Onome and Tolu: Our start-up journey

Class of 2022 MBA graduates Onome Jike and Tolulope Omotola started their studies at Essex together and are now on a mission to support tech graduates and start-up businesses by addressing the experience vs skills gap often faced by both groups.

How it started…

We go way back! We originally met while working in banking for the same organisation. We immediately clicked and became fast friends, sharing similar academic backgrounds and aspirations, as well as personal values.

After several years gaining corporate experience, we began to discuss the possibilities of eventually working for ourselves and developing our skills to enable our potential. We had mutual friends who’d completed their MBA at Essex and highly recommended it, so after doing some research it felt like the best next step and we took the leap to apply.

We first heard about Essex Startups when a member of the team came into one of our classes during induction week to introduce us to their service. Although running our own business was something we’d always had at the back of our minds, we didn’t have a clear idea of the type of business. Despite this, we decided to reach out to the team for a 1:1 meeting and get the ball rolling.

Our initial meeting gave us the opportunity to reflect on our experience, passions, values, and the reasons behind wanting to start a business. We were also introduced to the process and the steps we’d need to take to progress. We went away and spent some time thinking about problems that we’d witnessed during our careers, and potential ways to overcome them.

In March 2023 we were sat in a coffee shop and during our conversation the idea for our business came together.

Business development…

ReCreaX, in simple terms, is a bit like a dating site – but matching skilled graduates with start-ups in need of technical support!

While working in corporate banking we had supported a range of businesses in executing and managing their projects and during this time we gained an in-depth understanding into the importance of adopting digital technology to drive business growth. To reinforce this, many of our MBA projects had centred on SME case studies demonstrating the harsh realities new businesses face when unable to invest in the adequate technical support required to achieve their digital technology initiatives.

Alongside this, we began witnessing the struggles of friends leaving education with technical skill sets but unable to find stable employment due to a lack of practical application of those skills particularly in project settings.

We realised that we could help to solve this problem by creating a platform that would serve both ‘early-stage techies’ looking to build their portfolios and small-scale/start-up businesses with limited budgets wanting to bring their ideas to life.

During our mentoring sessions with Essex Startups the idea evolved as we considered the practical functions of the platform. It’s vital that we appeal to both techies and businesses alike, so we began to think about additional support and training both parties would require to ensure needs are met. Once we had the foundations in place, we set about creating a business revenue model and the potential for scalability.

How it’s going…

We are currently at the pilot stage. After developing an MVP of the platform, it was important that we tested the product to identify gaps in the service offering and to gather feedback on functionality and service provision. Upon launching our MVP, we took on five projects and acquired over 400 talents. The projects ranged from website development to web and mobile app creation, to which 50 talents were onboarded to deliver the projects.

Two of the projects have now been completed, with the other three on track for completion over the coming months. During this time, we have listened to feedback and developed a training programme and introduced new processes to always ensure the best matches are made.

Both of us are employed and working on the business in our free time. Sacrifices are being made all the time, but we believe so strongly in what we have to offer that it’s not too difficult to stay focused on the end goal. We have both created a plan that allows us to balance our business while earning a living and having a social life. The most important aspect of this has been the mutual support we have as a partnership. Having someone to discuss ideas with, vent to, and share the workload, helps to keep us moving forward. Some people thrive on their own, but we are most certainly better together!

What’s next…

During the summer we stopped adding projects to the platform, to ensure that we could fulfil each of the projects listed during the pilot phase and see them through to completion.

The pilot phase has given us the opportunity to observe the platform’s functions in real time and recognise where processes can be streamlined or developed to better serve the user. It has given us the time and space to recognise how we need to develop our service offering further to ensure value for all users, as well as teaching us the importance of being adaptable to accomplish our goals.

Since inception, we have relied on our own earnings to bootstrap the business with little support from friends and family. As we grow, we intend to explore investment opportunities available within our niche to scale the business.

As we go into the autumn our focus will be on unpacking all the information gathered and exploring all avenues for improvement. We don’t want to rush the process or make any hasty decisions, as its important to us that our business makes a difference and helps people to get ahead.

Words of wisdom…

Don’t underestimate yourself. Surround yourself with positive people.

Speak to other founders, they’ll inspire and motivate you, and will help you to shape your ideas and bring them to life. The more you share the more help you’ll be able to find when you need it.

Speak to your audience, find out what they need and always demonstrate how you are adding value. No matter how small the gap in the market or the problem you are solving, if you have the right foundation, you can expand your offering as your business becomes more established.

Find out more

If you have a potential business idea, or are interested in developing your business skills, find out more about the training, events and support Essex Startups offers to current students and recent graduates.