ENYA - Emmanuel Kastanias - 25, Sydney, NSW

Can you give me a little background on yourself?
I am a 25 year old business owner of advertising firm NapkinAd. I have a Commerce degree from UNSW and have worked as an accountant during my study and after graduating. As quite an uninspired accountant, I came up with Napkin Advertising one day while eating lunch when I looked at my napkin. I thought it could be used as a miniature billboard for businesses to directly communicate to consumers.

NapkinAd provides an advertising product that is innovative, direct and cost effective. The average shopper waits for an estimated 3.5 minutes while ordering their meal in a food mall and then eats their meal for an average 15 minutes. Therefore NapkinAd operates a direct and portable advertising medium that interacts with a consumer for at least 18.5 minutes - longer than any other advertising medium. More so, as most food malls are in shopping centres and purchasing environments, the advertising targets people with time to act on our client's message. Both as a branding mechanism or promotions based mechanism, NapkinAd is an effective means to deliver an advertised message.

I have always had ideas about various niche businesses however I never really acted on my impulses. I have always worked hard at what I do and it just made sense to set up my own business. However making the decision, from moving from a secure job to the unknown, was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make. Starting from nothing is never an easy thing, and setting up a business is very challenging with daily problems arising from left field that need immediate solving. However the knowledge you build is incredible and puts you at an advantage above most people my age. It is also a very rewarding feeling to think that over 800,000 people to date would have used one of my napkins!

How did you manage to secure the support and funding to establish your business?
Unfortunately it's impossible to gain any sort of assistance when setting up an advertising company. Most grants and venture capitalists focus on R&D projects in the science arena. I have therefore funded the entire process on my own. I do accounting part time for cash-flow and also work with another companies I am involved with, such as MOF Productions which film corporate videos, short films and weddings. Everything I make goes back into NapkinAd.

Did you experience any challenges when setting up your business? If so, what did you learn from them?
Capital was very difficult to secure. Unfortunately most people my age do not have an established business background and management team, and this was my biggest downfall in securing any form of venture capital (despite people really liking and supporting my project). However funding your own start up is very important as I feel it gives you a better understanding about the value of money.

I had to deal with many large organisations and this in itself was a huge challenge. I found it hard at the onset to be taken seriously and to secure meetings to present my idea was very difficult. The one major lesson learnt is that when you secure a meeting you must be considerably prepared (plan a, b, c) because larger companies negotiation skills are far more developed than yours. When negotiating, know exactly what you want as an outcome, and stick to it. Always go into a negotiation with the outcome you seek, NEVER try to find the outcome on the spot.

Also the market determines the price of your product (especially if it has never been done before). As a business owner you think the world of your product and believe its worth is beyond its actual market value. The key is to test your market out. When every business is a potential client, you must have varying price structures and options to suit everyone. Without this flexibility your business will be hampered.

Over the past 18 months, NapkinAd has dominated my life. From an idea, I developed a product to market, and now have over 20 regular advertisers. The process has taken many hours of which I have greatly enjoyed. I have fought many battles and overcome many obstacles to get to where I am now (and that is just the tip of the iceberg!). I am very proud that I have an operating business, but I am also aware of the big obstacles and challenges that lie ahead of me.

You need to work hard and this really only comes with passion. If you are passionate, then work is not a chore.

It is very important to rely on yourself. If you don't know something, find the answer and don't rely on someone else to tell you the answer. I have met many people who start up a business and spent a considerable amount of money with accountants and lawyers for very basic advice. I totally disagree with this attitude. Admittedly you must seek professional help for major decisions, but you must be an informed individual. This is where education is important. The more you know, the less reliant you are on others.

Also ask as many people as many questions as possible. Never discredit someone's viewpoint. Listen to everyone, and then make up your mind.

Be time conscious. This is something I am still struggling with. There is always more work than time, so it is important to list your daily goals, prioritise them and act. Importantly your sales function must take a priority, never let this slide.

Firstly once you have your idea, start planning. There is a multitude of information online about business plans. The major benefit of a business plan is that it forces you to develop your idea into a working model. It makes you think about how the product will be placed in the market, who will buy it, why, and gives you a good understanding of the validity of your idea. Admittedly there is a considerable amount of research involved, but this is important in developing your idea. Once your confident about how to proceed, discuss your idea with as many people as possible, including your end customers.