Sally Corander combined years of experience as a conference professional with a passion for sport to set up a boutique of sporting events and businesses. Her biggest success so far has been the Dubai Dash, the UAE’s first annual corporate relay running race in December last year, where 45 companies participated in teams of 10.The 35-year-old Briton launched Interact Events in March 2014 with a licence from Meydan Freezone. “I’ve worked in conferences and events for over a decade and I’m particularly passionate about the sport industry,” she says. “Prior to starting up Interact, I was heading up the sports and yachting conference division at a global company. I launched Interact because I saw an opportunity to bring together similarly passionate people, together with the relevant authorities (in this case the Sports Councils), to drive new initiatives and effect positive change in the industry. Improving the sport ecosystem and increasing participation in sport, especially at a community level, ultimately benefit all of us.”
Making the leap to entrepreneur was difficult, she says. “I thought about it for over a year beforehand. I sought advice from friends and industry contacts. But most of all I asked people I knew who had made similar decisions. Nobody I spoke to said they regretted it. That was what finally swayed me.”
Among her earliest successes was a series of Sport Industry Forums, organised with the support of the respective Sports Councils in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. “They were closed door, without press, so people felt encouraged to speak freely. They were and I believe still are well received,” she says.
Launching the Dubai Dash after that also tested her personally. “It was a lot of fun but hard work. My daughter Sophie was born in July that year, which meant that I experienced my first six months of parenthood while putting together the Dash. She often accompanied me on site visits, much to the surprise of suppliers!”
It wasn’t easy, however: early funds came from her own savings and she used her credit card if she needed to. Bank funding wasn’t a serious option for her: “After making initial enquiries I could see it wasn’t going anywhere. They are notoriously difficult. I’ve attended conferences and seminars for small business owners and it’s a common complaint from everybody that banks don’t support small enterprises in the way they should.”
After investing a total of Dh70,000, she says she made enough money from her business activities to carry on. “I’m not actively looking for funding. That said, I’ve been approached twice recently by groups wanting to buy into the business as a partner,” she says.
Biggest lesson: Focus on your goals. Chasing too many unrealistic opportunities without focus negatively impacted the business, she says. “It impacted my time spent on high-value activities.”
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