The Up - Hugo Tilmouth
Say hello to Hugo Tilmouth, co-founder of The Up, on a mission to upgrade every hospitality experience. Now you might not have heard of The Up, but I bet you've most likely used one of their products. Ever run out of battery in a pub or restaurant? That's Charged Up - their mobile charging power banks, allowing you to charge up on the go. Ever used the sanitisers on public transport? That's Cleaned Up - their mobile sanitiser stations, allowing you to clean up on the go. Ever used an app in a pub or restaurant to order drinks? Well that might very well be their new app Served Up, to help get you served up while out and about. And while they are not a direct-to-consumer brand, what I really like about The Up is their DTC approach to B2B - partnering and innovating to create the best experience for the customer. Now while Hugo is self-employed his CV boasts an impressive array of accolades. A BA in Engineering. A masters in renewable energy. Made £1mn in a week at the start of the pandemic and was recently on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list. His company isn't doing bad either. They won grants from Shell's LiveWire & 02 Think big. And raised £3.5mn from Jon Hegerty's 'The Garage' as well as Jam Jar and Founder's Factory. They're now stocked in 35,000+ venues across Europe with big brands like Brewdog, Pizza Express and WeWork cheering them on. Not bad for 4 years in business aged 25. In this episode we talk about their modern approach to B2B, the journey so far and about the beauty of 'bashing down walls'.