"Ask for help, take criticism and keep believing in what you are building" with Chiara Fraser

Chiara Fraser is the principal co-founder and Brand Manager of Her Roomies, the first accommodation rental platform for women. After a personal experience during a move to Spain, she realized the need for a safe, ‘one-stop shop’ rental space for women. She consulted with her father, a long-time real estate developer, and together they closed the gap in the market and launched Her Roomies in October 2020.

Q. Can you tell our readers about your background? 

I grew up travelling the world with my family as my father was a real estate developer and was constantly moving to the new 'booming' country. I’ve lived in many countries, including Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Spain. Because of moving regularly, I really fell in love with meeting new people and getting to know different cultures. I truly consider myself to be a global citizen. While growing up, the experiences I had led me to my career path of managing large-scale events and community initiatives in international locations. I worked in this field for ten years before launching Her Roomies.  

I began working in events when I was 18 years old and still in university. Over time, I worked my way up the ladder as a freelancer to a full-time project manager role and eventually I was promoted to Even Director, which I loved. I have worked with many global brands such as Hugo Boss, Fred Perry, and GoogleMy main passion and forté continues to be the community aspects of the events - creating festivals that would bring people together in a meaningful way. 

Q. What inspired you to start your business?  

I was moving to Spain was looking to rent an apartment in Barcelona. At the time, I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to rent a room, a flat, or be in a co-living situation, although I had a budget that allowed me to rent any of these.

I couldn’t find a website that offered me all types of accommodations I wanted in one location, nor could I find one platform that really spoke to me as a woman. I was jumping from platform to platform, website to website. Eventually, I joined several social media groups to see different offerings because I felt that I wasn’t finding the additional advice, support, and even listings I wanted on the rental platforms. I kept treating myself as a filter and quickly realized no platform offered women any additional add-on services, catered offerings, or support. It was such an intimidating experience.

On social media groups, I saw many landlords looking to rent to females only and an incredible number of women looking to communicate with other women to find a new roommate or female to share their apartment. So, I thought to myself; there is a clear need and a gap in the market. It’s time women have their own accommodation rental platform that’s created, built, and managed with HER in mind; a safe rental space that caters to us as women and offers us more than what any other platform offers - And Her Roomies was born! 

Q. Where is your business based? 

Her Roomies was founded and is currently based in Spain. However, since we are an online platform with a global reach, we now also have listings and rental offers from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Holland, and Portugal.

Q. How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took? 

I launched Her Roomies with my father. He has over 35 years in the real estate industry, so naturally, when I started to build out the idea and concept, I went to him and asked for his input. He ended up giving me more than just that; he became my co-founder and joined me on the Her Roomies business journey, helping me grow it and establish the brand and concept as it exists today.

The first thing I did was write out the 'need' and problem I believed Her Roomies was and is solving. Writing it down really helped me understand the use case, start building out the characteristics and ethos of what we are and why we exist, and put the steps needed to begin practical and functional milestones. I then asked for as much advice as possible; the startup journey can be an isolating experience, especially at first when you are still unsure how you’re going to move forward and want to keep your cards close to your chest. I soon realized if I didn't talk about it, I would never get the feedback I needed. I’ve found that feedback can be incredibly useful - it helps you see things in different ways and sometimes even pivot into a more viable direction. 

Once my concept and overall business plan were in place, I moved onto the technology side of things - building a website that would translate and offer the concept into a functional platform. This was a process on its own. It was the first time I had ever worked on something like this, and understanding the UX/UI, customer experience, flow, and design of the website was time-consuming and daunting - because Her Roomies is the first of its kind, it was impossible to find an example of an existing website I really loved that I could follow because no other website offers what we do and what we envision providing as a service. Eventually, a design was born, although there is always room for improvement.  

Q. What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?  

Raising awareness of a startup is costly and time-consuming. You need to know your target audience and understand the best way to engage with them. For Her Roomies, outside of the traditional paid marketing campaigns necessary to get a mass audience and start building brand equity, we have found that word of mouth has been highly effective. We have seen a strong female and male community support us, our vision, and our concept. This support has equated to interviews and press and city-wide partnerships, which have allowed us to engage with a broader audience and build brand awareness.  

Q. What have been your biggest challenges, and how did you overcome them? 

The biggest challenge has been building a business with our investments (being 'bootstrapped') and managing the expenses whilst still trying to make an impact. These budget constraints affect every part of the business at these initial stages - the investment available in tech, the marketing spend, and of course, the employee salaries. We overcame this by making very calculated decisions and accepting that some things would need to be revised and improved, but getting started was the first step.

Q. How do you stay focused?

Setting a daily task list and goal helps us stay on top of what needs to be done. It’s also important we manage our tasks based on our strengths and trust each other’s work- but we check on each other’s outcomes to try, and both have an overall understanding of the business. Keeping positive is critical. Some days are harder than others, so keeping your morale high and persevering despite the difficult days helps us stay focused.

Q. How do you differentiate your business from the competition? 

Her Roomies is proudly female-focused – it is made for HER and the first of its kind globally. This would be our main differentiator. Also, we serve women throughout their entire lifetime journey, and we offer all types of accommodation rentals in one location. Her Roomies is also, perhaps most importantly, a community where women can connect.

Q. What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business? 

The most effective marketing strategy has been our paid marketing, as we get the most reach. It’s also the best way to communicate our core messages and USPs. Because we are new to the market, we must deliver a clear and truthful message.

Q. What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs? 

I know it sounds cliché, but don’t give up. Ask for help, take criticism, and keep believing in what you are building. There are really difficult days but important to remember that if it were easy, everyone would do it. I also really believe you need to surround yourself with the best support system you can find. In my case, I work with my father, so I get that support and give that support in return daily, so I’m lucky. 

Q. What's your favourite app, blog, and book? Why? 

My favourite app is Co-Star. I love reading about astrology and understanding more about myself and others through this lens. I don’t have a favourite blog as I read many random ones daily depending on my mood, and as for my favourite book, it has to be Little Women - I love the character building of each of the girls, so unique and strong in their own ways and they love what they share between them despite the ups and downs  

Q. What's your favourite business tool or resource? Why? 

I absolutely love Canva. I’m not a designer, so I find Canva extremely easy and inspiring to use. I love their templates and designs and the fact that it thinks of every possible setup/network you might need a design for and suggest so many nice ones for you. 

Q. Who is your business role model? Why? 

My business role model has to be my father. That is why I’m so grateful to have him on this journey. He is an entrepreneur at heart and always has been. His drive, determination, and 'fighter attitude' are inspirational, and his professionalism above all else, no matter what, is something I hope to follow.  

Q. How do you balance work and life? 

It's definitely not easy. I try and ensure I take time for myself at least once a day. This can mean a walk, a coffee with a friend (pre covid), a Netflix episode, or a hot bath. There always has to be something nice I do to reward myself for all the hard work I put into my daily work routine. Additionally, I try and always make time for a meal with my husband once a day. Sometimes duty calls, and it's just not possible, but in that case, we spend extra time together the day after.  

Q. What’s your favourite way to decompress?  

It depends on the day, but a nice long walk always does the trick. During COVID, I try walking as much as possible with my best friends, so I can also catch up, chit-chat vent, and decompress all in one go! That brings me lots of joy, especially when they have their doggies with them! 

Q. What do you have planned for the next six months?  

The next six months are critical. We are launching an equity crowdfunding campaign in the coming weeks. Once the campaign is over, we will launch our new website and propel the business forward with new talent and marketing initiatives. It will be a very intense but very exciting stage! 

Q. How can our readers connect with you? 

They can connect with me on LinkedIn – Chiara Fraser and follow us on social media @herroomiesofficial. I would love for them to reach out and connect, and if interested, maybe even support us on the crowdfunding campaign. They can sign up for our newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/7c479da88ff9/herroomies