Swop2Shop is a clothes swapping website allowing its members to replenish and re-vamp their wardrobes without the need for cash. Founder Zoe Bawtree says, “We wanted to create an online platform where women and their families could swap their unwanted clothes for free… Guilt free, environmentally friendly shopping.”

Zoe shares some ideas behind the site, “We knew that the business model would have to survive a recession. We had been swapping clothes between friends for months as money was tight, but as with all women we still wanted to look our best. Between friends it was a great success, now we needed to think how we could expand the idea into a savvy business model.”

“Kathryn and I knew we would work together at some point, with six children between us we also knew we would have to be extremely organised and focused to make our ideas a reality. We have developed partnerships along the way, tackling environmental issues like waste and re-cycling in an ethical and stylish way. Women want to be clever with their money; those days have gone when buying a Gucci bag from the Knightsbridge store used to be exciting. Now we look for the more creative option mixing second hand designer with high street for as little as possible. Every woman wants to look stylish but the credit crunch woman wants to look great for as little as possible.”

The business has been in operation for six month and Zoe says, “Six months on we have secured £108,000 of funding, employed a graduate full time and accepted a new graduate on the Graduate  Challenge Scheme. With four partnerships in place, our business relationships are ever expanding. We have just moved out of our playroom and into offices in Cheltenham. We currently have 800 members and aim to have 2,500 by July 2010.”

What have Zoe and Kathryn got planned for the future? “We have four main revenue streams planned and have launched Swop2Shop Kids with Men’s clothing to follow in the summer. UK based at the moment, Swop2Shop plans to franchise in the future with our first request being Paris.

Our team is ever expanding with PR in London, Financials in Bristol and web in the South West. We are now a team of eight and our ultimate goal is for Swop2Shop to become a household name. In the summer of 2009, Swop2Shop appeared on BBC 2’s “Working Lunch” proving that the concept of swapping and re-cycling was indeed a concrete idea for an online audience. Swop2Shop has been lucky enough to be covered in some Glossy Magazines , including The Daily Mail’s’ You Magazine’, She Magazine and Cotswold Style. Sales of Top up points, Gift Vouchers and the introduction of a premium membership will see Swop2Shop go from strength to strength.”

And Zoe has some tips to share if you have a business and are trying to move it out of the home to create a more professional environment, “Be prepared to take risks. Start off small and grow orgaincally, be patient! Look to your local Uni’s and see if they have any Graduate schemes where you can take on board a talented Graduate that is paid for by the Government. We now have Amy through such a scheme and are applying for a Graduate Internship in the South West. To bring on board skills that you don’t have like Financial Directors and Technical expertise decide how much equity you are willing to give away for these skills and negotiate. What is the point of having a large slice of a failing business? Far better to have a decent equity stake in something successful. We pitched in a similar situation to Dragon’s Den and secured funding to take Swop2Shop to the next level.”