I recently attended an Evening Standard Business Connections event where Michael Acton-Smith of Mind Candy and Moshi Monsters was the guest speaker.
Moshi Monsters is one of the most successful UK startup companies, with 75 million registered users. Moshi Monsters is an online playground for children and their adopted Moshlings, cute and scary cartoon monsters.
Michael Acton-Smith first found success with university friend Tom Boardman when they launched Firebox.com, and particularly with their shot-glass chess set!
Between Firebox.com and Moshi Monsters Michael Acton-Smith founded Mind Candy and the locational puzzle game Perplex City, which by all accounts was a great learning experience but not a commercial success.
Since then Mind Candy hit it’s stride and Michael Acton-Smith has become a leading spokesman for the UK startup scene and one of it’s leading Entrepreneurs.
[pbp_pinit mediaurl=”http://www.theshiatsuguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Moshi-Monster-Wired.jpg” mediatype=”image” count=”none” description=”I met Michael Acton-Smith of Mind Candy and Moshi Monsters recently and got my Wired magazine signed :o)”]
Michael’s talk at the Evening Standard Business Connections event covered the development of his various businesses and what he sees as the future of the tech scene in London and the UK. The talk was followed by a Q and A session with a range of questions from the audience generally revolving around how to be successful in the UK startup scene.
After the presentation and Q & A Michael was swamped by people asking 1 to 1 questions, so my friend and I went off to eat cheese and drink wine at the buffet tables (it’s only natural).
Later having chatted so several of the other attendees and enjoyed the complementary snacks and drinks, Michael Acton-Smith appeared in the bar area with only 5 or so people around him.
This was my chance, I approached, was somehow standing in front of him very quickly… I pulled the Wired Magazine out of my back pocket (showing off my geek credentials) and got it signed. I then produced my business card and suggested to Michael that his growing staff team at Mind Candy might appreciate and benefit from Onsite Massage 🙂 Michael seemed to appreciate the novelty of my approach and the idea of treating his team to some massage.
[pbp_pinit mediaurl=”http://www.theshiatsuguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Michael-Acton-Smith-Wired-Cover-Signed.jpg” mediatype=”image” count=”none” description=”I met Michael Acton Smith at the Evening Standard Business Connections event and got my UK Wired Magazine Signed!”]
He now had my card but the deal was not yet on the table… I still had work to do…
At the time of writing this blog post I haven’t landed the sweet gig of working with Mind Candy and Moshi Monsters, but for me the action of going beyond my shy and reserved self was a big move and felt great.
I also made a pitch to a former Dragon of Dragons Den, which I’ve written about in this blog post. (coming soon)
The benefits of this sort of thing:
For me, it’s about going beyond my comfort zone, to actively promote my services (rather than letting my treatments, website and clients speak for me) and to make connections in real time and space.
For the new High Tech and Startup companies: A great way to look after your staff when wages and salaries may not be as high as the industry standard, when there is a lot of pressure on the team to produce the next release of software or launch a new product. It may even stop your best people being poached by another company who can offer them more money.
They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure… So by looking after your staff now you can save on future recruitment costs, lost productivity, sick leave, low morale and hangover days (just book me in for a day of onsite massage after a big social event and count how many more of the team turn up for work!)
[pbp_pinit mediaurl=”http://www.theshiatsuguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/My-first-Moshling-e1365246996120.jpg” mediatype=”image” count=”none” description=”My first Moshling! I might be a bit old for them but I think they’re really cool :)”]
So for example, for a regular booking of 5 hours per week, you could give 80 staff a massage per month, at a cost of around £1000, or £12.50 per head (for 15 minutes each) which is much cheaper than either a pay rise, recruiting a new team member or even in the lost productivity from a sick day, hangover or disgruntled and disenchanted member of the team…
It’s more of a positive contribution than a day of paint-balling (not to mention cheaper) and 5 minutes after their massage session has ended they’re back at their desk getting on with their tasks with a renewed enthusiasm and vigour!
I’m a low tech geek available for the high tech and Startup industry. I deliver an excellent massage, targeting the most important areas and getting real results in a short time. I come to you with my specially designed massage chair and can deliver anything from 2 hours of chair massage right up to 7 hours of massage in a day. So anywhere from 8 staff up to 28 can receive a massage in a single day!
There are of course a range of massage lengths and regular bookings will receive a preferential rate…
[pbp_pinit mediaurl=”http://www.theshiatsuguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/onsite-massage-chair-office-chair-massage-corporate-chair-massage.jpg” mediatype=”image” count=”none” description=”Onsite Massage in my special massage chair, in Businesses and at Events throughout London. Contact me on info@OnsiteMassageLondon.co.uk to find out more”]
Get in touch now for some complementary sessions in your office*: simon@onsitemassagelondon.co.uk or call Simon on 07951 621 308
Stay tuned for updates on my mission to massage the Moshi Monsters!
*Ts & Cs apply, but get in touch anyway, it’s always good to talk 🙂
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