G: What inspired you to write the book, Mad Men of Mobile?
DN: After starting my career doing PR in the music industry, I moved over to work in mobile startups. In those eight years, I always found it surprising that there were clients who put their five or six figure mobile budgets into the hands of employees who may not understand mobile, or have any technical experience. What this means is that by the time they approach a mobile agency, they may have already set the budget, timelines and, put wireframes in place, without ever having consulted someone who could help them shape their app so that it benefits both the user, and the business.
So, whilst on maternity leave in 2012, I decided to write a book which goes some way to demystifying mobile and what it takes to run a successful startup. I interviewed 13 incredible entrepreneurs and innovators – from the founders of Siri to Shazam – so that I could tell their startup stories; share the lessons they learned and mistakes they made.
G: What is unique about your book?
DN: Never before has there been a book which tells the incredible stories of mobile startups from the perspective of the founders and inventors. And it was important to me that the book was in the words of the founders. In fact, very early on, I actually signed a book deal for Mad Men of Mobile but promptly terminated it when they asked me to interview mobile experts “in agencies” (rather than mobile founders), and for it to have “more charts and graphs.”
G: What is your connection with Shoreditch?
DN: I work all over the place so have no fixed office, but take the majority of my meetings in Shoreditch – breakfast meetings in Ozone, coffees at the Hoxton Hotel, and Haché for lunch! I have always loved the vibe here and think it’s great that it has become such a hive for tech startups.
G: What are your favorite businesses in the area?
DN: There are probably too many to mention but obviously ustwo and RjDj hold a special place in my heart (they feature in the book), and I am also a big fan of what Makeshift, and BERG are working on.
G: What does the future have in store for you?
DN: I am currently working on a book called Women on Top which is about female founders in tech.
Mad Men of Mobile is available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
http://madmenofmobile.com
