Look anywhere around London and you’ll notice an increasing abundance of pop-up businesses, those taking out a tenancy for a short time.
Tech Innovators 2014 business We Are Pop Up is speeding up the time it takes for a vacant space to be filled by presenting prospective landlords with a range of options.
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Based in: London Founded in: 2012 No. of employees: 8 Company founder: Nicholas Russell |
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Founder profile:
Nicholas Russell has advised multinationals in consumer goods, finance, and retail on new economic models.
Background business profile:
The existing business model of agency cannot support the needs of tomorrow’s retailers. Enter We Are Pop Up – an online marketplace for short-term commercial property. We Are Pop Up automates short-term property transactions, making the process much easier for tenants, and lower-risk for landlords.
Inside track:
Nicholas Russell’s first exposure to the concept of pop-up sites came while working in San Francisco for a brand strategy agency. At the time he worked with retail and luxury brands mainly on marketing and pop culture connections. At that stage pop-ups were primarily promotional stunts, used as part of campaigns by national players.
The start of We Are Pop Up began with four months of research, compiling an initial business plan in a largely academic way. An injection of founder capital was then required to get it going, with the team thinking ‘let’s give it a shot’.
An benchmark moment came when the start-up was accepted to the Springboard accelerator programme (now called Techstars). The business got its start with Boxpark, a pop-up retail space located in Shoreditch, East London. It served as a proof of concept and allowed more funding to flow through the door.
Boxpark had contacted We Are Pop Up to run a two week competition to fill one retail space. Some 20,000 page views and 150 retail concepts submitted and We Are Pop Up had filled three shops.
In terms of growth metrics, the start-up has been working with two councils, Camden and Brighton, and has placed 300 shops to date. A lot of work has been done with the creative communities and pop-up restaurants.
As the system develops the team has noticed a decrease in transaction time, meaning it can now fill more spaces in less time.
‘Space has been the main problem as property is configured for long-term leases,’ Russell says. ‘One great thing about having competitors is that we are all hammering at this point. What has been amazing is on the demand side, tenants and creatives take it up instantly as they use other platforms such as Kickstarter, Airbnb and Crowdcube.’
Recent milestones:
- Real-estate contracts paid and signed entirely online
- First £10,000+ automated transaction
- Turnover-based ‘plug-and-play’ demonstration launched in Berlin
Upcoming milestones:
- Signature-less contracts
- Plug-and-play shop, version 2.0
- Property-as-subscription
Recent technology:
The We Are Pop Up platform automates commercial property contracts using a custom-built web platform. The business is extending that functionality to the shop floor working with partners to integrate POS systems and footfall tracking.
Alliances:
- SkyAuth
Investors:
- Arts Alliance Ventures
Contact details:
22 Waterson Street, London, E2 8HL
Tel: 07912 653 412
Email: nick@wearepopup.com
Website: www.wearepopup.com
