Catterick based business Funky Trade launches this January after being in development for just under a year.
24-year-old Katy Emmett a ex-student from Richmond School and Sixth Form, is set to run and manage Funky Trade.
Katy who specialises in events management and marketing saw the need for Funky Trade whilst working for a major exhibition company in the North East and Yorkshire.
The idea of Funky Trade began development this time last year and the business was launched at the start of January 2022. Designed by local software developer and entrepreneur from local tech business We Scan Tickets.
The new tech startup is funded by events management company Mighty Events with managing director Bruce Emmett. Bruce has been a resident of the Richmond area for the last 25 years and has a wealth of event experience.
Bruce Emmett, Co Founder, said:
It’s been in development for just under a year, but I’ve had the idea for several years, and I am thrilled to finally make it a reality.
Funky Trade, a free to use automated management system designed for organisers to sell exhibition stands, event trade pitches and event catering. Designed to remove the need of printed off applications and constant chasing of payments and insurance documents. Funky Trade can be used by anyone that requires selling a trade stand for the likes of festivals, markets, exhibitions and catering.
Katy Emmett, Co Founder, said:
After experiencing the process of a few different event businesses I couldn’t believe the systems used to sell trade stands, surely printing off hundreds of applications and chasing constant PLI and payments wasn’t the best way of doing it!
I’ve run events for the last 10 years, and booking in trade is a nightmare – from spreadsheets to constant emails.
I require 3 documents from each trader, some which expire, such as gas certificates if they are catering, insurance documents and risk assessments.
It’s a lot to keep on top of! Funky Trade fixes all of these issues as it’s all automated with reminders on expiry dates and automated emails, it’s been designed by a team of event organisers for that very reason, each feature is as important as the last and it’s been designed to massively reduce the workload of an events organiser.
Katy Emmett is from Richmond North Yorkshire and has office base is in Catterick.
Katie said:
From the age of 4 years old I’ve been dropped in the events industry, my family started running Music Festivals since I could remember and I’ve been a big part of the business since I was about 17 years old – juggling college and Uni at the same time.
I’m now 24 and I went full time for Mighty Events (My family’s business) late last year and just this month we’ve launched Funky Trade.
Originally an in-house system I’ve worked with Mighty Events to get it launched to the whole events industry.
There’s really nothing quite like it on the market, so I’m really excited to see where it goes!
The business already has the likes of music festivals, dog shows and car shows on board. Funky Trade is currently running for FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) Start up of the year and Business and Innovations Award.
Mighty Events has been using a basic version of it for a number of years. The system adds a 6% booking fee on each booking which the trader pays for when they pay for their stand, meaning if they don’t sell a trade stand you don’t pay for it.
