Episode #455 - Developing An Innovative Business In The Hospitality Industry - with Raluca Epureanu

Feb 17, 2025

In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, we sit down with Raluca Epureanu, the founder of Flairmakers—a pioneering talent-on-demand platform designed specifically for the hospitality industry. Raluca shares her inspiring journey from concept to creation, revealing how Flairmakers is revolutionising the freelance talent landscape by integrating skills training directly into their platform.

Key Highlights:

• Innovative Business Model: Flairmakers connects hospitality businesses with freelance talent for short-term assignments, while also providing integrated training to expand the freelance talent pool.
• Funding Success: After raising an impressive £275,000 in a friends and family round, Flairmakers is now pursuing a pre-seed round with institutional investors to scale their impact.
• Challenges and Lessons Learned: Raluca discusses the delicate balance between product development and fundraising, along with the critical importance of defining a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) without falling into the perfectionism trap.
• Market Opportunity: With the travel and tourism industry representing 7% of global GDP, Flairmakers is tapping into a vast market, addressing the growing demand for skilled freelancers in the post-2020 world.
• Vision and Mission: Raluca’s goal is clear—establish Flairmakers as the global go-to platform for hospitality freelancers, empowering professionals through fair pay and lifelong learning.

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For now, continue listening for the full story from Raluca.

 

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Raluca can be found here:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/flairmakers/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/raluca-epureanu/

https://flairmakers.com/

 

Resources:

McKinsey Quarterly - https://www.mckinsey.com/quarterly/overview

The Diary of a CEO podcast - https://stevenbartlett.com/doac/

Cashing Out: How To Sell To Private Equity by Alexis Sikorsky - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/cashing-out-the-business-owner-s-guide-to-selling-to-private-equity-alexis-sikorsky/7660646?ean=9781781338476

Slack - https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/

Fathom - https://fathom.video/