ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A local entrepreneur is smiling this morning because, for a change, his business isn’t the most ridiculously-valued one in our town’s French Quarter WeWork coworking space.
The US company was valued at up to A$70bn earlier this quarter. It’s now roughly worth A$11bn. A disastrous few weeks by any measure, analysts say.
Connor Greenwhit, a STEM graduate from South Betoota Polytechnic College’s prestigious School of Entrepreneurship, is currently shopping his start-up to investors for similar money.
The 32-year-old had two goes describing what his business did to The Advocate this morning and sort of succeeded on the second go.
He sits cross-legged in the co-cafe space on WeWork French Quarter’s ground co-floor. When he came up with his business idea, the first thing he did was get business cards made. The second was getting a hot desk at WeWork in the French Quarter.
“It’s like Uber but for sunglasses,” he said.
“Like say for example you’re out having a great time and you accidentally put your Persols down on the table and duck inside for a wee and come back out to see they’ve grown legs!”
“You’d be ticked off! More importantly, you’d be without your sunglasses.”
Our reporter noticed the loud socks he was sporting on this toasty morning here on the fringe of the Simpson Desert were that of his old high school, the exclusive Whooton School For Boys in our town’s Betoota Grove enclave.
“So you just get SunSnap, my app, and order some new ones that get couriered straight to you. We have someone hanging out next to the Sunglass Hut in the Betoota Heights Stockland waiting for orders.”
Connor rocked back in his chair and smiled to himself in the ceiling mirror above him.
“I’m looking to sell 30% of my business for A$3bn. We have six clients and we were cash positive from the first day,”
“Why are you grinning like that? You think it’s worth less than that? Please,”
“It’s not like I’m grossly undercharging for bluechip office space that start-ups, freelancers don’t really need or want. I’m selling sunglasses to rich boys. Tell me I’m not onto a winner!”
“You know, it’s nice not to have the most ridiculous business model in the building for a change.”
More to come.
