Startup Interviews
The NextWomen Start-up Interview series looks at women that are founding and leading online businesses across a number of technological markets. Within this genre of women there are many who have become serial entrepreneurs and those that have made it to the top of world famous coperations. We showcase the businesses of diverse female innovators, making them notable and quotable.
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| Providing cross-cultural education without the cost of a flight is invaluable to children across the globe. With the recent launch of Brightwide – YouTube for Social and Politcal Cinema – we look at what is offered to children in an attempt to make the world a smaller place. Read more… |
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Since the advent of the Internet, networks have become an increasingly popular way by which to share knowledge and experience with like-minded people. For Mums and parents, the ease of access to such information provided by these networks has meant online communities are rapidly playing as significant a role in their lives as offline ones are. Read more… |
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| Sheetal Mehta, founder of Innovative Social Ventures, has won many awards such as: Asian Women of Achievement; was listed in the 35 under 35 of Management Today and awarded for her Public Services this year at the Jewel Awards. Read more… |
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Let’s face it, most of us would love an elixir of eternal youth, and most of us look for it in the form of skin products. Here, Ester Saez, co-founder of COSMETOFRUITS talks to The NextWomen. Read more... |
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| With still no real end to the recession in sight and disposable incomes lower than they once were, online rental has become hot internet business. With a similar business model to the likes of LOVEFiLM and Blu Blangle, handbags from heaven gives handbag lovers the chance to use a bag they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. Read more... |
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Taking over a company that is ‘grossly insolvent’ just would not appeal to most, not even to the hardiest of entrepreneur, and yet this is exactly what Cheryl Hardwick did when the creditors of IT Solution were days away from calling in the administrators. Read more… |
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| The internet is awash with companies that provide business advice to start-ups, but no online incubator appears to target women led businesses, specifically online and throughout the first three years of a sites existence. Here pitch-preneur at our recent Darwinian Business event, Egle Karalyte, founder of InfinCubator (an online incubator aimed at women), talks to The NextWomen. Read more… |
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Louise Campbell is no stranger to internet start-ups. In 2005 she established Loulas Boutique, before providing American giant Etsy with a little homespun competition when she launched MyEhive.. Read more… |
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| Personalisation and Customisation of fashion items has become big business. iCreate-Shoes is seeking to do for the ‘brown shoes’ market what NIKEiD has done offline for trainers and Spread Shirt for the humble T-shirt. Read more… |
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US sites catering predominantly to women, and specifically to those in their prime have become prevalent over recent years, with the likes of Fabulously 40, wowOwow and Shine from Yahoo leading the revolution. UK sites, however, seem to have lagged behind in providing such a portal – until now. Read more… |
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| Joint winner of the Pitch-preneur session during our Darwinian Business event last week, Heikki Haldre of Fits.me talks to The NextWomen about ‘Ruling the World with Robots’ , iron lady of their team – Maarja Kruusmaa and the value of having a great team behind your venture. Read more… |
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Consultancy for Start-ups – it seems a contradictio in terminus. Startups are either too stubborn to admit that they would benefit from it or don’t have the budget. Natalie Turner, founder and CEO of Innovation Agency entheo has found a way to convince startups that consultancy can be really beneficial to becoming high growth. Read more… |
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| Spotted by Locals is a website offering travel tips from local residents of 22 cities in Europe. It’s run by Dutch husband and wife team Bart and Sanne van Poll who got the idea for the business when they started using local blogs as sources of travel information. The company uses a network of local “spotters”, all of whom are vetted by Bart and Sanne in person. Read more… |
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Karinna Kittles-Karsten is looking for a female investor to finance the fall launch of her new Sacred Love site, a web 2.0 platform for singles and couples. Ideally, she is seeking a strategic internet investor(s) for the launch.. Read more… |
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| Here, The NextWomen talk to Chandra Clarke – an author, columnist, business woman and founder of Scribendi.com – about the satisfaction of starting your own business and standard of English across the world.. Read more… |
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Two years ago Anita Moss just 26 and recently graduated, started an online business called First Tutors, and with her business partner has since helped thousands of families to find private tutors in their local area.. Read more… |
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| I run womenintechnology.co.uk, a leading online job board and networking forum for women working in the technology profession in the UK. I’ve been involved since womenintechnology’s inception in the autumn of 2004 and I manage all aspects of the website and the networking activities that we organise… Read more… |
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Sarah Beeny is fast becoming a serial entrepreneur; this month she is launching a new online service for people looking to buy and sell their homes in the UK. The service is called TEPILO and business partners are Will Miller of CMYPitch and her husband, the artist Graham Swift… Read more… |
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| Myreen Young is both a bricks-and mortar entrepreneur, with her Yakushi Beauty Salon, and an online entrepreneur, with her website MY-SkinCare.co.uk, specialising in all natural and organic products. It’s the combination which makes her business innovative, flexible and an accelerator of growth.. Read more… |
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Seventy Thirty is a matchmaking and headhunting company, so called as it refers to the optimal work-life balance required for success in life. Here, Susie Ambrose, an experienced psychologist and founder of the site, talks to The NextWomen about: the concept behind the business; establishing a client base and why her users would never go to a traditional dating agency… Read more... |
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| Emily Jacometti is part of the uber-cool Dutch gaming site, Flavour. The site is so much fun that even if you don’t speak Dutch, it’s still worth a play. Here, Emily talks to The NextWomen about the business – now and in the future – and the hurdles herself and co-founders, Tim Numan and Jain van Nigtevegt, have had to overcome.. Read more… |
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I’m a 37 year old mum of one (16 month old Max) from Buckinghamshire. I run two businesses, a marketing consultancy (chicken/egg) which I set up in 2004 and Be-Fabulous, a lifestyle networking site for women, which I launched in January of this year. I’m constantly exhausted but have never felt happier!. Read more.. |
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| Rajeeb Dey, 23, who graduated last year from the University of Oxford and was President of student society – Oxford Entrepreneurs, launched Enternships in May 2009, the first online platform to successfully recruit graduates for roles in start-ups and the UK’s leading small businesses. The focus may be on small businesses, the ambition is however big.. Read more… |
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Samantha Bedford – previously Managing Director of online dating site Match.com and VP global marketing at uDate.com – talks to The NextWomen about her new site Carmony where, having enjoyed great success matching people to partners, she now matches people to cars.. Read more.. |
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| Women and Wheels is about motoring but it’s written by women for women. We aim to get away from mens’ car talk and offer a more practical female viewpoint. Each car we test has a video to go with the review making it a very visual experience. There are also features and news items, a blog and a forum where women can come and exchange views and knowledge in a non-threatening and supportive fashion. Read more… |
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mysinglefriend was created by childhood friends Amanda Christie and Sarah Beeny – Sarah, an avid matchmaker, wanted to create a way for all her single friends to meet each other virtually; Amanda, whose background was web design and development, realised that this could turn into a unique dating site… Read more.. |
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| Get Satisfaction is a “user powered” customer service company which applies social media techniques to customer service. Founder Amy Muller started off in the tech world as a project manager and web developer before starting Get Satisfaction (her 2nd startup) in 2007 with her husband Thor Muller and Lane Becker, co-founder of Adaptive Path.. Read more… |
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Sustainability specialist and lifestyle manager, Kirsten Jack, has set up and launched ECOCONCIERGE. She was recently awarded a place on the LEAD sustainability 2009 programme… Read more.. |
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| Launched by husband and wife team – Savannah and Simon Saunders – myfrofro.com is a consumer platform aimed at eliminating post-it notes and scribbles on the back of opened envelopes. The site allows you to keep track of the details of -these dreadful- call centre conversations, including the person you spoke to and any outcomes or follow up calls required. Read more… |
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