Seedrun

Runner Interview

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Supa Chantschool

Founder, Rest Space

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Imagine a Japanese sleeping capsule but in your office and for you to access wherever and whenever you need it.

What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?

I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family. My father and mother ran hairdressers, restaurants and supermarkets. Initially I didn't want to do that, so I got into a corporate job. I worked in consulting for Pharmaceuticals for a couple of years and did not enjoy the 60 hours plus a week that they were putting me through. So when my co-founder Kate, came to me with an idea of, oh, you can take a nap at work. I thought why not? Let's just do it.

Can you describe your startup in a single sentence?

Imagine a Japanese sleeping capsule but in your office and for you to access wherever and whenever you need it.

How did the idea for your startup come about?

When I was in consulting going to conferences, I found that I would look for small corners of the room, places where I can just shut my eyes for 20 minutes before getting onto my next task.going to me next session at the conference. It's just something that was taught to me by my uncle when I was growing, to take a quick nap and get back to work afterwards.

What's the most unique aspect of your solution or business model?

We are the only fully enclosive sleeping pod with voice control lights and sounds inside to emulate the best place to rest for yourself.

What's the most challenging aspect of your startup?

We are a B2B product business. As you can imagine, we are competing with office spaces. At the moment well-being is a really hot topic, so there are a lot of wellbeing solutions companies can choose from, so we just have to prove that we're better.

What's the most valuable lesson that you've learnt as a founder?

Adaptability. Running a company, you get 101 things thrown at you. Sometimes good sometimes bad and ultimately you just need to test test and if it doesn't work out, you have to adapt really quickly to it.

How do you manage the work life balance?

Honestly, I don't. But my girlfriend doesn't allow me to work after 8PM

What's the next big milestone for your start up?

Currently we are raising investment and we have already worked with TFL and NHS, so we'd like to break into the more traditional corporate markets.

What advice would you give to an aspiring entrepreneur?

Start early. Validate your idea. Get help. Ask questions. Ultimately, someone's probably done what you are doing before, you just need to find out what they're doing and see if you can disrupt their market or even find a gap you can fit yourself into.

Any ideas on how we can improve Seed Run?

Different nights oif the week. I struggle to get here on Wednesdays.