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One of my favourite things about startup culture is that it manages to upend relatively ‘boring’ industries, right on their heads. While boring is definitely a term defined by personal taste, when an industry has established methodology and process – whether it be logistics or food delivery – it takes a certain streak of creativity and innovation to see past the status quo and decide to do things differently; to do things better.

As startups continue to rise through to the forefront of popular media (and popular job searches), those entrepreneurs who choose the not-so-glamourous avenues also have the added pressure of truly needing to perform. While the public may initially buy into the romance and thrill of an innovative new-dating app, regardless of it’s performance, those startups who are developing in the ‘boring’ industries can’t hide behind, or gain traction, on a cloud of sparkles and promise. They have to deliver, from the word go – regardless of the design or hype their product may have.

At Kandidate we’re proud to have partnered with these successful startups, who are disrupting challenging (and surprisingly not boring) industries across London and beyond.

Streetbees – Business Intelligence

Streetbees is building the world’s first marketplace for business intelligence, turning complex data problems into bite-size questions that anyone on the street can answer – via their mobile app. They have a strong client base (Vodafone, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Delivery Hero) and a highly engaged user base.

“Your Eyes and Ears On The Street”.

To use Streetbees, a business needs to make a request for specific information – this may be a small survey about transport habits on the Northern Line, photo’s from an in-store promotion displaying your product or videos of your customers engaging with a competitor. The request is then broadcast out to the real world army of ‘Streetbees’ via smartphone app.

Users on the street – ‘Bees’- who find themselves in the right location with the relevant information, then return the information in the space of a few hours. Once it’s cross-checked and verified, the information is sent to the business, using the web dashboard to stream the data in real-time.

Streetbees offers a cost-effective opportunity to gain local knowledge across a global platform. Nothing boring about that.

Bloomon – Flower Industry

Bloomon is a VC backed e-commerce startup, disrupting the international florist industry. While focussing on offering unique arrangements that are creatively and sustainably made and delivered, they currently have their HQ in Amsterdam, and are expanding to the UK.

According to the team themselves, Bloomon was founded by “three rebels on a quest to turn the flower industry on its head. And spread happiness throughout the world.” If that’s not a delightful mission statement I’m not sure what is, and comes in second only to Lostmy.Name below.

In its industry shake-up, Bloomon completely redesigned the ‘bouquet supply chain’, and added days to the freshness of the flowers, sourcing their blooms directly from the best growers in the Netherlands and cutting out all the middlemen. From their desire to preserve quality to the hand-packaging and ever-changing arrangements, Bloomon wants “to focus on clients, service and the best possible product, not on competition”. Not only this, but the company also offers a flexible and easy to use delivery system and a complete online service – successfully managing to deliver on both their digital and physical services.

Bought By Many – Insurance

Bought by Many uses internet crowdsourcing to negotiate lower insurance premiums.

The company believes that “Everybody’s different”, but that a person’s unique circumstances shouldn’t stop them getting fair insurance cover. As a free service, for members-only, Bought By Many aims to provide affordable insurance for those who may have slightly more unusual situations.

There are 273 various groups of insurance owners currently using Bought By Many, in categories ranging from the pets (think French Bulldog insurance) through to home, car and health (like travel insurance for those with heart transplants) to name a few.

Built by professionals, the company has a CEO/CTO co-founder team that boasts over 40 years of software development and financial management experience between them – however, Bought By Many is looking to look after the little guy. To pull in it’s customers, the team has created a simple and effective way of searching for insurance that really does cover your specific situation – it’s faster than your usual pop-up ridden comparison websites, and by negotiating direct deals with the providers, their members save an average of 18% on their premiums.

Bought By Many wants to send “a powerful message to the insurance industry about treating people as individuals”… so far they seem to have nailed it.

LostMy.Name – Publishing

Lost My Name is a full stack publishing startup, creating personalised stories for children, and they are on a mission.

“Dragons, unicorns, rabbits in top hats… there used to be loads of magic in the world. Now we’re on a mission to bring it back – and to make millions of children around the world more curious, clever and kind.”

Each book made is customised for a specific child, with two titles to choose from at the moment: The Girl/Boy who lost Her/His Name, which is personalised to the letters of each childs’ name, and The Incredible, Intergalactic Journey Home, which leads each child back to their very own address.

With a combination of high-tech platforms, hand-drawn illustrations and a little bit of personal magic, Lostmy.Name has managed to create a stream of delight in the world of the printed word – where many others have continued to move toward digital publishing, often abadoning print completely. Especially in the competitive market of childrens entertainment, it’s lovely to see a company that uses current technology to revisit and improve on the experiences of the past – like the quintessential bedtime story.

Looking to discover non-tech startup job opportunities for the next big disrupt, or hire startup talent without recruitment agencies? Join Kandidate, where leading startups and leading candidates meet.