GSC hosts “Disruptor Brands” workshop for students from UNC Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship

GSC works closely with serial entrepreneurs, building founder profiles that sharpen their voice and define their position at every stage of growth. Many of these founders are behind disruptive brands, challenging industry norms and reshaping consumer behaviour.

GSC hosted it’s 7th annual London Loves Entrepreneurship and Innovation class last week, which was focused on the idea “Disruptor Brands”, exploring how entrepreneurs and founders build and position an unconventional idea in their respective markets, which gave students in the Shuford Program from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the opportunity to hear about a few of our case studies and how we use our brand desire framework to transition brands from functional to aspirational. This class is a part of a longstanding partnership with collaborator and investor in one of our very first clients, Jed Simmons.

The class were taken through standout disruptor brands and activations that GSC has worked on, from the award winning, peer positioning stunt Emporio Peroni that saw peroninastroazzurro open a boutique within one of London’s leading luxury retail quarters next to high end Italian style brands, to Selfridges Silent Room, a bold activation from the retailer’s innovative No Noise campaign which encouraged shoppers to disconnect and switch off and the launch of HURR, a first mover within fashion rental, founded by Victoria Prew and now the Uk’s largest fashion rental market.

We were also delighted to be joined by guest speaker Ollie Skinner, founder of BALEARIC, a disruptive, nomadic private members’ club.

Ollie founded Balearic with the idea of making their members feel different, seen and part of a community, something Ollie felt that other private members clubs had forgotten as a priority. He highlighted that everything Balearic does is intentional, from remembering names, to tailoring events around individual interests, to creating moments that genuinely make people feel special and maintaining an intimate feeling by curating a tight knit community.

A huge thank you to Ollie for sharing his honest and inspiring story of how he is disrupting the private members club industry and challenging the expected norms of brand behaviour within the sector. Thank you to all the brilliant students who brought great energy and asked insightful questions, and to Brompton Cross for letting us use their beautiful venue.