Revolutionary solution to a world-wide problem with Saasha Celestial-One

The bigger the network, the stronger the network effects. Join an insightful episode of Conquer New Markets as Levent is joined by Saasha Celestial-One, the chief operating officer and co-founder of OLIO. Together they discuss international growth, creating supply and demand in new markets and why it’s important to start a mission-driven business.  KEY TAKEAWAYS To launch into new markets you have to have very strong organic activity. Select test markets and a hypothesis to launch into them by generating some demand. To grow internationally you need to get the supply and to get the supply you need to identify the demand. Next, you need to get in the press, form partnerships, get the volunteers, get the local business partners and get everything in one place. The talent acquisition market right now for most companies is hard but we've found, people really want to work for a company that has an authentic purpose, authentic mission and that does something meaningful. New entrepreneurs should always look to start a business they’re passionate about and is mission-driven. The bigger the network, the stronger the network effects. If we have a large and engaged user base, there are lots of different ways to commercialise. It's really important if you want to scale and you're going to need capital to scale as a social enterprise that your social and your commercial. BEST MOMENTS “To grow you have to be incredibly lean and incredibly resourceful.” “Nearly 10 million people in this country struggle to feed themselves on a daily basis and a lot of them have smartphones and  a roof over their head, but that doesn't mean that they have a food budget or household budget.” “It’s amazing for a social enterprise to grow internationally because you're developing a good cause.” “We had to have faith that the demand would come.” VALUABLE RESOURCES https://olioex.com/ CONTACT METHOD Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/leventyildizgoren/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/yildizgoren IG: https://www.instagram.com/levent.yildizgoren/ ABOUT THE HOST Levent Yildizgoren, the author of 'Good Business in any Language', is an award-winning entrepreneur, localisation professional and a PRINCE2 qualified project manager.  ABOUT THE GUEST Saasha is the Co-Founder & COO of OLIO, a free app that harnesses the power of mobile technology and the sharing economy to provide a revolutionary new solution to the problem of food waste. OLIO does this by connecting neighbours with each other, and with local businesses so that surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. Launched in the UK in January 2016 and made available globally in October 2016, OLIO has 3.3m users, supported by 65,000 volunteers promoting OLIO in their local communities. Collectively, OLIOers have successfully shared 15m portions of food with each other. Prior to founding OLIO, Saasha spent 13 years in finance, strategy and business development roles at Morgan Stanley, McKinsey & American Express, and also founded My Creche, London's first PAYG provider offering flexible childcare for busy parents. Saasha has an MBA from Stanford and an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Chicago. She was named one of the UK's 'coolest female founders' by Business Insider, is the mother to 8-year-old Nolan, and the proud daughter of hippy entrepreneurs. CONTACT METHOD Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saasha-celestial-one-929390/  Website: ​​https://olioex.com/