A Q&A with Paul Noble, co-founder of Spiritland. The northern end of King’s Cross is quietly growing into a bit of a musical hub, with Gearbox Records and Mark Ronson’s studio both in close proximity. The latest addition to the area is Spiritland, the brainchild of Paul Noble; a cafe-workspace by day, bar and live music venue by night, and …
Alan Yau: The tastemaker does tech
Wagamama founder Alan Yau is one of London’s best known restaurant operators. He’s about to launch an app that he says will be the opposite of Tripadvisor and Yelp. Not long after Naamyaa opened just by the corner of Angel tube station, a scathing review came out from restaurant critic Jay Rayner, panning the ‘infantile palate’ of its excessively ‘sweet and …
Turning tinned fish and a tuk-tuk into startup success
Three Lisboetas have used their branding skills to put a modern twist on Iberia’s traditional tinned fish using snappy packaging, a kitchen-less restaurant and a tuk-tuk. Selling fish in tins wasn’t the original game plan. Tiago Ribeiro and his twin sister Bárbara Cabral had launched their own branding firm back in 2005. But business began to dry up as the …
Area Guide: Marvila, Lisbon
With nightclubs and bars sprouting up to meet the demand of northern European city-breakers and stag trips, there’s no denying that Lisbon is becoming overrun with young groups of tourists. Yet it is, nevertheless, one of Europe’s most talked-about startup cities; essentially Berlin but with sun. Cheap rents have seen a surge in the number of creatives and aspiring tech …