KissingGates.com is the brainchild of farmer turned
entrepreneur James Vestbirk. Part of a portfolio of sites aimed at
rural communities, under the umbrella company Inspire Business,
these niche sites are creating lively, engaged communities in the
wilds of the British countryside.
0-5 seconds: Sum your business up in a sentence
Inspirebusiness.co.uk is a portfolio of
websites and products with a focus on rural enterprise.
5-10 seconds: What's the business model?
It all depends on the individual site. To give you an example,
members of our most successful dating website KissingGates.com join for free, but full
membership is a paid subscription model. We don't sell any
advertising other than cross promoting our other brands such as PlentyofSize.co.uk , a plus sized dating
website.
10-15 seconds: Who are your competitors?
When we started our first dating website three years ago there
were two others in my rural niche, now there are more than ten
equestrian only dating sites!
15-20 seconds: What's your USP?
As one of the most established niche dating website providers we
offer a wide-ranging community of like-minded people to our
members. The sites have been really successful and we're delighted
to announce our first member marriage, which will take place later
this year.
20-25 seconds: How have you funded it so
far?
We're 100% self funded, with a cheeky Business Link start up
grant to help get us off the ground.
25-30 seconds: What were you doing before?
I worked as a farmer and before that as an e-commerce manager.
Marrying those interests led to me launching Inspire Business in
2007.
30-35 seconds: Where did the idea come
from?
It's fair to say the idea isn't rocket science. My aim was to
help solve problems I've experienced in the countryside and
hopefully make some money along the way.
35-40 seconds: What's the smartest thing you've done
so far?
Listening to customer feedback and making quick changes
accordingly.
40-45 seconds: What's the stupidest?
In the early days we built our customer base quickly but only
focussed on pay per click e-marketing. We learned the hard way that
it's pretty risky building your whole company around another
business.
45-50 seconds: If your business was a biscuit, what
would it be?
Penguin; a chocolate biscuit that also has a joke on it - we
deliver a good service, but try to have a laugh along the way.
50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit jealous
of?
YouTube - such a video revolution, although I wouldn't want
their hosting costs!
55-60 seconds: Where are you going to be in 12
months' time?
We have a number of exciting new websites on the horizon to
capitalise on a maturing online dating market.
Another more modest ambition is to add a sofa to our office by
the end of the year, a promise I made my developer in 2009. Sorry,
Ian.
Find out more about Inspirebusiness.co.uk
In association with
If you're interested in a start-up business bank account, contact NatWest
to realise your ambitions.