Cherry Freeman, Nigel Whiteoak, Edward Griffith of LoveCrafts | Why 3 founders are better than 1
All three coFounders of Lovecrafts - Cherry Freeman, Nigel Whiteoak and Edward Griffith - joined Ben Goldsmith for the latest episode of the Balderton podcast. Lovecrafts create online marketplaces such as LoveKnitting and LoveCrochet that bring traditional crafts to the digital age. Balderton first invested in the company in 2015, leading a $7.5m round. LoveCrafts have since raised a further $20m. 0030 You have three cofounders: is that better or worse than one, single CEO figure? 0100 Edward started the business and brought in Cherry and Nigel. How did that process work? Did they need convincing? 0230 How did the founders first meet? 0300 Nigel, how did Edward coax you to leave your job and join him at Lovecrafts? 0405 Is Lovecrafts an inherently difficult idea - getting a potentially older demographic online can be tricky. 0550 Edward has previously spoken about a craft renaissance - what is driving that? 0655 As leaders of the 'making' company, What do the Lovecrafts cofounders make? 0740 How does fundraising work with three founders? Does one take the lead? 0845 How do you divide responsibilities within the business. 0940 Hiring: is the hiring process at all complicated due to the 'three founder system'? 1210 Cherry explains why their hiring process won't drastically change as they scale. 1350 The trio share some advice for early-stage cofounding teams.