Building a Web Business in 48 Hours
The internet seems to make everything faster, and now that includes actually starting a business.
In less than the time it takes to film an episode of The Apprentice these entrepreneurs turned an initial idea into a full online business, complete with live website, revenue streams and a business plan.
This feat was part of the Launch48 weekend held at the Paypal offices in London recently in which 150 entrepreneurs, developers and designers were challenged to build six businesses.
On the Friday night everyone had a chance to pitch their idea and voting decided the final six. Then everyone gathered into teams to get to work - with the aim of presenting a working web application with detailed business plan by Sunday afternoon.
One of the chosen projects was Wraply.com, an innovative group gift-giving site. On the premise that the gifts we really want these days are too expensive for any one individual to buy for us, Wraply helps groups of friends, family and colleagues to get together to get you the perfect gift.
Steve Parks is the entrepreneur behind the idea. He says:
"It was a fantastic opportunity to try out ideas, learn new skills - and meet great business partners who share similar values and ambitions. It was extremely challenging, but a great experience."
Since the Launch48 weekend, the Wraply team has been busy preparing for a public launch in time for Christmas. Parks says:
"Once the weekend was over we then had to take our business plan and make it real - starting a limited company, issuing shares, raising finance, and continuing development of Wraply.com of course. But everything is coming together really well, with a great team, and we'll be launching on time at the end of November"
Wraply.com enables groups to get together to give the perfect gift. You can choose any gift from anywhere on the internet to quickly and easily set up a gift page on Wraply, and then let friends, family and colleagues know all about it via email or Facebook. They can then easily contribute to what you really want, rather than spending hours in the shops only to get an unwanted present. Wraply is perfect for the modern world where the gifts we really want are too expensive for individuals to buy for us.
For more information on Wraply, or to arrange an interview, please email media [at] wraply [dot] com or telephone 0800 098 8181 and select option 5 for the media team.
