Role: 1188 - THIS ROLE IS NOW CLOSED
To apply for click 'HERE'
Our client is an Italian innovative start-up founded with the vision to provide personalised online reviews on leisure and hospitality outlets. They aim to revolutionise rating systems by focusing on customers’ preferences, aligning reviews to each user taste, and empowering taste diversity. They achieve this goal via a new decentralized trust system in a social review platform currently being developed for both Android and IOS systems.
This exciting new approach will pioneer in the next generation of review solutions, and appeal directly to those who are put off by current review providers’ products.
We are looking to strengthen the company’s Board with the appointment of up to four seasoned Non-Executive Directors / Advisors to contribute their knowledge, experience, and networks to the growth of the company.
The Non-Executive Directors will be encouraged to become shareholders in the Company to align their interests with those of the existing Directors and shareholders.
Business Concept:
- The company’s main product is the first social review platform for places, an APP, where users are empowered to decide who to trust/follow and see only the average opinion of these people. Users can do that based on other people's taste (expressed by #TAGs), and their objectivity derived from a proprietary scoring system. Furthermore, it makes it easy to find perfect places in locations where users do not have any personal contact by introducing “Circles”. They are groups of local semi-professional critics, who are expert on a specific topic (i.e., pizza) with which users can be inspired by their average opinions rather than the one of the general public.
- The business finds its pillars in new technologies, collaborations with most active reviewers/creators, and a diversified revenue model.
- The first is driven by the new rating system developed by one of the company’s founders who was awarded as best Thesis at Imperial College, London in 2021 for its concept. The company uses a proprietary tags dictionary system, and AI-ML scoring algorithms that jointly help to improve targeting and profiling of users by up to 50% compared to standard recommendation algorithms.
- The second is a partnership program for active reviewers to allow them to monetise their work depending on the traction they create on the platform. Currently no competitor offers a direct incentive to review owners, with many of them feeling that their contributions are monetised by corporates without rewarding them.
- The latter pillar is composed by advertising, affiliation fees (revenues generated by people using their links to book or reserve places/tour), subscription and medium term B2B activities. The platform is completely free, but the company will offer a monthly subscription for users to obtain added features to directly support creators (i.e., Twitch, Patreon).
- The financial situation of the company is good. They are not generating revenues yet as they will release the first iteration of the product in mid-December 2022. As of today, the founders invested £10k in capital, £50k in non-interest-bearing loans and the company had been granted a £150k bank loan over 6 years with the first year interest only being payable. They have not raised any external funds yet.
- The current three members and founders of the company have remarkably diverse and complementary expertise. Collectively they accumulated more than 15 years of international working experience ranging from central banking, financial institutions, media content creation and software development in high profile companies.
Four Non-Executive Directors / Advisors Criteria:
We are seeking three or four Non Execs with the following expertise, and a background in the hospitality industry, high growth start-ups, digital media, and knowledge of the “online review” industry:
1. Head of Digital Marketing to assist with aspects related to a digital product launch such as social media marketing and email marketing, but also with regard to PR activities
2. Head of Finance or CFO, to oversee the company’s finance, fundraising and investor relations
3. Head of Strategy, contributing to the company’s growth strategy
4. Business Development, commercially oriented Director with broad experience of Sales and Marketing
Any Non Execs/Advisors appointed should be prepared to contribute their time and experience without remuneration until in-house full-time staff are gradually appointed. The NEDs/Advisors can expect to take a significant advisory role in the future appointment of senior staff.
The incoming Non-Executive Directors/Advisors will be encouraged to become shareholders with a minimum investment of £25k in the Company to align their interests with those of the existing Directors and shareholders.
Closing date for applications: Friday, 7th April 2023
