Tell us about your business
I make software. My main product at the moment is an iPhone app called ‘Happiness’ ( http://goodtohear.co.uk/happiness ). This is a journal app that helps you avoid depression and keep a record of your life focused on what matters most. It’s something you use every day and I’ve put a lot into the design and usability that sets it apart from the alternatives. I have some other products in the pipeline, all focused on promoting creativity and making people happy.
What are the main challenges maintaining your business and how are you overcoming them?
I’m still funding the business by doing client work which can be a drain on my time. However, there are benefits to doing projects for other people – I get forced to polish skills that I might otherwise lapse on and this makes my own products much quicker to develop. This also means I have no investors to answer to and lets me keep my product vision uncorrupted by ‘businessy’ influences.
What would you say has been your most memorable experience while developing your business?
An email I received from a user describing my Happiness app as the ‘best reason for owning an iPhone’. And getting shortlisted for an Information Is Beautiful Award (winners announced at the end of September)
Any fun moments that happened while setting your business? :)
I get emails from people, usually suggesting that I adapt my app to support other metrics. One guy told me he could see a lot of ‘low-hanging fruit – 1.2 tons of it’. So… he’d visualised the metaphor (which means ‘easy money’, right?) in his mind very clearly *as fruit* and then *estimated the quantity* of the metaphorical fruit, and then *put that in an email* to persuade me to get involved. How could I say no to half a ton of metaphorical fruit? Count me in!
Tell us about DO’s and DON’Ts when running the company?
DON’T work alone. I tried doing this before, working out of my flat. You end up working crazy hours and making things that nobody understands. It’s not too expensive to rent a desk in a nice studio in Shoreditch. Then you have people to eat lunch with, bounce ideas off, and maybe even pick up a bit of opportunistic freelance work to keep your cashflow healthy. I tried a couple of places before settling on the space I’m in now. It’s worth shopping around.
DO stick with it – it can take a long time to gain traction in the marketplace, particularly if you don’t have a big marketing budget.
DO respect your early adopters. It’s easy to dismiss the expectations of power users as not being appropriate to ‘normal’ users. But these are the people who will try out and talk about your product while you’re still developing it for a more mainstream audience. If they’re happy and you still have something that makes sense and is easy to use, you’re probably onto a winner.
Why do you choose Shoreditch to run your business?
It’s the creative hub of London, my favourite city in the world. I live here, I work here, my friends are here. I really love the atmosphere in the day time – there is intelligence in the air. Optimism. There are people working hard towards their dreams everywhere you look.
What should help for the development of Shoreditch entrepreneurial community?
We could use a few more trees. Benches. Perhaps a pond. It’s hard to find a nice outdoor space around here sometimes (if you don’t want to go all the way to London Fields or Victoria Park). It’s good to get away from the concrete once in a while. There are some rooftop spaces (RedQuarters, Shoreditch House) but they cost money which can be a bit of a turn-off.
I don’t know – I think I could be more involved in the community but I still get a bit intimidated by some of the cooler, more exclusive-looking events; I’m a nerd at heart. Make it easier on the nerds! We’re really good at stuff! It’s nice to be invited to things. Don’t marginalise the techies. (And techies – don’t ‘tribalise’ yourselves! Get involved!)
What are your favorite businesses in Shoreditch?
I love that SoundCloud has a presence here. SongKick seem to be doing pretty well too. I don’t know though – again, I feel I could be more in-touch with the community. It was nice to be asked to talk at Protein. I’m not sure I entirely understand what their thing is yet but they’re definitely getting involved!
What are your favorite hang outs in Shoreditch?
I’m homing in on places that serve alcohol-free beer these days. Pride Of Spitalfields, Barley Mow, Mason & Taylor. But really, it’s hard to find a place that doesn’t have something going for it around here. So much choice that you can either imagine exactly what you’d like and find it, or just walk into the place closest-by. Could use a few more beer gardens though.
What does the future have in store for Shoreditch?
More skyscrapers probably. I don’t have a problem with that. It’s gonna keep changing, everything’s gonna keep changing – the area wouldn’t be great if it hadn’t been changing rapidly and there’s no ‘optimum end-point’ for its development. People have a problem with the fact that change, even change for the better, necessarily includes loss. We just need to make sure that the emphasis remains on creating things and not let businessy-capitalisty-exploiters dilute everything by trying to profit without adding any value.
