ‘People feel like they need to
good - as well as the saladière, or a smoked spot to drop in for a anywhere – some immerse go to the gym to get fitter and
baguettes. And I can eel sandwich if you’re glass of sherry and themselves in hand balances, leaner; they don’t realise they
never resist brioche if feeling particularly plate of jamón. Or to some in mobility, others in pure can do it through other means
it’s on the stall. peckish. order the whole menu! strength on the rings,’ says that are far more enjoyable,’
Babili, adding that, because it’s adds Babili.

32 Courier Life Courier Life 33

 W O R KS PAC E

Beavertown Brewery
Unlike most London breweries,
Beavertown has a lot of space.
It’s not tucked away in a railway
arch, or a garage-sized ‘lock up’.
Instead, they’ve got a 5,500 square
foot warehouse in Tottenham.
The brewery moved to its spacious
digs three years ago after running
out of room at their previous site in
Hackney Wick.
It’s now full again. Cosmo, the
head brewer, reckons they’ll need
to move again in a year or so.
When it arrived in Tottenham,
the brewery had eight fermenters
– they’ve since collected 38 of the

COURIER IN
ginormous vessels. Most often,
they’re filled with the brewery’s
two most popular beers: the Gamma
Ray IPA, and the sessionable Neck

YOUR INBOX
Oil. Each tank produces 10,000 litres
of beer and takes three weeks to
brew. Staff split shifts during the
day, and the brewery is in operation
from 6am to 9pm.
The smaller tanks at the back are
used for more experimental brews;
blueberry coffee stouts, spiced IPAs, The best modern business
and lightly salted sour beers are
some recent examples. reporting and analysis
every Friday morning.

34
Register at courierpaper.com/weekly