In conversation: talking business
Have you ever harboured a dream of starting your own business? If you’d like some inspiration from two who have done just that, read on. Euan Cameron (MA 2010) is co-founder of Willo, the video interviewing company that allows candidates and recruiters to connect asynchronously. He chats to final-year Business & Management student Maria Sol Vargas, whose startup GlassGrid is focused on making smart energy meters more efficient.
Sol: I’d love to hear about your background and how it has connected with your role as an entrepreneur at Willo?
Euan: Sure – well, my career spans 15 years. When I graduated in 2010, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I’d studied business and marketing, so I landed a graduate digital marketing role at a car company. They were all traditional, so their entire marketing universe was radio and newspaper ads, as well as billboards. They took me on as their first graduate hire ever, as an experiment – I didn’t know much either, it was all very new to me, but I jumped in, built a website, created a social media presence, and got them online. The website became their main asset.
Sol: Sounds like you learned a lot early on, in a short space of time.
Euan: Definitely. That role taught me how to adapt and figure things out, which is essential in entrepreneurship. I later moved on to build my marketing career, focusing on data-driven decisions. I learned the importance of testing, and that mindset really helped when I founded Willo. It was off the back of everything I’d learned so far.
"I was hiring a team around me, and it was really difficult. People were not showing up for interviews, or turning up late. I thought, 'there has to be a better way', so I decided to start a company that basically solved that problem. That was Willo – and I was customer number one. – Euan
Sol: My main aspiration is to eventually own my own business – it started because I did a couple of entrepreneurship competitions. Before those, I thought the whole thing would be so difficult, but the competition gave me a structured path – a milestone here, a milestone there. And then I started working on my startup, GlassGrid, which is about making energy usage more efficient. Sometimes when you have a smart meter, you don’t really know what goes into your energy bills – is it the TV or another appliance that’s running them up? I was experiencing this myself and so were some of my friends, so I thought, “Oh, this is something I want to work on”.
Sol and Euan chatted in the new Adam Smith Business School, which has a spectacular view towards the Gilbert Scott Building.
Sol: We’re in the pivoting stage right now and I’m looking to get a graduate job as a stopgap – but ultimately, it has shown me that entrepreneurship is what I want to do in the long run. So how did Willo evolve once you'd had the initial idea?
"It's kind of crazy that I'm sitting here with you – I have been using Willo to do all my graduate job applications! – Sol
Euan: Well, it started as a way to simplify hiring. We’ve developed over four years, and now AI is at the core of what we do. We handle three billion minutes of video content annually, and AI helps make that data digestible – transcribing interviews, creating summaries, and providing insights for our customers. It’s incredible how much AI has transformed what’s possible in such a short time.
Sol: It's inspiring to hear how much it has grown. Do you think back to your time at the Adam Smith Business School – does anything stick out in your mind that you remember from your degree?
Euan: I loved the psychology and marketing parts of my course at the ASBS in particular – there was one called The Art of Influencing. I loved that course.
Sol: Oh, I’m taking that course next term!
Euan: Are you? You’ll love it! Yeah, I didn’t realise how relevant it would be in my life until a few years after university – like the way you can sell to people and the way you can convince people to help you and build a team around you. People ask me, in mentorship situations, what they should be reading, and I just say, “Read more psychology books!” Businesses are all about people and it’s good to learn about how they operate, how to read people.
"I remember some really interesting projects from my time at the ASBS – one where you had to go out and convince somebody to do something for you. I went to a bike shop and managed to persuade the owner to repair my bike for free. – Euan
Sol: What excites you most about carrying on your business into the future?
Euan: I love solving problems and building impactful solutions. For me, it’s about finding challenges I’m passionate about, especially those with social impact. Entrepreneurship is a journey – pivoting, learning, and creating something meaningful along the way.
Sol: I feel the same! I have so many ideas, but I need to narrow my focus.
Euan: You’ll get there. Keep exploring and pivoting until you find the right fit. The beauty of entrepreneurship is that every step teaches you something valuable.
This article was first published in January 2025.