sell sell

unreasonable people
Photo and introduction
by JON STEVENS
www.jonstevensphotography.com
julie walters
the founder of
Raremark
How did you realise you’re an entrepreneur?
It took me a long time to realise it. I kind of stumbled
into running my first business when my children were
small and I wanted to do something different. Then I
started spending time with lots of other entrepreneurs
and realised we were all the same crazy people: risk
takers, determined and relentlessly (and sometimes
hopelessly) optimistic.
Any crazy stories?
I started as a journalist in Australia before coming
to London to work on Fleet St. I was lucky enough to
be sent to the 1991 Gulf war as a very junior reporter
based in Saudi Arabia for a few months and then
into the first week of a free Kuwait. It was exciting,
exhausting and at times quite dangerous - a bit like
being en entrepreneur!
What was the stupidest idea you ever had?
I have many daft ideas: thankfully most of them
never get to happen as my more conservative
husband is a very useful filter! I'd love to build
Australian-style homes in Britain but the weather
might be an issue.
How did you end up making Raremark? How did
it start?
Raremark has been in my mind for years and I've
gone down many wrong paths before figuring out
how to do it well. After journalism, I did a degree in
molecular genetics, figuring out how to cut up bits of
DNA, and then started to communicate about why
science was important and its relationship to health.
In many ways, healthcare is about 20 years behind
everything else on the net so there is a huge need to
connect people with the latest science.
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the
unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
Why did you decide to focus on rare diseases?
The biggest need for accurate information in health is in rare disease, which
affects fewer than one in 2,000 people. People with a rare disease may have
not met anyone else with the same condition and it's unlikely their doctor knows
much either so internet becomes their most valuable information source.
Describe in 20 words what Raremark offers.
Raremark is a trusted and valuable community in rare disease. We connect
people with information and others who can help. We launch in November.
If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
More empowered women. I come from a long line of strong Australian
women who literally had to carve a new nation out of the bush. When women
are real participants in the world, extraordinary things happen.
How important is the sales aspect of your business?
Sales are the lifeblood of any business: without sales, you're dead.
George Bernard Shaw
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