Eyes on the Price
Since graduating from LSBU in 2007, Bertie Stephens has gone on to set up a film production business and is now founder and CEO of Flubit, an online discount company valued at over £2.5million.
Bertie Stephens, Founder and CEO of Flubit
Flubit is a new online shopping experience. Shoppers who have already found the best price can go to Flubit who will try and get an even better deal for them.
Bertie spoke to the LSBU Alumni Association about how it works: “You simply find the product you want to buy online and paste the link into the Flubit website – one of the simplest sites on the web. Our team and technology then go off and create a better offer just for you. This price won’t exist online before you come to Flubit, and it’s only for you. You can demand almost anything and Flubit will work.”
After completing the BA (Hons) Digital Film And Video in 2007, Bertie set up MWS Media and soon the concept of Flubit was born: “One day I was filming with Coca Cola and started chatting about my idea to someone there – which led onto me asking for a modest £5,000, of which he misheard because I was given £50,000! It all went from there really, I made the decision to leave MWS Media with just enough funding to get ourselves going.”
Bertie believes the key to securing investment is to learn from mistakes and not be disappointed after rejections: “Investors are fantastic, encouraging growth into different marketplaces – investing their money in the next big thing. Every pitch we had, we learnt from. For example, one investor commented, “I don’t believe you can market it this way”, so we went back to the drawing board and made sure they were confident we could.” Practice clearly makes perfect as seen by Bertie’s success at the 2013 London Web Summit where Flubit won the prestigious Start-up of the Year Award.
Launched in September 2012, Flubit has already made an impressive start. Despite this, Bertie has no plans to relax. He is currently planning to expand Flubit’s UK operations to an eventual international launch: “My philosophy is about doing and being productive; it doesn’t always work, but it’s great just getting on with it. People often say that it’s the appeal of being your own boss, but it’s more than that: it’s about seeing a vision become something that really engages with people.”
Bertie looks back on his time at LSBU fondly, especially in regards to the encouragement and support he received from tutors: “We already know that LSBU provides a top education in regards to film. But beyond that it supports its students to fulfil their potential. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work on the set of the Harry Potter films during my degree. LSBU supported me with this opportunity and was flexible by allowing me to work with two conflicting schedules. Plus my final project was to complete a short film. Three of us made a 16th Century period drama feature film. It was crazy ambition, but the tutors backed us. We've sold it now in almost every state in America - we made a financially viable feature film. Through and through it was a film made by students, but the passion was unleashed by the support of the tutors.”
Visit www.flubit.com to see if they can help you get a better offer on your online purchases.