Co-owner and founder of Walkit.com, Jamie Wallace was always quick on his feet. In 2006 he launched the UK’s first online walking route planner. He now turns over £250,000 and receives 55,000 unique hits a month
I started walkit.com out of frustration. I could never convince my colleagues to walk to meetings in central London even though I knew it would be faster. I wanted something to prove my point.
One step ahead
I never think of walkit.com as wildly innovative. Our ethos is that, given the right information, many people can beat the grind of the daily commute using their feet.
I bought the domain name in 2000, long before I launched the site. I had none of the technical skills to deliver the service but I was convinced it had potential.
Recipe for success
As a startup you need to be an innovator and a businessman. Making money from a service is always a challenge. We operate through sponsorship from public and private sectors in the cities we feature, plus a small amount of online advertising.
We rarely spend anything on marketing. For me, word of mouth is ultimately the most powerful tool.
Changing behaviour is what really motivates me. When I hear that people have given up the bus ride to work because they can walk there quicker – that’s success for me.
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