'I had to send a lot of flowers and I was amazed at how poor they were': Former PA 明らかにする／漏らすs how she started online florist marketplace Floom

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When Lana Elie was an (n)役員／(a)執行力のある PA at high-end fashion label Burberry, a 重要な part of her 職業 was sending gifts on に代わって of the company. But the floral 手はず／準備 she 設立する online left her 冷淡な.

'As a PA I had to send a lot of flowers and I was amazed at how poor the 存在するing 選択s are if you're looking to send beautifully （手先の）技術d bouquets with 緩和する from an 平等に beautiful and 平易な to use website,' she says.

'The time I spent looking for good florists, then giving 法案ing, 配達／演説／出産, and card 詳細（に述べる）s over the phone, really began to 追加する up.'

Seeds of change: Lana Elie saw a gap in the market for 地元の flowers with a personal touch

This experience helped （種を）蒔く the seeds for Floom, an online marketplace connecting discerning 顧客s with the best small florists around the UK.?

'I 手配中の，お尋ね者 a 選び出す／独身 place I could go o nline and know what 製品s I was getting, check out easily, and also support the very 技術d 独立した・無所属 florist - that's what Floom 目的（とする）s to be,' she says.

Parisian-born Lana is only 29 but lived in Japan, Bali, California and Melbourne before settling in London, where she worked for Burberry first as a PA and latterly on their 数字表示式の 事業／計画（する） 管理／経営 team.

After her stint at Burberry, the budding entrepreneur put the idea to the 支援する of her mind and went on to become 長，率いる of brand 解答s at fashion and culture magazine i-D.

She says: 'In many ways it should have been a dream 職業 but all the 技術s I was learning about 消費者 behaviour made me realise that a 製品 like Floom really had an 適切な時期 for success. I got to the 行う／開催する／段階 where I could no longer continue to tell other brands how to adapt to the changes, without 存在 失望させるd that I was not doing the same for the floristry 産業.'

Blooming lovely: Floom connects 顧客s with 地元の florists around the country

The entrepreneur says creating Floom was 'a direct reaction to the big 法人組織の／企業の flower-販売人s online' whom she gives short shrift.

'There's a handful of 巨人s who 基本的に have a monopoly over this 抱擁する 産業, and the bouquets they 申し込む／申し出 show little 評価 for the art of floristry or seasonality of our wonderful natural world.?They're uniformly lazy and 望ましくない in the way they're put together - as are their 壇・綱領・公約s. The model is built around cheap flowers that their partner florists can 持つ／拘留する in 在庫／株 all year so there is little 製品 change.' ?

'Floom 目的（とする）s to be the opposite of this in every sense. Beautiful, bold bouquets made by a curated 選択 of 地元の florists who are true artisans. We really put their 質s 前線 and centre rather than sending 匿名の／不明の bouquets at the end of their shelf-life.'

Working for 高級な brands means Lana knows the importance of a beautiful website

顧客s enter their postcode to find out which 地元の florists can 配達する to them 経由で Floom's online 壇・綱領・公約.

The 場所／位置 has partnered with more than 30 florists across London, Liverpool, Brighton and Kent - who keep 80 per cent of the headline price on the website. The cost of a bouquet starts at around £28, while 配達／演説／出産 usually costs £6.99, rising to £9.99 for 急速な／放蕩な 跡をつけるd orders.

Because most of the work is done by the 独立した・無所属 flower 販売人s themselves, Floom only 雇うs five people from its office in central London.

Lana's background in creating content for 高級な brands means she understands the importance of a good 顧客 experience.

'Our 目的（とする） is to put 強調 on the 質s that 独立した・無所属 florists bring, 同様に as educate our audiences about the important of using seasonal and 地元で grown flowers.'

Beautiful blooms: The flowers on Floom's website are usually based around what's in season

Lana （機の）カム up with her 商売／仕事 計画（する） for Floom in the August of 2015; her first 一連の会議、交渉／完成する of 投資 （機の）カム through the に引き続いて Janu ary. The £300,000 基金ing 含むd 支援 from 投資家s such as New Look 創立者 Tom Singh.?

She spent the money building a small team of 従業員s and 操縦するing her 初期の 製品, spending a year trying out different markets to 実験（する） what worked and what didn't.?

Since the website went live last March, Floom has seen 歳入s grow by an 普通の／平均（する） of 9 per cent month-on-month, おもに through word-of mouth. Lana 誇るs that 33 per cent of orders are return 顧客s, with many buying on に代わって of large companies such as the BBC, Conde Nast, and Hearst.?

Ambitious 計画（する）s: Lana wants to ３倍になる Floom's florist base, and 配達する to all UK postcodes

The next step is a crowdfunding 一連の会議、交渉／完成する on Crowdcube, which will open in March with a 的 of £450,00. The proceeds will おもに be spent on partnering with more florists around the country - the small 商売／仕事 is 目的（とする）ing to ３倍になる its florist base by the end of March and ?cover all UK postcodes by the summer.?

The 残り／休憩（する） of the money 生成するd will go に向かって 改善するing the 'dashboards' for each florist on the 場所／位置, and on 改善するing 顧客 experience, by building in features like saved 演説（する）／住所s, special dates and 商売／仕事 accounts.??

上げる: Crowdfunding will help Floom partner with more florists

Lana says she feels it is the 権利 time to open up 投資 to the public.

'In the past year we have had many 顧客s and florists alike 絶対 love what we are doing and reach out with 利益／興味 in becoming part of the 旅行.'

反映するing on the 早い success of her 商売／仕事, she says the best bit of 存在 your own boss is that 'there are really no 制限s to what you do'.

'My best bosses have always been big thinkers, to the point that I’d be terrified as their 生産者. How was I going to make these 抱擁する things happen?

'Now I see it’s one of the best 技術s I was taught. At Floom, we have 抱擁する 計画（する）s, and believe anything is possible, and that’s a really exciting feeling that makes it difficult to sleep most evenings but also just as 平易な to come in when you’re tired!'?

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