Annabel Acton

Bio:

Worked as a brand consultant in Sydney, London and New York for six years before starting work as an innovation consultant in 2011. Knew very little about the world wide web until deciding to launch Never Liked It Anyway...a marketplace to sell all the stuff you're left with when a relationship ends.

Lover of ideas and words; the more abstract the better.

• Title: Founder, Never Liked It Anyway
• Age: 28
• Location: East Village
• Contact: @pseudologosbell

You mention that you knew little about the web until you decided to launch your site.  What was the single biggest challenge that you had once deciding to start this company?  How did you overcome it?

It's been tough managing the tech side as I often felt I was having conversations in another language.  I found it hard to trust my own skills and have confidence in what I was bringing to the table; especially at the start when code feels like the most important bit. Initially, I spent a bit of time trying to find a techie to partner with, but for a whole host of reasons, the shoe just didn't fit. I ended up paying a developer (despite being told that forging ahead without a CTO was start-up suicide!!) and am really happy with how it worked out. Aside from some stellar advice from some friends at WeWorkLabs, I guess I overcame it by really believing in the idea. I know that sounds trite, but I was working on it half-heartedly for 6 months and just couldn't get it out of my head. I really believed there was something real and raw and big in the concept and that drove me to make it happen. At the end of the day, the cost of inaction was greater than the cost of failure so I went ahead.

Knowing where and what to sacrifice was also a big challenge. My original concept had all these whizz-bang features (that may one day happen!) but at the start, simplicity is key. I really had to pare it down and tell myself that the launch version was a way to prove the concept; and once I'd done that I could ramp up and build in other things in the future.

You currently work as an Inventor at ?What If! and run your own startup, Never Liked It Anyway.  What do you like to do to relax and have fun when you’re not working?

I'll let you know when I find a minute!! Despite the oxymoron, having fun is something I take seriously! I love eating out, drinking out, being out, watching or performing in improv and seeing shows of any sort. And I love nothing more than sitting around and indulging in some good banter; preferably with a cup of tea.

In a recent interview on TEN News they mention that Never Liked it Anyway was already averaging over 15,000 hits per day.  How did you go about getting the early traction for your site? Any tips for others looking to start a site of their own?

I made a list early on of people who I  really wanted to write about the site. I contacted each of them with personal and relevant emails about why I thought my site was interesting to them. Once Mashable picked it up, a wave of press ensued. I've been really lucky in that department. I think if I had a bit of advice it would be to be thorough and diligent. Contact anyone and everyone and make sure you spell out why it's of interest to them rather than a generic 'here's my startup email'. And within that, be really clear on what the human story is - ask yourself why would people care about this? Technology is interesting but it's the human story that makes it truly fascinating.