In business, you won’t get very far without faith in ideas. But to have faith in the potential of an unknown, unproven entity in a foreign country requires even more confidence. However, such was the success of the uSwitch.com concept – the UK price comparison website which George Milford Haven founded – that the Marquess of Milford Haven has decided to prove that the concept works across borders.
The Marquess of Milford Haven, to give him his title, also known as George Mountbatten, was one of uSwitch’s founding members at the turn of the millennium. He is also known for being a cousin of the Queen, descendant of Catherine the Great, and one of the most influential figures in the sport of polo.
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Marquess of Milford Haven and uSwitch
Long before the uSwitch.com model was applied in countries such as Turkey and Brazil, the Marquess of Milford Haven and his co-founders – Vipul Amin and former PwC financier Andrew Salmon – chose exactly the right time to corner the UK market. They launched the energy price comparison website just after deregulation which meant that customers were then able to switch energy providers more easily than ever before.
But this business idea, which allowed gas and electricity customers to save themselves hundreds of pounds a year, was a long way away from working in a far flung part of the world.
Eroğlu, a student with big ideas
So how did uSwitch’s foreign escapades come about? uSwitch.com was contacted by a Turkish student who had just been stung by an unexpectedly expensive energy bill. Cagada Eroğlu was studying for his post graduate degree in London, when he realised he could actually save money by taking advantage of the uSwitch.com site.
Eroğlu got thinking about the potential of such a service in his Turkish homeland and got in touch with the Marquess of Milford Haven through the professional online network LinkedIn. Mountbatten was immediately receptive to the idea of a ‘Turkish uSwitch‘ and his team started talks with Eroğlu. He worked with various organisations, equipping him with the experience necessary to start a Turkish price comparison site for the energy market, which would be known as EnCazip Turkey.
It was undoubtedly a gap in the Turkish market which led Mountbatten and co. invest in EnCazip Turkey. It appeared that Turkish consumers were crying out for a platform which gave them the same level of transparency and fairness that uSwitch.com offered the UK market.
Others business models of Marquess of Milford Haven
Speaking to the Tech Inside platform, Onur Orakçıoğlu, EnCazip Turkey’s Managing Partner, makes it clear that EnCazip’s launch has been healthy for Turkish gas and electricity customers as a whole: “We aim not only to find the cheapest electricity tariff for consumers but also to ensure that the competition in the sector develops for the consumer. We do this in a sense by increasing competition. It should not be forgotten that when prices are falling on competitive markets, service quality is rising as well.”
It still remains to be seen whether EnCazip Turkey can reach the same heights as uSwitch, which was eventually sold to US media giant EW Scripps in a £210 million deal. The EnCazip Turkey story proves that with the right leadership, a business model can indeed be effective in two vastly different countries.
Very good business ideas that the Marquess of Milford Haven has had throughout his life.