Ben Simpson, CEO of Fixers, explains why the business should win the Startup of the Year category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition:
Researching and planning holidays are a pain. We have high expectations but are often time poor when it comes to booking. Fixers are changing the way you discover and book your own extraordinary holidays. We give you a personal holiday stylist all online and completely free.
Fixers uses a combination of real people (our Fixers) and clever algorithms to make tailor-made suggestions ensuring you have the best possible holiday, without the hassle. Users love Fixers and we are growing quickly.
With a background in events, marketing and music, founders Ben and Lisa launched an MVP in May 2014 and are now growing in revenue at 5% per week, turning over £250,000 in six months. Currently, Fixers is in the process of recruiting a Chief Technology Officer and launching the beta version of our platform.
Travel is a difficult market to enter. With consumer legislation and tough competition, Fixers needed to gain attention and raise funding fast. So we decided to throw the ultimate launch party ‘Beyond Sahara’ where adventure meets music in the Sahara desert. With 250 guests arriving by ‘camel convoy’ for one hell of a party, the event featured in Metro, Condé Nast Traveler and The Independent, which gave a significant rise in revenue
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the top three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
