entrepreneurs 33


Photographs by Angus Thomas


us and we didn’t have any credibility, which all changed when I was approached by Rob Sisco. He had worked for research specialists Nielsen and was based in New York and loved what we were doing. He came on board – today he’s our president North America – and brought in all the major record labels, such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. ReverbNation, the world’s largest community of unsigned artists, got in touch and we 'white labelled' our product to them. They now sell over 5,000 reports a month to their community and our sales increased dramatically overnight.


Within 18 months, we had 60% of the world’s record companies using us as their music testing company and we became the world leader. Unfortunately, we still weren’t profitable.


How did you turn it around?


We had to work out how to take the business model into different vertical markets and we identified the fashion retail sector as a potential


opportunity. We could see how our product could help with predicting future fashion trends, enabling companies to buy deep on future bestsellers and to make sure they wouldn’t be left with piles of unsold stock.


I knocked on doors, did a lot of cold calling and talked to people to try and understand the industry. We were very lucky because New Look came on board early on and we also partnered with WGSN, the global market leader in trend forecasting for the fashion industry. They can tell you what the styles will be anywhere around the world in two years’ time and they were looking to expand and innovate their offering to their fashion customers.


Together, we launched StyleTrial, which enables fashion marketers to gain feedback from our reviewer community on everything from one item to a whole collection, after which we provide analysis and reports. It’s still early days, but increasingly large numbers of businesses are adopting it.


Now we’re moving into other markets, including FMCG, the catalogue sector and we are also talking to a major UK supermarket group.


Why is your offering different to traditional research companies?


We predict the future when you have no data. Traditionally, the market research sector uses historic data and extrapolates the information it needs to predict what will happen next. We create all the data we need to make accurate predictions about best sellers and what products not to order – and deliver the answer in under a week.


Our community provides around 15,000 reviews a day and is available 24/7, 365 days a year. We have over 2,000,000 reviewers here and in the US and around 2,000 new ones signing-up every day.


SoundOut is not a product for the consumer insight department, it is used as part of a company’s workflow that can make a dramatic impact on a company’s bottom line and that’s why we always go in at C-suite level. This is both


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2016


about spotting tomorrow’s bestsellers but also giving them the insight to identify problem areas before major buying decisions are made.


What’s your own prediction for the future?


We’re aiming for 100% growth, year on year. Personally speaking, in the future I’d also like to get involved in talking to schools about being an entrepreneur and getting started in business, I think that’s very important.


What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given?


I’d have to quote Henry Ford: “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.”


Who inspired you?


My mother tells me that my great grandfather always said that nothing is impossible. He was an engineer and someone wanted to build an oil tanker that was bigger than the largest dry dock in the world at the time. He came up with the solution of building it in two halves and joining them together at sea – there is normally a solution to any problem if you think hard enough.


What are your own musical tastes?


They’re pretty eclectic. I enjoy everything from pop and rock to ballads and folk music. If you come to our offices you might hear anything from hard core hip hop to Disney tunes.


What do you do on your time off?


There’s always another renovation project. We’re currently working on a two year project at a house in Heckfield and that keeps me busy. Cassilda and I do all the planning, sourcing and designing together and it’s fun.


It’s also my 50th birthday and our 25th wedding anniversary this year, so we’re celebrating with a family holiday to South Africa and another trip with friends to Marrakech.


Details: soundout.com businessmag.co.uk


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