Glenn Shoosmith is the founder and CEO of BookingBug, an online booking and reservation system for small businesses.
Companies can use the system to share availability of services with it's customers and take bookings online. Options can be customised for the type of serviced offered, availability can be shown by the day, week, hour, class, event or course. The system updates in real-time and has the options of a widget that can be shared and published via blogs, social media and affiliates.
Glenn founded BookingBug back in 2008 with the goal to revolutionise the booking and reservation process for SMB in the services sector. Glenn wanted to make it easier for a small business to fill it's available slots, thus be more cost effective and efficient, but also help the customers by allowing them to easily see availability and book services there and then.
BookingBug used the embeddable booking widget to partner with affiliates who help open up the reach for businesses. This adds value for the customer who gets the bonus of added convenience for customers, while providing more traffic and therefore more conversions for the business.
Glenn is a software developer and has worked at many large companies before including Bank of America, CNBC, Reuters and most recently RBS who he left to start BookingBug. It can often be hard to leave a good job and risk it all to start your own business, but the rewards can be far greater. As well as the opportunity to make more money, the fact that you can work on something you are passionate about and make your own decisions, work your own hours, that's the main attraction.
Earlier this year BookingBug secured investment of $350,000 from a group of angels. Glenn notes that it’s "only a small round but it’s designed to pursue more aggressive growth." Glenn hopes this round can take the company to the next level and prepare for a larger round of funding in the future.
