reboxed is a sustainability-focused refurbished and pre-owned tech brand based in Brixton, South London.
Its mission? To rehome 100 million devices by 2030. This month, as part of Ignition Law’s ‘Igniting The Spark‘ series, we spend five minutes with reboxed’s co-founder Phil Kemish talking about the key moments that defined his career and business journey.
reboxed was founded by Phil Kemish and Matt Thorne, friends who had worked together for over a decade. Previously, Matt co-founded GRM Daily, the UK’s premier urban music brand, and together with Phil built Disrupt Marketing, one of the UK’s leading social and influencer marketing agencies.
reboxed sells sustainability-focused refurbished and pre-owned tech
The moment that ignited the spark in me to start a business was…
I got ripped off trying to buy a refurbished laptop for my last business and that was it – I knew there needed to be an easier, trusted way to buy pre-owned tech. Later, I also found that e-waste was the fastest growing waste stream in the world and I knew I had to try and do something about that too.
The toughest challenge I’ve faced is (and how you overcame it)…
Building a business during the pandemic was pretty tough: raising funds over Zoom, hiring staff you’ve never met in person and trying to be creative while dealing with the outside pressures that come with a lockdown.
The only way through is to keep going, stay focused and try to look at the bigger picture of why you’re doing it.
My best tip for doing this? Surround yourself with people that keep you positive and motivated – and try to keep a balance between work and life. As hard as that is, you’ve got to try and enjoy the process.
The biggest success has been…
Launching our first product and watching it scale.
I sometimes describe reboxed as a business baby because it was in concept research for over a year and then it was alive, with people buying phones and telling their friends about us. I’m so proud of the organic traction the brand has had.
I’m very good at…
Bringing people together and energising the team. I often say that the CEO should really stand for Chief Energy Officer as that’s what I feel my main job is: finding the energy to power the business and keeping the energy flowing in the right direction.
The type of person I look to recruit is…
Someone that shares our values and believes in the way we see the world as well as someone that can grow and lead. I like hustlers and problem solvers; in a small team, you need people that can wear a few hats and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.
The part of my day I most look forward to is…
Chatting to the team and selling the business to new people. Being in lockdown, I miss the buzz of people so I’m always excited to connect with other humans and share our idea.
When I get a chance, I also enjoy working on the creative side and collaborating with others to make the brand come alive.
If I could give fellow entrepreneurs one piece of advice it would be…
Remember to enjoy the ride. It’s so easy to forget to celebrate the small wins or give yourself a break, especially without the culture of physical teams. Take time to reflect and recharge so you have the energy to go all out again.
Outside of work I can be found…
Travelling used to be my thing but obviously that’s harder in the current climate. It’s been replaced by red wine and the PlayStation when I need some down time.
My philosophy on life is…
I love mantras and adopt different ones at different times to keep growing and evolving. My current philosophy, which is helping me keep the focus for 2021, is “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new”.
