Social Media Portal interview with Glen Richardson from JustBought.it

Social Media Portal profiled interview with Glen Richardson, CEO from JustBought.it

Social Media Portal (SMP): What do you do there at JustBought.it?

Glen Richardson (GR): I?m Glen Richardson the CEO of JustBought.it. I report to the Board of Directors and I have responsibility over the direction, vision and strategy of the company.

SMP: Briefly, tell us about JustBought.it (for those that don?t know), what is it and what does the organisation do?

GR: If you buy something cool, you?ll probably tell your friends. JustBought.it is a simple way to share what you?ve just bought to your Twitter followers and Facebook friends. Every time your share generates a referral sale, you earn JustBought.it points which can be donated to your favourite charity or exchanged for rewards.

We do this by integrating with retailers and ebusinesses so that on the final confirmation page you have the option to share your purchase. From the retailer?s point of view JustBought.it generates new customers from their previous ones, they learn which products are cool enough to be shared and be empowered to thank those who help grow their business.

SMP: When did you start the company and how many people currently work there?

GR: The company was founded in 2011, the team currently stands at six people and we are looking for an additional developer.

SMP: How is the business financed?

GR: The business is privately funded. We will be seeking a VC round in November.

SMP: Who are your target audience and why?

GR: The target audience is anyone who uses social media and shops online. We partner with retailers to reach our audience.

SMP: How many merchants and retailers do you have singed up?

GR: We invited 10 sellers onto our first round of beta initially. We will be carefully selecting a further 50 towards the end of September.

It?s extremely important that we implement changes to our product quickly based upon actionable metrics from our beta sellers. This way, by having close contact with our beta sellers, we can build the business for sustainable growth and be an effective viral growth engine for our customers.

SMP: How do you intend to make shopping social and what is it that you?re doing differently?

GR: We believe consumers are being exploited through social media. Individually, it?s a tiny exploitation but cumulatively it?s colossal! Companies? want likes, favourites, tweets, shares and retweets. That?s great, for the company - but what about the consumer, how do they benefit?

We think sellers waste vast amounts of money and energy attempting to engage customers socially pre-purchase but neglect the post purchase moment when their customers voice is most authentic.

JustBought.it empowers sellers to thank their customers for advocating their company, services and products. We irradiate spam and social media noise by only allowing consumers to be an advocate if they have ?just bought it?. This means when they share their purchase on twitter or facebook their friends and followers know it?s a genuine purchase and a genuine outlet. This authenticity creates a greater conversion of viral sales.

The result? Consumers are no longer exploited but are instead paid from the retailer for traffic and sales they generate. All by simply sharing their purchase via JustBought.it and sellers gain more likeminded customers.

SMP: How did you initially attract users to your site and services, and how do you do it now?

GR: Although we haven?t publicly launched we are selectively inviting sellers onto the system. Due to the press attention JustBought.it received before we purchased the domain, we continue to receive traffic to the site without promotion.

SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far?

GR: It?s always disappointing when you try something new with the product that you?re absolutely positive will have a huge impact and it doesn?t. This methodology of experimentation, known as ?the lean start-up?, allows us to build, measure and learn blisteringly fast which, day-by-day, brings us closer to a successful product.

SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?

GR: The satisfaction of seeing our actionable metrics improve as a result of an experiment is exhilarating! Just like any founding team, we want to see our vision come to fruition and each time we optimise the product we edge closer to that goal.

SMP: What do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities?

GR: The biggest opportunities for JustBought.it depend upon overcoming the biggest challenge of all; brand awareness. We believe that through the network effect of generating social advocates, JustBought.it will be in a unique position to be a positive but disruptive force in loyalty, retail and social industries.

SMP: What are the next moves for JustBought.it in terms of social media?

GR: We?ll be integrating with Pinterest soon which will add a whole new dynamic to our service. We?re also keeping a close eye on app.net as we think it has the potential to go mainstream.

SMP: What?s the next big step for social media and networks and what impact could this have for JustBought.it?

GR: 83 million Facebook accounts were recently found to be fake. The next big steps for social media, we feel, is greater authenticity. According to GMI/Mintel, two out of three social network users do not pay attention to adverts on social networking sites, and the majority of social network users, at 56%, do not like to buy products advertised on social networks.

We think JustBought.it, because of its authenticity via the users and not advertising, will represent a huge step forward for social commerce.

SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect regarding social media / technology throughout 2012 and into 2013 and what impact could this have on what you?re doing?

GR: I think it?s going to be interesting to see how objects and devices will interface with social media. You can now buy weighing scales that automatically upload your weight onto the Internet and there are many other everyday household devices that are becoming ?cloud? enabled.

Imagine being in a shop and your wristwatch gives you a list of all the items in that store that are complimentary to items your friend (whose birthday is coming up) just recently bought.

SMP: What are your top five predictions for social media throughout 2012 and into 2013?

GR replies with:

• Greater authenticity will cause an explosion in social commerce (JustBought.it will of course have a significant role to play)
  
  
• App.net will be close to going mainstream toward the end of 2013
  
  
• Pinterest will be acquired by Yahoo!
  
  
• Video conferencing through social media will get significant traction
  
  
• Everyday devices will connect to social media
  
  
• Social media profiles will be used for analysing insurance risk and credit ratings

SMP: What are your top five social media tips ? and for shoppers?

GR replies with:

• Social media is all about real life, so - keep it real
  
  
• Just because a Facebook page or a Twitter account may have thousands of likes or followers, it doesn?t mean they are authentic
  
  
• If you?re considering buying something, use search.twitter.com to see what people are saying about it
  
  
• Keep it focused and consistent; be known for a niche
  
  
• Don?t be afraid to express your opinions, be the one to spark the conversation

SMP: Is there anything else we should know, or is there anything that you?d like to share?

GR: If you want to connect, feel free to add me on Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/in/glenrichardson

SMP: Best way to contact you and JustBought.it?

GR: You can follow me and JustBought.it on Twitter @justboughtit and me @glen_richardson



SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?

GR: Yogurt with granola. I haven?t had lunch yet but I?m sure it?s tasty as my wife has made some sandwiches. Yummy!

SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?

GR: Help my Mother in-law reset her PayPal password.

SMP: How many hours to you work a week?

GR: 60 hours +. I?m an early starter and get going at 5am. I?m usually home in time for dinner with my wife and son but occasionally do some work in the evening.

SMP: If you weren?t running JustBought.it what would you be doing?

GR: Leading another tech start-up.

SMP: What was the last thing that you bought and where was it from (and who was it for)?

GR: Nothing spectacular unfortunately, just a café latte for myself.

SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?

GR: CentreParcs last year. Extremely relaxing, highly recommended!

SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?

GR: I commute from Cumbria to Lancashire so I step into my office the moment I walk onto the train. I tend to save document reading and writing for the train. I highly recommend a pair of Bose QC3 as they completely cancel out all noise and enable me to concentrate, I?d be lost without them!

SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?

GR: I don?t think I?d want the responsibility of a superpower. Although, I?d imagine flying could be rather handy.

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