Five questions for… James Marchant, CEO, Just Opened

published 10 February 2017

Sum up your business

Just Opened Group is the go-to place for the hottest openings in London and New York.

What's been your greatest achievement so far?

Opening in New York was a great achievement. The city is famous for its food and drink scene, and every day new and exciting restaurants, bars and hotels are opening. We always planned to have a presence in this vibrant city cutting through the noise and curating the best openings. The launch went brilliantly.

What have been your biggest challenges?

We've got a long list of ways in which we can grow the business around the world. The challenge is choosing which ones to pursue next it's a nice problem to have. We have a shortlist of priorities and only let a new one onto the list if there is a really strong case to do so. We have an ambitious growth plan that will see us launch in 35 cities by 2020. The first launches will take place in Los Angeles, Sydney and Singapore this year.

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What are your plans for hitting your targets?

We're staggering our city launches over the next three years. This will ensure we can conduct research and build up an appetite for our offering. We've also evolved our membership scheme, providing exclusive offers and events for our customers, with the aim of promoting the openings we work with as well as quadrupling our members by year end.

What advice would you give fellow entrepreneurs?

Put together a small advisory board with experts from your industry who can bring experience and contacts.

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