Simon Squibb bids $25,000 for abandoned staircase and intends to give small enterprises rent-free space.
An entrepreneur who had his initial company idea when he woken up homeless in an stairway at the age of 15 invested $25,000 on a vacant stairwell to offer small enterprises in London a rent-free space to realize their goals.
Simon Squibb, who sold his marketing firm, Fluid, to PricewaterhouseCoopers and retired at age 40, hopes the Twickenham stairwell in south-west London would serve as a showcase for small business entrepreneurs.
When I saw the staircase for sale, something about it really spoke to me, he continued. The saying goes, “Not everybody are able to afford the cost of an elevator pitch.”
The staircase, that has seven levels and when sold was piled high with trash, fire extinguishers, and rusty bicycles, was listed for £20,000.
The 49-year-old Squibb wants to convert it into a pop-up business, office, or “live-work space” that entrepreneurs may use for free, possibly for as long as a month at a period.
“The whole ‘buy property, rent it out’ thing is hurting society, and I don’t want to contribute to that,” he declared. “If I could, I’d like to tell someone: ‘Have it for one month, live there rent-free, and launch your business. Afterwards, if it takes off, you are able to get an actual shop or an online store.'” That would be incredible.
He added that since purchasing the real estate at auctions 48 hours earlier, he had already had a £50,000 offer for it, demonstrating how the housing market had become “out of control” by the reality that a stairway might have sold for £25,000. Additionally, real estate agents have been in touch with him to inform them that, with the proper planning clearance, the property might be constructed and sold for £500,000.
“I would rather not contribute to rising the cost of rent and accommodation for people,” said Squibb, the founder of HelpBnk, a network of 75 thousand entrepreneurs who provide free assistance to one another. It isn’t, in my opinion, a net gain for society.
As the stairway is enclosed in glass, ideas for pop-up stores on the flight of stairs include an interim art gallery, an apparel shop with racks on each landing, and a garden center. “There are so many incredible ideas coming in,” he added. “I would use my substantial online following to promote people’s dreams.”
He claimed there was a symbolic significance to taking the first step in business from a stairwell. “It’s all about tackling one step at a time, from coming up with the idea, to finding out how to get money for it, to getting your first client.”
When he was 15 years old and living on the streets of Cambridge because his father had passed away, he had his first business concept. I reasoned, “I can’t live like this. I have to take action. I then reasoned that since everyone in the area had large, untidy gardens, I should ask whether they would like me to take charge of their gardens in exchange for a fee. And I carried it out.
He claimed that if he did not receive planning approval to turn the spiral staircase into a location for pop-up businesses, he was going to employ it as a meeting spot for businesspeople looking to network or solicit his investment.
“One concept I’m experimenting around with is: somebody begins at the bottom of those staircase and presents their idea to me. If, by reaching the top of the flight of stairs, I like it, I finance their business.”
He stated that he at least expected he would be permitted to set up a work area on the landing area and use it as his own workspace. I have a nearby $2 million mansion that I own, but believe I like the staircase better. Its capacity to aid others is what makes it so appealing. It genuinely makes me happy.
He mentioned that Amazon and Google both began in garages. “I believe a staircase is equally effective,”