What is Tuxebo?

It is an independent online marketplace that matches people looking for scaffolding and skips with companies that provide them. We speed up the time taken to get scaffolding and skip quotes and allow people to quickly compare deals.

How did you come up with the idea?

I started another company first acting as a middleman/broker between people buying and selling heavy construction and quarrying/mining machinery. I started a website to advertise machinery for sale. Through running this, attending tradeshows and listening to clients I discovered there was a great need for my services in the rental industry. The buy/sell market was very competative but the rental industry was untouched and very big. I pitched the idea to my partner, Manvir, and we eventually managed to getting funding and backing from a major technology seed fund in Silicon Valley. We launched the company in June 2009.

How are you promoting the site?

Online, SEO, trying to get into mainstream media / publication material like your book and pestering everyone I think may be of help including the people at FlyingStart.

How did the Flying Start programme help get you established?

Flying start helped me start working with my co-founder Manvir Kenth. It helped him and I formulate a plan, define our goals and set milestones. Mainly it helped us focus our minds on the idea with no distractions and encouraged us to look at it from different angles whilst getting other peoples opinions, criticisms and feedback. Flying Start encouraged us to define our industry, market, user and clients.

What are your plans for the business in 2010?

To expand nationwide, grow our client and user base, increase employee count and provide a redeveloped website better addressing user and client needs.

What's the most important item in your home office?

It has to be the computer. This is an internet company. After that it's the phone. Although we are an internet company we do a huge amount of sales calls and talking with customers and users. In the early days of a business I think you have to do what it takes to get money in the door and survive and grow rather than stick to any predefined concept of a business model, plan or idea. Just follow the revenue and do what ever it takes to make the numbers go up. Working from home helps us bootstrap, be flexible and removes the constant threat to cash flow posed by overheads.

• Tuxebo.co.uk


• Flying Start is a programme to help students and graduates start their own business


• Image: Stag Scaffolding Sculpture, courtesy of Creative Review