AMA: Yoma James Kukor, co-founder of Vendoir

Launched in 2020, Vendoir was born from a shared frustration of booking event suppliers. Co-founder Yoma James Kukor talks us through their journey so far.

Hi Yoma! Could you share the story behind your startup, including the problem you set out to solve and the inspiration that led to its creation?

Vendoir was founded by myself, Oshoma, and Charles in 2020, inspired by our shared experiences. 

When Oshoma told me about the idea of Vendoir based on his experience, and because I was facing the same issue with my event promotion company - finding photographers, DJs, videographers, and more - we set out with a mission.

We aimed to create a one-stop-shop platform that would provide on-demand access to event suppliers, making the process of sourcing, booking, and managing them easy, affordable, and, most of all, fun.

What were the initial challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was finding out whether there was any interest in our platform and, if so, how we could initiate the flywheel effect for our marketplace platform.

We overcame our challenges by setting up a waitlist, and we were amazed that we were able to reach 3,000 users so quickly. That's when we knew we were onto something.

Once we developed our product and launched, we realised we needed to kickstart the marketplace. However, the problem was how to attract the supply side.

That's when, as founders, we employed a 'do not scale' strategy by directly reaching out to potential suppliers.

Before we knew it, we had 250 suppliers on our platform, which was very exciting.

Since then, word of mouth has started picking up, and more and more people are talking about Vendoir.

Could you tell me a bit more about your team, and how you've grown the business?

We are currently a team of six, and we have mostly grown our team by recruiting people who are passionate about making events stress-free, more inclusive, and more sustainable

What’s your North Star metric?

Despite being live for less than a year at the time, our platform achieved more than 15,000 downloads with such a slim budget and a small team. I couldn't commend our team more.

Can you talk about your fundraising journey, the lessons you've learned, and any advice for other founders seeking investment?

Fundraising is an extremely challenging journey, and we have raised £250k to date, mostly in a challenging economy, which makes the job ten times harder.

Nonetheless, we are pleased with the growth we have seen and excited about all the great things we have in the pipeline.

We are also currently going through a Seedrs raise, where we have reached 84% of our funding target, backed by 64 amazing investors. We are almost there and hopeful of reaching our target.

Do you have a share scheme in place? 

At present, we do not have an existing scheme in operation.

Nevertheless, during our initial successful equity raise, we made an amendment to the Articles of Association, setting aside 10% of the company for a potential employee option scheme.

I am enthusiastic about implementing this initiative, not only as a means to motivate all those who dedicate their passion and hard work to our company but also because it aligns with our fundamental principles and values.

Fantastic! What can you tell us about your company's culture?

Imagine the unfortunate situation where the culture within a company I founded did not imbue its members with a sense of fulfilment in their work! This stands as the foremost determinant of success in all our endeavours at Vendoir.

A substantial portion of what you observe at Vendoir is an outgrowth of the genuine personalities of us founders: playful, compassionate, considerate, and thoughtful.

Our aspiration is for these qualities to reverberate throughout every interaction we engage in, both within our team and with external parties.

If your startup were a character in a fictional universe, who or what would it be, and why?

Much like Tony Stark, we are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in our field. We constantly strive to innovate, develop cutting-edge solutions, and create a product that can make a real impact on the world.

Iron Man’s ability to transform himself from an ordinary individual into a super-powered, technologically advanced hero parallels our mission to transform ideas and concepts into practical, groundbreaking solutions.

Moreover, just as Iron Man uses his wealth and intellect to address global issues, we aim to leverage our resources and expertise to tackle significant problems within the event industry and society as a whole.

Like Stark Industries, Vendor seeks to be a force for positive change, leaving a legacy of innovation and progress.

If you could magically add one skill or quality to every person in your organisation overnight, what would it be, and how do you think it would impact your company?

If I could magically add one skill or quality to every person at Vendoir overnight, it would be "adaptive resilience."

Adaptive resilience is the ability to effectively navigate and thrive in the face of change, uncertainty, and challenges.

I believe this quality would have a profound and positive impact at Vendoir in several ways:

Agile problem-solving, embracing change, improved collaboration, enhanced customer service, innovation and growth, and positive company culture.

We couldn’t agree more! Thanks for your time Yoma, we wish you and Vendoir continued success.