In our sixth episode of the Grow North podcast, we chat with Bassel El Koussa, the co-founder and CEO of the tech platform (and logistic provider), Quiqup.
Born in London, Quiqup enables consumers to order from any retailer and have items delivered straight to them. It's empowering consumers and retailers - as well as taking on giants like Amazon prime.
One of the first themes to come out of the conversation is Bassel's idea of facing his fears by taking control and using complete focus - he's talking about a fear of flying, but it rings through in some of his 'why' around co-founding Quiqup.
Being the master of his own destiny, authenticity and freedom (symbolised by dogs and Nerf guns in the office)are all part of the drivers in co-founding a business that has grown through multiple rounds of large scale funding.
What is interesting about the early days of Quiqup is that as well as being the people who built and serviced the products, Bassel and his co-founders also used the app. Placing an order and then collecting/delivering them themselves, to themselves. Being both customer and provider gave them incredible insight into how the end user perceives the service but also how it could be developed to better meets the needs of retailers.
Bassel's tips on growth? Listen to the market. Listen to the customer and understand what they need. Be as close to your customers as possible. It's easy to listen to your customers, the trick is understanding them. There's always a why and there are always multiple layers of what's driving a need. Understanding your customers allows you to understand the market trends and pivot where needed.
And remember, even when you're creating s market, you are still addressing a need or fixing a problem.
We hope you enjoy the podcast and as ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts.
You can find more episodes of Grow North here.