In our line of work we get to meet hundreds of amazing entrepreneurs each year who each have a great story to tell about how and why they decided to start their own business.
Our Newcastle Startup Week festival has been created to help raise the profile and shine a light on the North East business community and the key players within it which is why we have over 50 speakers across 5 days between 15th-19th May 2017 (see our full ‘Schedule’ at http://newcastlestartupweek.com/schedule/).
Some of these have agreed to be ‘Newcastle Startup Week Ambassadors‘ – proactively helping to spread the word about our event both online and offline, and inspiring other people to come along to learn more about what it takes to start and grow their own business.
We’re delighted to announce that Louisa Rogers, Founder of TrendListr (‘The Curated Fashion Marketplace’), is our second Newcastle Startup Week Ambassador and co-host of our afterparty at Kommunity on Tuesday 16th May…
1. Hi Louisa, can you please give a brief summary of who you are and what you do?
Hi, I’m a recent graduate of Newcastle University and have just started up an online fashion marketplace for vintage and preloved clothing called Trendlistr.com. It is aimed at people who love the unique nature and story of vintage clothing but want to have an online shopping experience like any other e-commerce site.
2. How many people are in your business? Is it just you or do you have business partners / employees?
It’s just me…for now!
3. How did you get started? What was the inspiration or motivation for doing it?
I got started by trading vintage clothing myself. I sold online through third party platforms and noticed a gap in the market for a marketplace where the quality and presentation of items was consistent: allowing sellers to keep their high end brands and prices justified whilst giving sellers a better online shopping experience in secondhand.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQitxfNhU4P/
4. What are you working on right now? What’s next for your business?
Right now I am working on getting the branding and appearance of the business just right. TrendListr is live and trading but as it’s a beta version I haven’t been shouting about it, as I am working on ironing out the technical side of things first. When that is all finished, I’m aiming for a ‘hard launch’ in summer, then I’ll be spreading the word and hopefully getting people to realise that secondhand and style don’t have to be mutually exclusive!
5. What are you most looking forward to about Newcastle Startup Week?
I can’t wait for the ‘Digital Alliance’ afterparty at Kommunity – it’s one of my favourite venues in town and a bit of a hidden gem. I love taking people there and seeing the looks on their faces when they realise what a great little place it is, hiding in plain sight in the city centre!
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6. What advice would you give to someone starting out in business / following in your footsteps?
I would tell them to be prepared for the ups and downs. Some days, you feel like giving up and ‘getting a real job’ and other days you sit there dreaming of award ceremonies and walk in wardrobes (or at least, I do). If you go into things knowing this, the ‘difficult’ times will be much easier to weather. Oh, and just because someone is older and more successful than you are right now, it doesn’t mean you have to follow their advice!
Want to meet Louisa or come to the afterparty at Kommunity?
Get your ticket for our 5 day (+ night) Newcastle Startup Week festival in May by clicking on the link below: