Spotting and filling a gap, with Eccie Newton
Necessity breeds invention! When Eccie and her sister, Gini, struggled to find kitchen space to support their office lunch delivery company, Karma Cans, Karma Kitchen was born. They are growing dramatically, driven by the desire to help food businesses find spaces that suit their needs, without having to build their own kitchens.\n\nKarma Kitchen provides co-working and commercial kitchen spaces across London. Over the next five years, they are planning to open 50 new sites, supplying affordable workspace to over 5,000 startups and SMEs across Europe.\n\nIt was fascinating talking to Eccie, shining a light on the world of \u2018dark kitchens\u2019. We learn about her dynamic journey to date and her ambitions for the future.\n\nYou can find out more about Karma Kitchen\u2019s great work here.\n\nOverview:\n\nIn our illuminating conversation, Eccie:\n\n\n Describes the concept of \u2018dark kitchens\u2019, converting unused light industrial real estate into kitchen spaces used by food delivery and other food industry businesses.\n\n Talks through Karma Kitchen\u2019s current locations, different sizes of kitchen space available, and their plans for expansion.\n\n Explains Karma Kitchen\u2019s business model and how it all began.\n\n Shares the different stages of funding that allowed the business to grow from one site to multiple sites.\n\n Highlights the perils of diluting equity and espouses the virtues of Seed Legals, whose founder has single-handedly changed the face of legal work for early stage start-ups.\n\n Compares the very different experiences of running their first and second businesses.\n\n Discusses their future aspirations for both Karma Cans and for Karma Kitchens.\n\n Reflects on how her working relationship with her sister, who is also her business partner, has evolved and strengthened.\n\n Focuses on the lessons she\u2019s learned in business so far.