What is the most important advice you can give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Whether it’s staying grounded, going with your gut when hiring staff, or being more open about your plans when pitching to investors, many of the stars of tech have provided plenty of food for thought on Hot Topics.
Now it’s the turn of Runar Reistrup, CEO of social shopping app Depop.
Founded in 2011, Depop looks like the lovechild of Ebay and Instagram. Born of Milanese fashion designers selling their clothes and other items between each other, it’s a platform that focuses on users taking pictures of their boutique items and selling them on to likeminded individuals.
The service is more intimate than Ebay, as the buyers and sellers can chat in an integrated platform that makes the whole process a little more friendly.
Reistrup, who’s been involved with the founding of companies in the past and has taken part in a number of entrepreneurial ventures, joined Depop in 2011 as CEO.
So what advice would he offer to aspiring entrepreneurs?
“Pick a large enough opportunity. I think a lot of entrepreneurs go for something that they perceive is a big problem, but they forget to think, ‘Is the market big enough?’
“If the market is big enough, many of the challenges you might hit when you’re an entrepreneur are going to be taken away.”
If aspiring entrepreneurs tackle big projects, they are more likely to get funding. Reistrup continues:
“One typical challenge is: ‘Can I get enough customers to prove this? If a large part of the world is your market then that’s not going to be an issue.”
“In the end it’s going to be much easier to get people on board with you if you have a vision that’s grand enough. Don’t be modest is my best advice.”
To learn more about Depop and Runar Reistrup’s take on business, check out the video above.
