Next, there’s Vrumi, the brainchild of ex-hedgie Roddy Campbell and philanthropist William Sieghart. The name stands for Very Restless Unemployed Man’s Idea.
It’s also exploiting the “sharing economy”, doing for office work what Airbnb does for leisure and overnight accommodation.
Someone has a spare room so they let it to be used as an office. They may be at work and allow someone to use a room in their home while they’re out.
Business news in pictures - June 10
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Vrumi has raised £150,000 from investors, among them Serco chief Rupert Soames and Just Eat backer Venrex. Now it is looking to raise another £750,000 through crowdfunding site Seedrs.
“People often have surplus rooms which are ideal to work in,” Campbell says, “or they go out to work, and their flat or house is empty. Again, it’s ideal office space.”
The average booking is £43. They’re hoping for great things.
“We’ve got 250 hosts in central London,” Campbell adds. “Airbnb has 15,000. But we think people are more prepared to allow someone in to use their home as an office rather than have them sleeping over.”
My prediction? They’ll both be winners. Not for the first time, I’m left thinking I wish I’d thought of it.
