Wednesday 8 December

The phrase ‘the customer is king’ is hardly new. But rarely has it been demonstrated as starkly as the example of Rip Curl. Today, Brian Singer, co-founder of Rip Curl, tells StartupSmart how a strong relationship with the surfing community helped build the business from a couple of young guys with some rubber and […]

Oliver Milman 07 December, 2010

Oliver Milman

The phrase ‘the customer is king’ is hardly new. But rarely has it been demonstrated as starkly as the example of Rip Curl.

Today, Brian Singer, co-founder of Rip Curl, tells StartupSmart how a strong relationship with the surfing community helped build the business from a couple of young guys with some rubber and an old sewing machine into a global brand.

Customer focus is also a topic for mentor Tony Faure, who explains how much time you should spend travelling to see the people who pay your business’ bills. Taskmaster tackles the dreaded cold call and we look at what it takes to start up a recruitment agency.

Oliver Milman, editor