Money makers: a start-up masterclass in profits

When Payal Kadakia could find the dance class she wanted, she decided to make the search easier – much easier, says Chris Carter.

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Bringing gym classes under one roof

In 2010, Payal Kadakia was working for record label Warner Music Group in New York when she set herself the challenge of coming up with an idea for a business in 14 days, says the BBC's Suzanne Bearne. Just 36 hours later, she had it. An avid dancer, Kadakia had been struggling to book a ballet class. "I visited six different websites, and I couldn't tell if the class was right for me," she says. So she raised $500,000 from friends and family to create a website displaying information on dance and fitness classes across the city in one place.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.