Member Article

Shoreditch startup aims to get London chatting

After making the move from hospitality to the financial sector, Irish-born entrepreneur Mark Beehan noticed a significant change in attitudes. He would see the same faces at Clapham Junction every day, yet no one spoke or showed signs of acknowledgement on their daily commute.

That’s when he came up with Chatter Bags, a customisable tote bag with tick-boxes for languages spoken by the wearer. This simply conversation starter has since spiralled into a urban phenomenon.

I spoke to Mark shortly after he’d returned from a trip to Amsterdam exploring European expansion plans, he said: “I spent eight years in the hospitality industry and everyone was so friendly and talkative. Then I made the move to the financial sector in the City, and that’s when I realised how insular the London has become. An increasing number of people are using social media and dating apps to meet people - whatever happened to the old fashioned way?”

Mark set up Chatter Bags from his home in Blackheath, before moving into small offices in Shoreditch with his trusty account manager Katie Burrows in tow.

Chatter Bags has recently expanded its team with the appointment of managing director Thomas Zareba. Mark is proud of his small team and how far they’ve come in such a short time, he said: “While studying abroad in Italy, Katie found meeting new people the hardest challenge and, with Chatter Bags, we are acting as a universal ice-breaker for people from all walks of life.

With a population of 8.6 million people, London can feel like one of the loneliest places in the world and Chatter Bags is hoping to tackle that.“

Despite only launching in December, Mark has seen an influx of interest in his product from consumers and retailers alike, he commented: “We’ve had great success at place like Camden Market. We are also in talks with a larger retailer who will hopefully be stocking our products very soon.

“We are also working with language schools like Lingotastic in Berkshire to get people talking.”

The entirely self-funded venture is growing each day, and Mark remains true to his original goal of inspiring conversation in the City, he said: “If I can get some people connected, in my eyes, we have achieved our goal. I want to roll out in every city in the UK, as this is a product that works best in multicultural urban areas. Also I have just returned from Amsterdam where I have been having some very exciting talks about getting Chatter Bags in mainland Europe.

“We want people to take a step back from their apps and smart phones, and use Chatter Bags as a social tool to get people chatting!”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .