3 Minute Interview: Daren Daniels, founder of Redblok

Describe yourself in three words. Creative, happy and lucky. When you were at school, what did you want to be and why? I think like most people I wasn't really sure; most people thought I was going to be a sportsman. I loved creating and thinking differently, in both art and photography. It wasn't until I started working for a retail jeweller that I had the chance to teach myself how to use a computer and this gave me all the tools I needed. When I started down the path to becoming a registered valuer I discovered gemmology and realised that this is the trade for me. How did you get to be where you are today? Hard work and being creative, but most of all is having the most amazing fiancée who totally underrates herself. I was fortunate to have been involved, in the early days, of a new startup company called On-line Appraiser, centralising valuation data in the cloud. I learnt so much back then about brand and image,and gained many contacts. Which aspect of your job do you enjoy and why? I enjoy creating and helping develop new ideas as well as helping those around me to achieve their goals too. I've always had a broad range of skills and have been very fortunate to have found a trade that suits me, I love this industry and want to help it develop. What is your proudest achievement? My children and each day with my fiancée; becoming a registered valuer; promoted to sales and marketing director of Bransom and now launching Redblok. What is the best advice you've been given in work or in life in general? About 15 years ago, I was told by Tony Woods: “It's not a deal until the money is in the bank”. I actually took this a step further - even when you have the money the deal is never over, you never stop working on it, that’s when the work starts. The other advice was from Alison Mardel: “We all bring something new to the table, not everyone will understand our view so don't try and change everything in one go. Some companies need to be changed one step at a time.” What is your next goal? To build Redblok into an industry-leading business and service to help jewellers engage with their customers in a regular, relevant and meaningful manner. The Watch App has such huge potential to revolutionise the pre-owned watch market for B2B commerce, the plan is to develop it into a global service for all dealers and retailers. I can't leave out the most important goal, I've been engaged for over 10 years, I hope we can get married one day, on the beach, just us and our boys. This article first appeared in the November 2017 issue of Jewellery Focus