My Big Idea

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of My Big Idea, an ASOS podcast giving young women advice and inspiration to start their own businesses.Asos's Naomi speaks to this week's guest, Madeline Parra, Co-Founder and CEO of Twizoo, the layer on Twitter that discovers the best restaurants and bars by using Tweets as customer ‘reviews’.Twizoo listens to all Tweets about restaurants, bars, cafes, and pubs, looks at things like if it’s positive or negative, who tweeted it, when they tweeted it, if it got retweeted, and loads of other things. It then uses this information to rank the restaurants best to worst, based on what you’re searching for.Madeline believes that reviews have many fundamental flaws- few people leave them, even fewer can be trusted. Millions of dollars are spent every year building communities to leave reviews, and then policing to combat fakes. We all rely on customer reviews, but the industry is ignoring the best source for customer opinion - social media.Twizoo collects the opinions shared organically everyday on social media, on platforms such as twitter and instagram. They then use this information to formulate and automatically display relevant customer opinions, giving people more representative, accurate and reliable reviews. This is Madeline's big idea.

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Hello and welcome to this week's episode of My Big Idea, an ASOS podcast, with your host Asos editor Lucinda Greasley.This week's guest is Miriam Attwood, founder of Edinburgh based arts PR company, Storytelling.Storytelling's priority is working with artists, creators, theatre-makers, producers and arts organisations who do what they do with integrity, the desire to tell a story and excite and engage audiences.Since she was a child, Miriam had always had a passion for a great story, be it told through theatre, song or poetry. Miriam now has ten years of experience in press relations and holds a degree in Drama & Theatre Arts with a concentration in Arts Journalism from Queen Margaret University. She has also held roles at some of the most prestigious arts organisations in Scotland: Media Manager at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Press & Digital Officer at the National Galleries of Scotland 2011 – 2013, and positions at the Citizen’s Theatre Glasgow and Edinburgh’s Arts Venue Summerhall.Since 2013, Storytelling has provided independent publicity to artists at the Edinburgh Fringe, working with huge productions, one-person shows, political theatre, and alternative comedy. Storytelling PR expanded overseas in 2015, joining forces with arts marketeer Peta Spurling-Brown to represent artists across three venues at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.This is Miriam's big idea.

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Hello and welcome to your latest episode of My Big Idea, an ASOS Podcast.This week's host Lucinda speaks with co-founders of SOAK Shakes & Co, Emma Knock and Roxy Vickerman.Their journey began with a shared love of diner-style milkshakes, a trip to Thailand, an itch to build their own sustainable business and a gap in the market.Following a trip to Thailand where the two learned to make their own coconut milk, Emma and Roxy noticed that it was almost impossible to find fresh, dairy-free milk drinks, and were disappointed to see how many stabilizers, preservatives and flavourings were added to the UHT milk alternatives available in local London stores. This spurred the two to create their own dairy-free milk drinks using their newly acquired milk-making skills. SOAK is now stocked in many cafes around London and in the Selfridges food hall, becoming increasingly popular with both those who do and don't consume dairy products. As if providing the public with natural, sustainable and impossibly delicious drinks wasn't enough, SOAK are partnered with Lewa Wildlife Conservatory, with 10% of their profits from every single shake sold going to the conservation of elephant and rhino in Kenya. Emma and Roxy tell Asos editor Lucinda Greasley about their vision, how they started SOAK and their plans for the future of the company. This is Emma and Roxy's big idea.

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Hello and welcome to episode 27 of the ASOS Podcast, My Big Idea.This week Caroline speaks with Vicky Graham of Hackney Bakery, Vicky's Donuts.Vicky's love of baking and numerous trips to visit family in Toronto, Canada led her to setup Vicky's Donuts in February 2015 with the idea to create a selection of donuts typical of the North-American style, with her own twist. Vicky makes a point of using the very best, organic ingredients on offer. All donut flavours are a combination of classic favourites and inventive originals, some examples being salted caramel and pretzel doughnuts and raspberry and lemon doughnuts, and each recipe has been handcrafted in Vicky's kitchen through a lengthy process of experimentation and taste-testing.Since its creation, Vicky's has gained huge popularity due to its quirky but classic flavours, being featured in Look, InStyle, Shortlist and Brides magazine. Vicky tells Asos's Caroline Ferry her advice to young women wanting to build a business in the food industry and her plans for the future of Vicky's bakery. This is Vicky's big idea.

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Hello and welcome to episode 26 of My Big Idea, an Asos podcast giving young women advice and inspiration to start their own businesses. This week's host Nellie speaks with Georgiana Huddart, creative director of British fashion brand HunzaG. Originally born as Hunza in 1984 under the direction of Peter Meadows, the label enjoyed huge success with its signature, unique crinkle-stretch fabric. The Hunza dress became an iconic 80s piece, with Julia Roberts wearing it in Pretty Woman. 30 years on, creative director Georgiana Huddart has collaborated with Peter to re-launch the brand as HunzaG. Georgiana ensures all the pieces are still made in London, consistent with the brand's British roots.Georgiana made contact with Pete Meadows after a friend of his noticed her home made hunza dress at a party. ‘I searched for five years to find the fabric. I managed to get hold of 40 meters and made my own dress', told Georgiana. After sporting the vintage style, Georgiana was put in touch with Pete and the two, sharing their love for the crinkly fabric, decided to re-launch the brand together. The four-month old brand has already racked up an impressive list of celebrity customers, including Clara Paget, Georgia May Jagger, Mary Charteris and Pandora Sykes. Hunza G has also been featured in W magazine, Vogue, Man Repeller, Style, Refinery 29 and Grazia. Georgiana tells Asos editor Nellie how she and Pete Meadows connected and relaunched the famous 80s brand. This is Georgiana's big idea.

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Hello and welcome to Episode 25 of My Big Idea.This week, our host Annie speaks with Fleur De Force, one of the most successful beauty and fashion vloggers in the UK.Her YouTube videos currently attract 4-6 million views per month, and between her two channels she has accumulated over 1.8 million subscribers, with her blog attracting an average of 100,000 unique visitors per month.Fleur's first book 'The Glam Guide' was released in February 2015. She has also launched an exclusive range of false eyelashes with top UK eyelash brand Eylure, and subsequently releasing her own capsule collection of makeup the same year, available from FeelUnique.com.In her youtube videos and on her blog, Fleur gives tips on beauty, fashion and lifestyle which have become hugely popular both in the UK and abroad. Fleur has also won a number of awards including runner up in the Johnson & Johnson Beauty Journalism Awards 2016: 'Best Established Beauty Vlogger' Category, winner of InStyle Magazine's Project 13 Award for 'Outstanding YouTuber of the Year' 2015 and winner of Cosmopolitans 'Best Vlogger' Award 2014. Fleur explains to Asos's Annie how she went about building her beauty empire and gives tips for aspiring businesswomen.This is Fleur's big idea.

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Hello and welcome to episode 24 of My Big Idea, an ASOS podcast.Sharmadean Reid began WAH in 2005 as a little London-based fanzine about girls in hip-hop, which grew into a nail art empire praised by Vogue, Grazia, The New York Times, The Independant and countless other sources. Sharmadean had been working as a trend consultant since graduating from Central St Martins and instantly jumped at the idea to create WAH Nails in London's East End, Dalston. As WAH grew the company began to do shows at London Fashion Week, parties for huge brands such as Nike, Marc Jacobs and Diesel and had a successful week-long pop up salon in Selfridges.Since then, Sharmadean has been featured in Vogue as a part of the 'New Generation' and has opened a shop in Topshop, Oxford Circus. Following the brand's success, WAH has gained a cult following including the singer Lily Allen, and continues to grow steadily while staying true to WAH's roots. Asos Editor Danielle Radojcin talks to Sharmadean about brand's growth, including the development of creative masterclasses from it's brand new base in London's Dalston.This is Sharmadean's Big Idea.

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Hello and welcome to the 23rd episode of My Big Idea, an ASOS podcast giving young women advice and inspiration to start their own businesses. This week our host Caroline interviews Cathy Radojcin, the owner of Shoreditch Bar, Shutterbug. With an emphasis on great drinks and great sounds, Shutterbug aims to stand out from the rest.Shutterbug is described as 'A new experimental crepe and cocktail speakeasy' in the heart of Shoreditch, London. The bar employs Romain Ragouin as their head chef and has gained popularity flash with the locals of Shoreditch, with menus comprised of sweet and savoury crepes, healthy lunches, fresh coffee, signature cocktails and wines and artesian beers. Cathy founded Shutterbug in 2014 after working in restaurants and events for over ten years, including work for Electric House and Jamie Oliver's Fifteen. Since its opening, Shutterbug has been featured in New York Magazine, Shoreditch Shaken and on Channel 4. Asos's Caroline Ferry chats to Cathy about how she came up with the idea for Shutterbug and how she started the business. This is Cathy's Big Idea.

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Hello and welcome to My Big Idea, an ASOS Podcast giving young women advice and inspiration to start their own businesses. This week we speak to Anna Liversidge of ASOS Marketplace Boutique, Lost in Time. Anna tells of how she selects her rare and wonderful vintage pieces and lets us in on the secrets of her success to date.Anna explains how she was happiest as a child were when she was making something: 'I didn't have a very cosy homelife growing up but whenever I was drawing, colouring or creating I felt like I was at home within myself. Creating is something I simply have to do'. From her love for embroidery, Anna began a textiles company, from which grew the vintage clothing boutique Lost In Time. Each piece sold at Lost in Time has been hand selected by members of Anna's team. The brand prides itself on handpicking vintage of the best quality, ensuring the brand is sustainable and trustworthy. Anna also runs a blog and an Etsy shop and is continuing to make gains in the world of vintage fashion. Lucinda Greasley speaks to Anna about how she built her business, her passion for clothing and how she plans to build Lost In Time, in the future. This is Anna's big idea.

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Hello and welcome to episode 21 of My Big Idea, an ASOS podcast giving women advice and inspiration to start their own businesses. In this episode, Caroline speaks with Georgia Cummings, the Founder and CEO of Potage, a London-based food delivery service offering a daily menu of fresh and healthy dishes that are freshly made using organic, local and seasonal ingredients.Through Potage, Georgia aims 'to introduce people to a new way of eating'. Potage delivers fresh, nourishing, handmade meals to their customer’s desk or door - it's real food delivered. After the idea for Potage was born, during a walk in Hyde Park, Georgia spent a year testing recipes, collecting packaging samples, thinking about logistics, and slowly building a brand before starting the business with £1,000 savings. For the first year, Georgia cooked in her mum's kitchen and delivered on a bicycle. The business continued to grow, slowly and organically and now delivers to a large network of people, with recipes formulated by their dietician and chef. Georgia puts emphasis on maintaining the impeccable quality of the products used at Potage, the service delivered and on protecting the community and the planet. Asos's Caroline Ferry speaks to Georgia about how she began Potage and her plans for the future. This is Georgia's big idea.

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