The Gate to an Imperial success story

Exams… Library, presentations… Library, coursework... Library. Being an Imperial College student is usually associated with the “nerdiness” stigma. If you weren’t already one when you got in, the general idea is that by the time you leave, you will have become a super studying sleepless monkey. While some of us see the above idea as a math fact, others disagree completely. Andre Nakkurt, Imperial alumni and one of the founding partners of GateMe, an innovative guest management platform, was probably one of the latter ones. The idea of a “dark” secret world lurking far from the old Library isles and cold laboratory workbenches must have attracted him, either that or being sick of waiting in queues to get in his favourite nightclub. We decided to investigate!

You say that GateMe is “innovative”, can you tell us what is so innovative about it?

GateMe helps clubs turn random guests into regular clubbers, which increases their bottom line. We do this using state of the art technology, which helps nightclubs understand the clubbers in detail. Since day one, the clubbing industry has been using pen and paper to manage table bookings and guest lists. All these messy papers contain data, which can’t be used because processing costs are too high. In comparison, GateMe runs on any mobile device or tablet, which makes it easy to use the data. Fortunately for us, the industry is catching onto this very fast.

Does it explore a new business market? Is it disrupting an old one?

It’s all about execution and long term vision at this point; disrupting an old market and creating a new one is a long journey and the team is enjoying it so far. There will always be imitators and we’re flattered by their compliments.

Sounds good! So who are the faces behind GateMe? Is it only Imperial alumni? Do you need to be extravagant and cool to work in a start-up? Do you really wear flip flops and drink Red Bull all day?

GateMe considers itself lucky, because the team has extremely good rapport. Three team members are brothers and four have known each other since primary school. We have attracted similarly passionate and reliable people, who have helped us develop high quality software very fast. The team enjoys a varied background from PwC consulting to Google and indeed, our developers are known to enjoy the freedom of flip flops!

When was the officially launch and how did you celebrate?

We had been working on our prototype for a couple of months and were often visiting clubs to get feedback; at one point the positive feedback started to drown out the negative and we knew we were onto something. The team was pleased after landing the first paying customers and excitement grew with expansion from Estonia to London and Miami. Every new paying customer warrants a ring from our “happy customer” bell (we actually have a bell in the office solely for that occasion. True story). However, the team feels that “the Eureka!” moment is yet to come; it will happen after we cause a major disruption in the industry and we’re working tirelessly towards that.”

Is it true that all start-ups have offices with grass rugs and dogs walking around?

Very recently we had the honour of winning Seedcamp London and being chosen among the one percent of companies, who get world-class mentoring and support from the prestigious seed investment fund. An important part of that support comes in the form of shared office space at Google Campus, London. Seedcamp is best described as one large family of young and ambitious overachievers, in the best sense of that word. The shared office is fantastic, because we can bounce ideas around the room and learn from their experience.

What about future strategy? Where do you see GateMe in 3 years time?

We’re currently focused on software for nightclubs and the natural progression from there is towards the clubbers. The team works around the clock to become the go-to brand for nightlife.

Being Imperial alumni, will you ever come back? Did Imperial College Business School help you at all?

It’s kind of given that the academic side at Imperial College Business School is outstanding, but my biggest surprise was the strength of internal and external events happening throughout the year. I exhausted myself trying to absorb as much as possible from these fantastic events and this has already paid off. Fortunately, Imperial College Business School benefits from a very active start-up community; places like IC Start-up and Imperial Entrepreneurs are where it’s really happening. The experience far exceeded my expectations and I will remain very close with Imperial. I look forward to giving something back and fortunately I have the chance in a couple of weeks. As part of a panel for the Business Plan Competition, I expect to see some interesting ideas from the current students. This was a major part of my programme, which prepared me for the challenges our team faced with GateMe later on.

So next time you find yourself waiting in a 100 meter club queue, thinking why you didn’t book a table or joint the guestlist that afternoon, think about Andre and “his” GateMe. Smile, call it field research and you just might be a step closer of becoming a serial entrepreneur!

GateMe is available in all major phone/tablet app markets, but if you are interested in knowing more about or you think you’ve got the skillz it takes to be part of this amazing team, drop by gateme.com to register and send these nice guys an email.

Pedro on Google+