After graduating from the University of Newcastle in 2014 Rosie went into graphic design and digital marketing specialising in brand creation and development. In the months prior to launching Fat Llama Rosie and her co-founders were renovating a workspace in Hoxton when it became clear that the project was wasting thousands of pounds on single-use items – things like tile-cutters, industrial vacuum cleaners, drills. There appeared to be a gap in the market for cheap, on-demand access to this kind of gear. In 2016 Rosie and her co-founders started Fat Llama, the first insured marketplace for professionals to rent high quality items, coined the ‘Airbnb for almost anything’. Rosie’s mission is to enable people to share and monetise their unused possessions, increasing the efficiency of both the consumer and the planet’s resources.
1. Best piece of advice you’ve been given?
A good decision today is better than a bad decision next week. I.e. if you’re decisive you make more mistakes but the net progress you make for moving faster is greater than being slow to make one good decision.
2. Worst piece of advice you’ve been given?
Expand what you’ve got into new cities before you’ve got product market fit. It will only disguise the fact that you don’t know how to grow, investors will see this when they lift up the bonnet.
3. What would you tell your younger self?
Be more assertive, learn about accounting, practice public speaking regularly, don’t sacrifice time for exercise, and only hire people with outstanding work ethic in whatever role they’re in.
4. What excites you most about the future of your industry?
There’s about to be a real fundamental shift in the way people interact with their stuff. We have a real opportunity to be the people that make that happen. I can’t wait until the world of belongings is more efficient and sustainable.
5. Who or what is your biggest inspiration?
Brian Chesky.
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