Explain your business in a nutshell
#bleepme is a creative tool and discovery platform, it’s all about showcasing new creative talent. So for an artist, designer or DJ, for example, they can create their own space that embodies their online world, incorporating everything from fragmented online spaces [such as social media profiles and websites]. Very quickly you can put everything online in one place so people can follow you. You end up with a feed with no junk, just amazing creative content that inspires you – the profile space is ad-free.
For users the discovery platform works a bit like Pinterest. You see all these profiles and you will also be recommended profiles. You are immersed in that world.
Where did the idea for the business come from?
I was previously a marketing director for the Pacha Group [an entertainment franchise]. We found everything was so fragmented when we were dealing with DJs, and I had a nightmare coordinating all their online content. This was down to the fact that 99% of artists, DJs and musicians are unsigned, not sponsored, so cashflow is an issue and they struggle to get discovered. I have been in this industry for over 15 years and I know how difficult it is to get discovered.
So what makes #bleepme different?
There is no other place online where you can have total creative freedom to represent yourself.
How much interest has there been so far?
We are pretty well-connected here in Ibiza. We are in a position where some of the biggest DJs have joined #bleepme and they have organically shared it because they believe in the concept.
Where is the business based?
We are a UK-based business but our creative team is in Ibiza. In fact, we are based in Shoreditch but born in Ibiza, and our main team came together at the Burning Man festival a few years ago. And we were coded and developed in Berlin.
Why Ibiza?
It is an incredible place with well-respected talent from all over the world. So whatever is born in Ibiza is taken back all over the world, where people tell their friends. I don’t think there is a better place in the world to be launching a business.
What’s the best thing about being an entrepreneur?
As a creative person, to spend the last 15 years working with a phenomenal brand [Pacha Group] was amazing. But now there’s no client – I am the client with my own team and whatever we want to do we can do it. Having that total freedom is a dream.
And the worst?
The hardest aspect is prioritisation. There are so many things to do and prioritising what we need to get done first is difficult.
What do you want to achieve this year?
We want to hit the targets that we have set, and hope that our concepts and ideas are recognised by the public as well. And we just want to get out there and do some good with what we have got.
Watching somebody else achieve [through the #bleepme platform] is what it’s all about – that’s what we want to achieve.
What advice would you offer to budding entrepreneurs?
Just do it. Don’t wait, just get on with it immediately.
Ricardo Porteus is the director of #bleepme
Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox.
.jpg?w=600)
