Reevoo.com founder Richard Anson talks to WLB

by James Agate

WeLoveBusiness.co.uk – your home for small business resources and advice – was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to talk to Reevoo.com’s founder Richard Anson. He has built Reevoo.com into a customer review site that helps consumers decide which products to buy through reviews from people who have actually bought and used the products.

Richard has just secured Series B of his funding for the company, expansion capital that’s going to be used to grow the company across Europe. In today’s economic climate this is no mean feat and Richard has worked tirelessly to achieve this.  Richard is here to his share advice for other entrepreneurs on securing funding as well as some business wisdom.

What was your first job?

My first job was selling burglar alarms for a small security business in Hong Kong in my gap year after school.  It was probably one of the best first jobs I could have done.  It was a mixture of door to door sales and cold calling.  Great fun, taught me resilience and I learnt a huge amount from the sales director and the MD.

Do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur?

Good question – have never really considered it.  I have drive, passion and ambition, don’t often take no for an answer and am proud of what we are building at Reevoo.

What do you think makes a good entrepreneur?

A large amount of get up and go, resilience, persistence and passion.  In the early days you need a lot of self belief.  Oh – and a supportive partner!

You run a successful business but you are also highly educated… which do you think is more important in business; experience or education?

Experience is more important.  The two aren’t mutually exclusive though, doing research towards a PhD has meant that I never take numbers at face value and have the ability to drill down very rapidly if I feel there is an issue that needs sorting.

Is Reevoo.com your first business?

Yes, though in the past I have pulled together several business plans, one of which gained entry to an early stage business incubator, but I didn’t really feel that they had the legs to take forward.

What gave you the idea for Reevoo?

Back in 2004, I had a personal frustration that there was nowhere online that helped me with the “which product to buy?” question.  At the same time a good friend of mine, who ran an online hotel booking business, was seeing hotel booking rates double when they incorporated customer reviews.  Consumer reviews have the power to advise shoppers, whilst also growing sales for retailers and manufacturers.

I see you’ve run businesses and worked in large corporates, which do you prefer?

The immediateness of running a growing business is addictive – you can make things happen quickly, without having to navigate corporate hierarchies.  That said, when I was in a corporate, it was just a different challenge, it’s about knowing the right levers to pull to make things happen.

Can you give me an idea of Reevoo’s traffic/visitor levels?

Shoppers view our ratings about 50 million times a month on retailer’s, manufacturer’s and publisher’s sites across the web and also on Reevoo.com.

Are you able to give me an indication of revenue levels? How does the business monetise all that traffic?

Our monthly revenues for July were up 100% year on year – and the summer is traditionally a quiet month for us.

We make money in two ways.  We charge our retail and manufacturer customers a licence fee, related to sales increase, for incorporating our service into the websites.  We also get paid commission if a shopper visits Reevoo.com and then clicks through and purchases from one of our retailers.

Is Reevoo a profitable business? If so, what have you done to ensure this (keeping an eye on costs, focused on revenue etc etc)?

We could be profitable today, but are investing for growth.  That said, I keep a very close eye on costs – some might say I am tight fisted! – and the team is very focused on revenue.

How many people does the business employ?

About 30 people and we are recruiting – it’s an exciting time.

I see you recently secured additional funding, can you give us a few tips on the best ways to woo investors?

Try not to approach them cold, get an introduction.  Paint that big picture early to gain their attention (most have short attention spans…).  Try to engage them in discussion, rather than talking at them, that way you will see them getting excited and see them start to get emotionally involved.  Each time you meet them try to tell them/show them something new – slowly unpeel the layers of the onion.

The Reevoo board consists of many talented individuals with illustrious track records, did you have to sell them your vision of Reevoo to get them on board?

Yup, each one individually, but not in an overt way.  As well as selling the vision, it’s just as much about trust and building relationships – something that can only be done over a number of meetings, informal and formal.

If yes, do you think the ability to sell a vision is an important part of being an entrepreneur?

You need to be able to continually paint a picture of where you are heading.  In the early days, it may be to raise funds, recruit those first team members or close a big account. I guess, in one way or another, much of what I do is selling.

What are your plans for Reevoo in the future?

We are looking to build on our early success in Europe, whilst building social layers onto our core service – we currently support brands like Sony and Kodak in a number of European countries.

I also see mobile as a huge opportunity, the ability to help shoppers wherever they are is enormously powerful.

You’ve been successful running an internet business, what do you think is important when it comes to starting and running an internet business? (The idea, the people, the right time etc etc?)

Something like 60% people, 20% idea, 20% timing. Lady Luck probably should be in there somewhere as well.

What marketing methods have you used when building awareness for Reevoo?

Our brand is shown a huge number of times a month across the web – so there is inherent awareness within our business model.  We have supplemented this with PR and search engine marketing.  We are currently developing products, which will take our customers and us right to the heart of the social media space, which will raise awareness still further.

Would you change anything in the way you started and built Reevoo? If so, what?

We launched our retailer and manufacturer service first and it took a few years for us to properly launch Reevoo.com.  I would have launched Reevoo.com earlier.

What would you say to someone thinking of starting their own business?

So many clichés come to mind. I think one of best bits of advice I was given was to really tune in to those people around you who got excited about the idea and tune out the sceptics – it might be foolhardy – but if you have done your research, believe in the business idea, the sceptics have no place.

Do you enjoy running a business? What about it gets you out of bed in the morning?

I love seeing us create new exciting products, seeing the team making things happen. I get a buzz from seeing our numbers grow.  Its great being at the centre of it.

Do you think the UK is a business/entrepreneur friendly society?

Yes I do.  Certainly in London, there is a vibrant entrepreneurial community, combined with active angel networks and VCs.

What would you change about the business system in this country? (taxation, bureaucracy etc?)

The new government needs to really ensure that it is doing everything it can to create a framework that encourages entrepreneurialism and small business growth – not just pay lip service.  They need to ensure that finance is available, whether via banks or government schemes and ensure that taxes for successful business creators (which after all means employment and innovation – things important to UK plc) be kept to a minimum.