We got some of our key decision-makers together: Michael, the CEO; Tim, the marketing whiz; Rob, our financial controller; and Jason and I - as two of the three co-founders. We all sat down and asked ourselves a lot of questions about where we can take the brand and, importantly, where it's worth going. Potentially, anything from financial services to motoring, jobs and travel was up for grabs. Along with a few other areas.
It is a really good way of looking forward. Thanks to our ability as an online business to move fast, you can already see some of the results of our brainstorming. Friends Reunited Jobs has just launched, marking our debut in recruitment.
Like many of the best ideas, it is really simple. Like so many things on Friends Reunited, it is an idea you could almost say has been road-tested by our members. Some have already been using the site in that way.
It is not difficult to see how the 'workplaces' section of the original web site can help networking.
Even when people have filled out their details in the schools' section, they sometimes point out that they're looking for work. So, a job site fits our original idea of putting people in touch. Better still, we found a great way of getting the idea off the ground fast, and made the concept a reality with our acquisition of Top Dog Jobs in March. It was an opportunity that made sense. Also, the flexibility of an online business and, in particular, the way we work at Friends Reunited, meant we could complete the deal in weeks.
Ironically, we had already started on our own site before the deal came up, but our new acquisition gave us critical mass - some 200,000 cvs and 30,000 jobs - and a user-friendly service. And it has helped us to enter new areas, with telesales, SME clients and a corporate section. The ease with which we've got the new service up and running, and incorporated it into Friends Reunited, has confirmed to me that if you are looking to grow a web site, you can do it organically or by acquisition, provided the right opportunity comes along.
The trick is, in new media, you have to be flexible enough to move quickly when a good opportunity arises.
Steve Pankhurst is the co-founder of Friends Reunited.
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