Overall, I wanted to test myself and not take the conventional route. Part of this was the desire to have a relative effect in terms of the work I put in and what I get out of it. I also wanted to be able to make decisions where I can see the direct tangible impact of my efforts.
I set up The Bunch in 2017 as a student fed up with being taken advantage of by utilities companies.
Finding myself lumped with the responsibility of handling all the bills for my 10-person uni house, I realised there was a way to remove the hassle of multiple supplier relationships, as well as the awkward situation of covering for your mates when they don’t pay. So, I founded The Bunch; we put all household bills into one monthly payment, split between housemates, who only ever pay their share. As we don’t make money from usage levels, we aren’t incentivised by our customers overusing so we are fully aligned with students in trying to keep their costs down.
We also offer an attractive B2B offering, whereby agents and landlords can pass the bill management of their property portfolio to The Bunch, removing the hassle of handling supplier relationships. Alternatively, they can refer their tenants to us in return for a commission.
I believe a successful business must solve a real-world problem that causes a pain point, which you can then monetise into value. In terms of building the company beyond the idea, it’s essential to put in place a core team that is committed to the long-term future of the business and willing to put in what is required to achieve the goals set out in front of them.
As a founder, surrounding yourself with a series of mentors – people who have ‘been there and done it’ – can provide crucial guidance and remove the need for silly decisions that could have been avoided with experience. Finally, a solid financial business model must be in place that maps the journey to becoming profitable.
When I started The Bunch, I was running another events business in Leeds where I was at university. I initially used the funds from that together with the proceeds from its sale in 2018 to get going. I then secured a series of grants from the University of Leeds and took out two personal loans from a government-backed scheme with a start-up loans company. Bootstrapping at its finest! From there, we used our sales revenue to propel us forward.
Last year, we completed an investment round worth £900k which has enabled us to grow to a team of 20 this year.
Luckily for The Bunch, despite the pandemic, students still need utilities, so our core product and market has been unchanged. In fact, we’ve managed to grow significantly through this time.
The biggest impact that we’ve felt has in fact been internal, in terms of exposing the capabilities of the team and realising where we have a need to fill certain skill gaps. As a result, we’ve made strategic decisions to bring in new members of staff into key roles as we forge ahead for our next phase of growth.
On a personal level, having a forced stoppage in my busy travel schedule was a welcome change at the start of the pandemic; though as time went on, not knowing just how long it would last was a daunting position to be in. As a team, I’m proud of how we have come together amid the craziest of circumstances. We have managed to build and sustain a truly supportive culture without losing our tenacious ambitions as a business.
As a founder, surrounding yourself with a series of mentors – people who have ‘been there and done it’ – can provide crucial guidance and remove the need for silly decisions that could have been avoided with experience.
There is an amazing community of innovative start-ups breaking the mould in their relevant industries in the UK. I found as a young founder, I was definitely in the minority in terms of starting the business at my age – most don’t start until they are 35, with a decade of experience under their belt.
Having adequate funding and resource is a challenge for businesses of our size in the UK. Not only does this lead to bootstrapping as a common scenario for start-ups, but it can commonly lead to multi-discipline members of staff across different departments and areas of the business.
Overall, there are massive opportunities for personal growth and development through running a small business. It’s somewhere you can build a great culture and long-lasting relationships within the team which is a really rewarding experience.
We have several exciting product launches in the pipeline; the main focus being a product for young professionals due for release in August 2021. We’re also putting a larger focus on the B2B side of our business as well as expanding our product range around bills. In addition to this, we have our sights set on several overseas opportunities. We’re excited to be branching out and extending our ability to ease the hassle of shared living to a wider audience.
Fred Maude and Jack Carr , co-founders of Addesu, a UK SME. Read on for more insights into this entrepreneur’s business savvy.
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