By Hannah Connolly
Rosie Dallas is a serial entrepreneur, led and informed by her passion for creativity, she is now on a mission to build the world's biggest founder community.
As the Founder of Fat Llama the community renting market place, which Dallas exited in 2022, after being acquired by Swedish based Hygglo for £34.5million, she is now growing the Curve Club, a members hub for Founders. Here we caught up about exiting Fat Llama and what lies ahead for the Curve Club.
Where did your entrepreneurial journey begin, and have you always wanted to start your own businesses? I've always been creative growing up and I think that's also what makes me entrepreneurial. The pleasure I get from building businesses is the pleasure of visualising something and watching it come to fruition. I got sick of putting so much energy into building something for someone else, so decided to start something myself.
Can you talk to me about exiting Fat Llama, how did this come about and how do you know, as a Founder, when it’s time to step away? Our vision with Fat Llama was always to grow to a huge global business. We realised by trial and error that acquiring small businesses was the most effective way to enter new markets and grow into them, and cracking the nuances of a new area is so hard. It was through this strategy that we met Hyyglo who do the same thing as us in Sweden. They had reached the same conclusion and as things fell it made sense for them to acquire us. For me stepping away was simply the best thing for the growth of the business so it was an easy decision.
So, The Curve Club – what was the catalyst? Was there a eureka moment or was it more of a slow burn? I've always wanted to work in private members clubs as I've done a good bit in property and wanted to work on a luxury project. I think there was a bit of a eureka moment when suddenly realising that members clubs are all so samey and it felt like an exciting opportunity to do something new and interesting.
Why a Private Members Club for Founders? I think Founders go through quite a unique experience and it can be very alienating from your existing connections if they haven't been through it too. We also think there's so much value to unlock when you join forces, it feels like a no brainer to bring everyone together. Doing it around a private members club gives it a hub or a home which we hope will give the dea longevity.
Can you talk to me about the core values at The Curve Club, I read balance and inclusivity is key? Yes, very much so. We want all our members to have the common attributes of ambition, authenticity and going off the beaten track with whatever they're building. But people from all walks of life tick all these boxes so we're passionate about bringing them together to help swap notes from all perspectives. It can only result in more knowledge and therefore strength for all.
How important is the role of community to The Curve Club? Curve is first and foremost a community, it's what we're all about. We're still new and working on it, but we want to make a thriving community that adds real value to the members so we're listening to feedback and working accordingly at the moment.
I read your mission is to inspire founders, how are you doing this and do you find being in a room with fellow founders inspiring yourself? 100%. I think it's so easy to get bogged down in the day to day gnarliness of building something that you forget to pull your head out of the weeds and remember the vision. Whenever you do this, you get so motivated to continue so I think it's so valuable to build in regular ways to do this, be it networking or pitching or just listening to other people's journeys. The best thing about building Curve so far has been meeting so many fascinating people and hearing their stories. I absolutely love it.
So, you say the ‘oo’ factor is vital at Curve, what made you go ‘oo’ recently? I'm such a nerd for things like this. Recent ones that come to mind - I discovered a thing you can plug in that blows hot air on your logs / coal to start a fire rather than having to use fire lighters. Definitely blew my mind. Or I recently discovered an app that tells you the name of the star you're looking at if you hold it up to the sky. Both very nerdy I know.
What is your proudest moment in The Curve Club journey so far? I think holding our first event and seeing the space in action after many stressful months of a scary looking renovation was an emotional moment.
What is your biggest piece of advice to those on the journey to funding their own businesses? Always be fundraising, try and always have at least a year runway. All you're buying is time and the more time you have the less stressed you need to be. Pick your investors wisely, if you get to big critical decision making moments for the company you'll need to be able to have them on side with you so avoid people who have a different version of 'reasonable' than you.
For the pitching process, what would be your advice there? It's ok not to know things, don't stress just say you'll check. And even if you're younger and less experienced you're still more of an expert on your business than the person you're talking to so back yourself and don't let them 'explain' things to you. If you disagree, say so. All investors want is to feel like you're a safe pair of hands and you know what you're talking about so they're usually happy to be corrected.
Where would you love to see The Curve Club in 10 years time? As the biggest global founder community with gorgeous clubhouses all over the world.
What is the personal mission driving you? I want to make money and prove to myself I can build a huge business. And I want to do it in an arena I'm passionate about.
Rosie Dallas is a serial entrepreneur, led and informed by her passion for creativity, she is now on a mission to build the world's biggest founder community.
By Hannah Connolly
