EP122: Finding clarity among the chaos and building a team for success with Staykeepers co-founder Ivo Gospodinov
“‘Workations’ have become really popular. We’ve ditched the office and have really embraced ‘out of office’ work.”
My guest today, Ivo Gospodinov, is one of the entrepreneurs behind industry leading prop-tech company Staykeepers, which he runs with his brother, Miroslav across the UK, US, Spain, Ireland, Germany and France.
Aimed at the Build to Rent market, Staykeepers is a fully-compliant, user-friendly online platform which ‘uses Smart Technology to sell empty rooms’, generating passive income for both long-term tenants and building owners by offering short lets while the tenant is away or the unit is vacant.
Travel and tourism was one of the key markets hit heavily by the pandemic but Staykeepers were one of those agile companies who were able to adapt their offering and consequently achieved 520% growth from January to August this year.
“The pandemic was one of the best things that could happen to our business. It really made us think about what we do and how we do it,” he says. “Initially, it impacted our revenue by about 95%. However, we managed to identify how we could adapt the way we target guests and travellers, changed our distribution channels and even signed some contracts with the NHS providing keyworkers with accommodation. That dynamic allowed us to think about how we bullet proof our position.”
We discuss how and why the businesses started back in 2015, how it has adapted and what operational and management techniques the company uses to stay on track.
We also talk about:
The importance of the RACI matrix in the workplace
Building the right team for success
Raising capital through crowdfunding
What is meant my ‘growth hacking’
How daily personal development can boost a business
You can find out more about Staykeepers by visiting: staykeepers.com or following @staykeepers on Twitter. To contact Ivo directly, email ivo@staykeepers.com.
