One skill needed to change a business or a market is the ability to look at things differently.  A new twist on something we all do or enjoy is often a great way to differentiate a company’s service or offering.

I have the good fortune to be working with an eclectic mix of companies at the moment. One – Cup Promotions, the company behind the  Soccer Six Brand- organises Celebrity football tournaments and other football related events and it is great to see the demand for their services go through the roof and for them to do a little good for society along the way. They have been around for quite a while but are still near the cutting edge of what they do and offer customers, a chance to see and mingle with a number of their heroes – be it as a member of the crowd or at one of their after tournament dinners. The potential of one of their brands, Love Football – is literally immense in my opinion. I now also have some great memories thanks to these guys including standing next to Olly Murs and having a chat with Omid Dhjalli about tactics in Charlton Athletics’ car park. Priceless!

I am also mentoring the team at haveyouseen? which is a social commerce business that bridges a number of traditional (if I can use that word now) social media and e-commerce  spheres to bring the power of the emerging social commerce market within  everyone’s reach. At their launch event on September 11 was a different breed of well -known personality, Bloggers and Vloggers that increasingly inform and influence the opinions of the greatest growth potential market for years to come – people under the age of 25! They are at the start of their journey – and I predict it to be a long and exciting one.  My one experience to remember from the launch event? Almost knocking Mary Portas over as I attempted to reach for the Canapés.

Both these companies have a couple of things in common. A link to Celebrity – which in the increasingly globalised modern culture (not just the UK – they both have a worldwide potential appeal) is a powerful endorsement – they both offer all – from celeb  to you or I – a chance to share in a dream, or share an experience that is rewarding. For that reason – I think they are exactly the kind of growth businesses that will succeed more and more in the future.

http://www.haveyouseen.com/

http://soccer-six.com/