Name: Renu Kapila
Age: 25
Business: Bollywoodbay.com
Type of business: Auction, buy and sell trading website. It’s the first Asian shopping portal website.
Start date: February 2006

When did you first decide you wanted to start your own business?
It was an idea that came when I was helping plan a friends wedding and we were trying to buy and organise traditional items such as wares and decorative items.

After calculating costs and time spent searching for such items and their use for just the one day, it made me think that other people in the same situation could benefit from these items. The idea came that we should either recycle the items or sell them on to other people who could benefit from them.

Tell us about your business
It’s an e-Bay type business targeted at the Asian market to buy and sell items from Saris to furniture. The website also concentrates and promotes Asian businesses – new and existing – to open their own shop online and start selling directly to the public to help increase their profits.

Was it your first business idea and where did it come from?
It was indeed my first business idea. I’ve wanted to start my own company since I was doing a business and IT degree at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. Think I’ve got a few more ideas to come!

Was your decision to start a business inspired by any other companies or individuals?
It was an idea that I thought I would pursue. I have the drive and passion to succeed so that is what is pushing me towards my goal. Sir Alan Sugar is my role model and I take a lot from his book and programme!

What makes you think there’s a market for your business?
Research conducted, user feedback and looking at the success of Ebay – I am using a segment of that and targeting it at the Asian market to help build a portal for all.

Once you’d decided to start a business, what did you do first?
Plan, plan and plan. I decided how the site would look, so a lot of designing and working with my developer testing and building the site.

What research did you do?
Focus group research, questionnaires asking the public about the idea and, if it was implemented, would they use it. The site was developed and trialled. It was then taken offline to work on the feedback and improvements were made based on that.