A Scottish company that was started with just £180 in 2019 is on target for £10m in turnover by 2023, after helping companies engage remote workforces.
Go Swag was thought up by friends and former colleagues, Ben Greenock - who previously secured investment on Dragons' Den - and Conor McKenna, product designers who saw potential in the promotional product industry.
Amid the pandemic, the acceleration of remote work meant teams were distributed across the globe, which has forced big businesses to think differently when it comes to staff incentives and team-building.
Offering bespoke corporate goody bags, the pair handle everything from design to production and worldwide delivery.
Based in Glasgow, Go Swag’s 13-strong team will soon grow to 33, and there are plans to open satellite offices in America, Europe and Asia.
While working at Dundee-based tech firm Waracle, McKenna and Greenock solved problems by creating products for the likes of Virgin Money, RBS and Sainsbury’s Bank.
They now use their skills to create gifting experiences after being sent sub-par goods to welcome new team members, and are currently working on software that will integrate into the digital platforms of businesses.
The early days of Go Swag were rocky, with the pair working on it during their downtime, juggling logistical and supply chain hiccups and navigating the choppy waters of Brexit and Covid-19.
Soon they realised they were targeting the wrong audience, and moved the focus from start-ups with small orders to larger tech companies sending gift packs for existing clients, new starts, anniversaries and holidays.
“That's when things really took off - we started only accepting minimum orders of 50 and targeting bigger companies,” explained Greenock.
The change in strategy paid off when Go Swag landed GoCardless in August 2019, with companies like Spotify, Amazon and Hello Fresh following in the last couple of years.
Suppliers include outdoor equipment companies Arcteryx and North Face, Glasgow-based bag designers Trakke, reusable water bottle company Ocean Bottle, and food product purveyors Black and Blum.
Greenock, who is the sales and consultancy arm of the company, secured investment for a dating app from Nick Jenkins during an appearance on the BBC’s Dragons' Den in 2015, while McKenna's experience includes designing for start-ups and the Scottish Government - and he focuses on developing software and managing logistics.
“We’ve been really lucky in terms of the people we’ve hired - it was friends and family to start with and then we advertised,” explained McKenna
Greenock added: “We're not in a rush to take money, we want to bring in people that will bring value to the company, and if that comes in the form of investment, we’d be open to that - but we’ve got the luxury of taking our time with that and making the right choices.”
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