Meet the founder of Horse Scout Group

Such a pleasure Lucienne, really looking forward to finding out more about yourself and Horse Scout Group. So, tell me a little bit about the woman behind the business and how it all came together?

My background divides into three areas: sports, sales and science. I have been competing at international level three-day eventing since 2005, and still just about manage to get to a few international 4*’s each year, despite a few serious accidents resulting in being 40% titanium nowadays! I was an international sales agent for competition horses for fifteen years and am a qualified Dr. of Chiropractic.

By 2013 I had manifested a very strong vision for an international equestrian platform (today known as Horse Scout) fulfilling the needs of the industry on all levels from business to commercial to social.  A severe riding accident in 2013 forced me to lie on my back for 11 months – I put my brain into making my rehabilitation time as efficient as possible as, at that stage, the prognosis for my physical 'sports-health' was in question.

What is Horse Scout Group?

A collection of equestrian businesses: 

Horsescout.com the marketplace and professional services platform, servicing the Equestrian industry to facilitate classified subscription advertising of horses, stallions (breeding options), syndicates (horse share options), and professional services such as coaching, yard management or veterinary skills.

HorseScoutAgency.com the international equestrian centric agency which; connects commercial opportunities to professional athletes, leads business strategy to global equestrian businesses including Equestrian Sports Productions (one of the largest show organisers in the world), International Equestrian Group (largest equestrian software asset collection in the world), Limburg Equestrian Sports (Sports innovation movement in the Netherlands) and Star Stable (17million user base online equestrian gaming platform), so a very varied portfolio. More recently we supported the launch of Equestrian Relief a fund raising initiative for NHS UK.

Horsescoutdesign.com a make on demand international business in its infancy, with killer potentials in the UK, Europe and US.

(I am a start-up junkie!) 

Inspiration is always a great indication of why people launch businesses. Who or what inspired you to get started?

I was in a start-up conference in London in 2011 (Virgin StartUp celebrate female entrepreneurs ignition event) and Jacqueline Gold CBE, the British Businesswoman and CEO of Gold Group International, presented her story – there was something in her conviction to business that I found very attractive. I knew I had the endurance for starting up a business from scratch, I had a vision for Horse Scout and the Virgin Start up loan looked on fair terms, so I made an internal deal with myself to try and make the life change to entrepreneurship. 

Do you take the time to build an entire strategy before making a business decision?

I always have a road map against each business domain, but I believe in fluidity and re-prioritisation is a daily battle of wills. My hardest challenge is remaining engaged in the monotonous areas; I like the big idea and impactful discussions – detail tends to bore me. I am also a reactive person, so if a business opportunity feels right, I can commit fairly hard and fast where others may fear risk... probably being a sports person I have a level of 'I will cope’ imprinted.

How did the business go from concept to launch? 

I took out multiple start up loans with Virgin Start up, sold shares at minimum viable product level, pitched internationally for 20 months raising £600,000 slowly via five independent angel and VC investors, while constantly expanding the customer base, business partnerships, influencer network and development teams. 

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

We have the largest equestrian distribution channel in the world. Horse Scout and its strategic partner assets exceeded an 11 million user base in 2019. The worlds’ best equestrian athletes work directly with the agency to support campaigns and the largest equestrian event venues in the UK, EU and US are agency partners.

Being a young entrepreneur – what do you enjoy the most about running your own business?

Being able to work with one hundred percent confidence every day, on projects that feel like me to the core. I love how it challenges me; it has been very tough and has taken eight years to attain stability but I actually enjoy working out how to overcome the challenges. Autonomy is the most important thing in my eyes.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far?

By having no plan B and if you are tenacious enough, you will make plan A work. AKA don’t take no for an answer! If you know your subject, have enough experience and there really is a market opportunity for it, just keep plugging away!

What has been the most exciting and the most challenging experience so far? 

Being selected for Blackbox.vc  2017, after an eight-month process. Only two people from each country could be accepted into the programme – I was running to the plane as soon as the ticket arrived. The accelerator was in Silicon Valley, US and the founder, Fadi Bishara, connected me to the most phenomenal network of founders, proven entrepreneurs and friends.

What is your best tip for starting a business in the sports/tech industry?

Get the MVP heavily tested by an objective group who really represent your target market. Founders get too close to their own projects, they want it to be 'true', they test with friends and family or don’t take the extra few months to curate a true global competitor analysis, which may be very valuable in adapting the approach or causing a complete pivot.

How do you recharge when you’re feeling burnt out?

I recharge by competing (three-day eventing) or calling founders as friends or individuals I loosely mentor. I am 99.99% extrovert and I feel low when I rest so I need to be 'doing' or communicating to feel content. I love working with early stage start-ups, in all areas, as the common problems re-occur – I find doing anything I can to help prevent someone from making a mistake I previously made very rewarding. The start-up journey is very isolating and it can be hard to not feel 'weird' by comparison to people working in corporate environments.

How would you define being an entrepreneur? 

My view of being an entrepreneur is being a person with an innate optimism and strong sense of self belief who is in their element when taking risks or having to prove themselves. 

What is the most exciting business decision you’ve made so far?

Taking my start up to SLUSH in November 2015; 14,000 tech start-up and investment heads all hustling under one roof, and attaining my first VC interest with a letter of intention by Q1 2016 – it was the first domino to fall in the right direction.

And worst?

Over committing to under-experienced developers. My nature is to always see the best in people and want to try and liberate. I had to end up taking out bridging loans and place myself in very highly stressful financial situations due to hiring the wrong heads; sometimes you need more experienced, steady heads. 

Failure has become synonymous with being an entrepreneur. What are your thoughts around failure?

Failure is the best thing that can happen to a person, crisis doesn't create character, it reveals it!