Sarah Haynes

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT SARAH HAYNES

I’m an experienced business operator and owner with over 20 years’ experience – 15 of which have been spent running my own businesses. I’m commercially-minded, focussed on growth and scaling, and I’ve always been a people person. Leading people, inspiring and motivating them has always been a strong skill that I’ve utilised throughout my career and, I believe, has been fundamental to growing the businesses I have been involved with.I started my career in PR and Marketing agencies, working with major FMCG brands as a Senior Account Director before co-founding Thought by Design in 2007 - a multi-skilled design agency, which grew to a team of 10 and counted brands such as Weight Watchers, HSBC, KPMG, Santander, Bremont and Audi among the portfolio. The agency was recognised in 2010 as one of the Top 100 agencies outside of London by RAR (Recommended Agency Register – now part of The Drum).During this time, I met my next business partner, and during the process of advising him on a new app concept, we evolved the idea in to a much bigger, strategic opportunity and Kitchen CUT was born. Kitchen CUT is a back of house technology solution for the hospitality industry. Over the last 10 years it has become a market-leading SaaS product with big name clients such as Hilton, Radisson and Brewdog.My role over the last 10 years has been evolving the day-to-day business operations from small scale start up, through to a business with a team of over 20 and a significant recurring revenue line with international clients. I ensure that all teams within the business are coordinating and focussed on achieving the same goals – this involves managing Sales, Marketing, Client Services, Support and Solutions Consulting functions with key heads of departments and wider teams. My experience gives me the advantage of working hands-on in small-scale start up through adapting to a fast-growth environment and responding to the business need. Understanding how all of the functions need to operate cohesively together and be flexible when building the business in the early stages is critical for success. Inspiring and motivating a team during this phase is equally vital to maintain their buy-in and loyalty.