RGifts LTD, the mother company for Star Name Registry and Maps For Moments, is celebrating its eight birthday so what better time to speak with founder & CEO, Rhys King, to lead the celebratory path!
What does this 8th birthday for the company mean to you?
The world has changed in these 8 years. It’s interesting looking back at those 8 years how we’ve had to change things and adapt. It really highlights for me the company turning from what we were to how we stay ahead and change throughout time.
How have these past 8 years been?
Challenging. It’s definitely been eventful, more eventful than I would have imagined, but all in all, it’s been super successful. We’ve grown year-on-year, we adapt & move forward.
Proudest moment in these 8 years?
Definitely the 2 awards. Winning the International award at the Wales Fast Growth 50 Awards meant so much to us, because so much focus goes on localisation. We were a small company and wanted to reach all of these different countries and we focused so hard on localisation. To win an award for the fastest growing company in Wales was huge. We’re up against other companies and to get recognised for something that we try so hard on, amazing!
Same for the Business Growth Wales Customer Service Excellence Award ; I come from a customer service background, before I started the company, so it was something I understood a lot and to help the team recognise that was just amazing. To see what effect it had on the team was just awesome.
What will RGifts look like 8 years from now?
The last 8 years we’ve really focused on creating infrastructure, creating a brand, our reputation, where I really see us in 8 years is growing that out. I really see us a big player in the gift market in general and that's where we need to aim, diversify our revenue stream, really utilise what we’ve built and the partners that we have across the world. We’re ready to launch some new ideas, with personalised gifts the main focus, but a more broad gift company in personalised gifts.
8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture – what’s your thoughts on the market?
It’s interesting. Astronomy for them is really important, it’s a very interesting aspect of their culture which fits into what we sell. There’s so much potential in China, their culture is just so fitting; I’ve spent some time there around them and I think we can have a lot of success there.
Tell me 8 words that describe the company
Resilient
Empathetic, because we deal with some pretty sensitive situations a lot of the time
Technology
Young
Energetic
Local
Generous
Fun & serious
Pick the entrepreneur’s brain: 8 ways to be successful in life
Just do it. I mean, the first thing I always say to anyone is “you just need to take action”, just do something.
Don’t try and perfect things.
Work/life balance is a challenge; you got to take advantage and seize the opportunity.
Learn how to manage your money, because there’s no education out there for that. That’s really important because that’s something that’s going to come if you’re successful.
Give others opportunities.
Let other people help you.
The toughest one – learn to let go. That’s probably one of the biggest challenges.
And, again, take action. If you can do that around a job, get learning.
The 8 sites you visit daily
Twitter. It gives you the possibility to follow other people, you can create a circle online, you find information you can consume, you get information that will help you, that will motivate you.
People per Hour. I always look for opportunities, there’s always ideas you might not have thought of, people & things that can help grow the company.
The weather.
CoinStats, which is crypto related, I would incentivise everyone to get involved with bitcoin.
Our sales dashboard, just to keep an eye out on how things are going.
Emails, with a lot of filters on to only see what’s relevant.
Youtube.
InsightTimer. That’s really important to be because it helps balance out the chaos.
