LAUNCHING:
LAURA PAULSON
Company:
Kyooz
THE BIG QUESTIONS
WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSIONAL TITLE?
CEO and Founder of Kyooz App
WHAT DOES YOUR START-UP DO?
Kyooz is London’s first professional queuing service: we queue for you at any popular London location. You can order someone to stand in line for you through our mobile app anywhere and for as long as you want. Whether it is a walk-in restaurant like Farm Girl or Granger & Co, the new iPhone, or Wimbledon tickets, we have a team of Kyooers who wait in line for you and send you live updates so that you can replace them in the queue exactly when it’s your turn. Kyooz is available on iOS – we are still Beta testing but will be launching our marketing campaign very soon.
WHAT DID YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD AND WHAT CHANGED?
I wanted to have a successful career in finance. I have always believed that personal fulfilment came through professional success. I realise now that nothing makes me prouder than seeing the results of my hard work – and this really is the case when you start your own company, but not so much when you work in a bank of 200,000 employees! While my career is still very important to me, what matters to me much more today is to find my perfect work/life balance and spend enough time with my family and friends.
WHAT ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS DO YOU HAVE?
I studied Finance at Universite Paris Dauphine and moved to London after I graduated.
WHAT’S THE BEST CAREER ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN?
Do what makes you happy. I used to be convinced that working for a large and prestigious company was the best thing that could happen to my career. It did give me legitimacy and recognition initially, but I hated every aspect of working for a large organisation. When I was about to resign, I was concerned that I was putting my career at stake – I felt like banking was the right thing to do, but all I could think of was setting up my own business. It came as a huge relief when I had a chat with my parents and they told me: do what makes you happy, better live with remorse than regrets. So I quit my job to take that leap of faith and I am certainly very happy now!
WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND WHY?
Indra Nooyi, Maureen Chiquet, Meg Whitman, Sheryl Sanderberg… All the successful, ambitious and persisting women who prove daily that we don’t have to choose between having a career and having a family!
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR CURRENT WORKING ENVIRONMENT?
The excitement of setting up something new. Having a small team at work means that you can really see the impact of your work. We are bringing a brand new service to the market, something no one has heard about before and we are working hard to spread the word. Everything we do has a direct and immediate impact on the app’s popularity: each conversation, each time we queue and each Instagram post counts!
WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOUR DAILY WORK ROUTINE IF YOU COULD?
Fast-track the beta testing phase and jump straight to when Kyooz becomes the new Uber maybe? Jokes aside, it would be great to grow the team slightly as we do have a lot on our plate at the moment!
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF PROFESSIONALLY IN FIVE YEARS’ TIME?
I would love to see Kyooz become popular all across Europe (and possibly the world?) and for people to naturally use it every time they want to go to a walk-in restaurant. My long-term goal is to change today’s queuing habits and for Kyooz to become the obvious solution for people who don’t have time but still want to go to popular places. Nobody should have to give up on their favourite restaurant because of the excessive waiting time. And no one would if they knew they could just add £4 to their bill, get someone to queue for them and walk-in straight to their table! We just need people to find out it exists and it works perfectly!
DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN BE THE SAME PERSON AT WORK AND IN PRIVATE?
Yes I would say so. My personal interests and my work are perfectly aligned. I am a huge foodie myself! The idea actually came about after years of wanting to go to Dishoom, Bao, Granger & Co, Farm Girl and never having the courage to queue for it… I’m sure a lot of people have done the same too! At work, I am very approachable and I make sure I am trusted and friendly to everyone who works with me: that’s the only way I can get honest feedback!
WHERE AND IN WHAT ROLES ARE WOMEN IN THE LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE IN YOUR COMPANY?
I hadn’t got it planned when I started recruitment but it turns out most of the team are women! It might be a coincidence but they came out much more friendly and reliable during the interviews. As Kyooz becomes bigger, I hope all of them can find a role in which they blossom within the company!
DOES DIVERSITY MATTER TO YOU?
Very much – especially coming from a banking background where women are a minority. I also met a lot of women who completely built a career on their gender rather than on what they were good at, which I think is a pity. As my company grows, I hope that I can establish a culture where everyone feels respected and equal, regardless of their gender, opinions or origins. I want it to be a genuine meritocracy!
HOW GOOD IS YOUR WORK LIFE BALANCE?
Pretty good! Obviously the launch of the app is requiring some hard work, but I really enjoy it and my friends, family and boyfriend have been very supportive. Part of the job also requires visiting the most popular restaurants in London which I am perfectly happy to do on my weekends! I can’t really complain!
WHAT QUALITIES DOES BEING IN YOUR ROLE NECESSITATE?
Being able to multitask – at the moment I look after everything: the app development, the recruitment, the marketing, finding the latest queuing venues… Staying positive is also key as with every start-ups, there are a lot hurdles. Especially at launch!
ANY FINAL COMMENTS?
Starting a company from scratch has proven to be as challenging as it is rewarding and I cannot encourageÅyou enough to do it! You should never be afraid to try. Oh and please download the app and spread the word! We’re giving 40% off to all Beta users and would love to Kyoo for you!