Each Friday the RookieOven Startup Spotlight highlights a member of the Scottish tech startup community. The aim is to, as the name suggests, put the spotlight on Scotland’s best startups from across the country. It’s an opportunity to share information about an exciting tech startup from Scotland you may not have heard of. Giving a brief overview of the company, what they do, where they are and who they are. This week the spotlight falls on This is Milk.
Last week I had the amazing opportunity to interview Angela Prentner-Smith about her company, This is Milk, live through Product Forge. If you missed it, stop reading immediately and watch it here. it is well-worth it! Angela is not only bright, lovely, and talented, but she is driven to a point we should all admire. Her ambitious nature and love for her company shines through her every word, making This is Milk the obvious choice for this week’s Spotlight Start-Up.
After the interview last Friday, I asked Angela if she wouldn't mind answering a few questions for us and let her take the wheels to describe This is Milk's journey:
Q: Who are the key members of your team?
A: The key members of our team are:Angela Prentner-Smith – Chief Executive Officer and FounderNicky Logue – Marketing DirectorSteven Marshall – Strategy DirectorDenis Yordanov – Horizon WatcherAnd Gillian Souter – Founder and soon to be Non-Executive Director
We also have a number of partners that we work really closely with, for example Susan Cruickshank our graphic designer and Michelle Botia our HR partner.
Q: How would you describe This is Milk?
A: We’re an experienced bunch, with expertise in a variety of business disciplines, from project management, customer experience and business strategy to, marketing and graphic design. We have a range of services, all designed to deliver business improvement. It may be that you have an existing problem or idea that we can workshop with you to create a plan of action, or perhaps you have a specific project in mind that we can help deliver from start to finish. We design solutions that will delight your customers and empower your people. Because we believe your people are your greatest assets. When you work with us you’ll get a fresh pair of eyes on your business opportunity – we’ll look at it in a holistic and interactive way, applying design thinking, deep questioning and clear, simple tools that will get you to an answer. Every challenge has a unique solution; you won’t get a one-size-fits-all process from us.
Q: How did you get started?
A: This is Milk was originally started in May 2013, out of frustration at the lack of customer and people focus on projects, the rate of failure and the lack of clarity. We really wanted to be something different from the men in grey suits delivering outdated models and to bring our skills to businesses of all sizes – stepping out of the Corporate world.
Life happened though and we had to put This is Milk on ice for a time. I had a baby, so through my maternity leave pondered the future of the business and my own future. I decided I had to give This is Milk a shot, but the timing wasn’t right for Gillian so I set forth solo for a time.
Q: What is your business model?
A: Put simply, we provide skills to assist businesses with their problems and their projects. Our differentiator is that the skills we provide are more aligned to the needs of today’s businesses, and we offer those skills via four services. Although I must admit – the vast majority of our work ends up being bespoke projects, with partners to deliver the end to end solution.
Q: How is This is Milk funded?
A: Bootstrapped baby! As a service business without a lot of upfront expenditure on infrastructure, we’ve managed to self fund to date. We’ve avoided investment or debt until now, but have had some brilliant grants through Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise.
Q: I hear you have an interested base for This is Milk?
A: We are based in a jail cell. I’m not kidding. Orkney Street Enterprise Centre is the old Govan jailhouse. The cells were converted into small offices before the financial crisis. Following which they were repositioned as offices for social enterprises and start-ups. They are run by Jobs and Business Glasgow, and have great rates and terms for start-ups. We share the building with a number of great businesses, such as VeryConnect, ZudePR and Frock-On.
Last but not least, how can we find out more?
Thank you so much Angela for your time and speaking with me. Find out more about This is Milk below and don't forget to check out our interview here.
