Do you want to have an impact on society by creating your own business, but don’t know where to start?

Young entrepreneurs often face many challenges that go beyond the usual financial constraints and lack of connections to turn their business ideas into reality. According to Professor Nadia Millington, being too optimistic about the impact of a project and not taking the time to analyse the problem that it aims to solve are two problems that entrepreneurs face when starting a business.

I spoke to Jaron Soh, LSE alumnus and cofounder of Artisan and Fox, a social enterprise dedicated to helping artisans in developing countries sell their products in international markets, and of Traktion, a tech platform that connects freelancers to businesses.

Image source: Jaron Soh

How did your journey towards becoming an entrepreneur get started?

Jaron: My journey towards becoming an entrepreneur started at LSE while I was doing my undergrad degree in Management. I became keen on social enterprise as it combined my interests in creating a business and starting something from scratch with my appreciation for anthropology and development.

What motivated you to create Artisan and Fox?

Jaron: It was a mix of personal and professional motivations. Growing up I was always fascinated by handicraft, understanding the story and the heritage that it holds. During my first year at university a big earthquake hit Nepal and a Nepali master’s student invited me to his country to help with creative content for disaster relief. There, I was able to meet a lot of artisans and listen to their stories. I realised that they were struggling as they relied heavily on tourism, they did not have any bargaining power when selling their products to shops in busier districts, and it was hard for them to grow. Older-generation makers find it hard to hand it over to the younger generations, because of the low returns.

How did you start building your entrepreneurship project?

Jaron: Initially, it was just me being a student, sending emails and researching. After understanding the constraints in the handicrafts’ supply chain I started a small online store selling Nepali silver crafts. I gathered with two other partners and we realised that the power imbalance that the Nepali artisans faced was present across many developing countries. To keep the craft going on you need to upscale it. That’s how we thought about doing it internationally. The three of us started a crowd funding campaign to expand the business further than Nepal. Working with international and local NGOs, we were able to travel to other places like Afghanistan and Guatemala to create a collection of handicrafts that represent each country.

What were the main challenges that you faced developing your business?

Jaron: In order to get the funding we used grants, revenues and crowdfunding campaigns. The real challenge was on the product side. Working with local artisans in a decentralised manner implies problems with the quality and consistency of the products. The information about the design or the colour patterns that we want might get disrupted before reaching the artisan so we can end up receiving a product with different characteristics. To overcome this issue, we tried to focus on ordering small batches and offering premium quality to get a higher margin.

How did participating in the LSE Generate Competition contribute to your business idea?

Jaron: Generate was instrumental to starting my project. When I first came up with the idea of Artisan and Fox most people said that I should not go for it as there were already similar platforms. Only Generate said it was a fantastic idea. The competition provided me with a grant and publicity, connected me with other entrepreneurs in the same regions that we operate in, and help me set up my base in the UK by endorsing my entrepreneurship visa.

What advice would you give to students who want to become entrepreneurs?

Jaron: Just get started! Even if it is on a small scale. There are 1001 reasons why not to start a business as there are many challenges in the way. However, you can overcome all of these challenges if you are passionate and interested in the idea that you want to develop. In the beginning I faced a lot of negativity about my project, but just because something has been done before does not mean that you cannot give it a different approach.

My advice for young entrepreneurs would be just to get started, even if it is on a small scale

Find out more about entrepreneurship support and opportunities for LSE students via LSE Generate.