Steve Tannahill, founder of Tattoo Hero, connects new customers with some of the most experienced tattoo artists in the city.
Ottawa-area tattooists may become part of an expanding network of professional tattoo artists, thanks to a new online networking service and Little Italy’s InvestOttawa.
Three months after the end of Ottawa’s second Start-Up weekend, some of the winners are close to launching their businesses. The contestants were not limited to the stereotypical image of businessmen in suits.
First prize went to Tattoo Hero, a service which organizes consultations and appointments between the best tattoo artists in Ottawa and customers.
“Right now, we’re deep in the development of our website,” says Tattoo Hero owner Steve Tannahill. “We’re hoping to have it out in the first quarter of the year.”
The goal is to make finding the right tattooist easy for customers. Ottawa has more than 20 tattoo shops and the city has recently had to hire more inspectors to meet the demand.
The Tattoo Hero team has been focusing on building a set of contacts with help from Start-Up Ottawa, which organized the November weekend, and InvestOttawa, which helped organize and donate prizes for Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Teams of 12 were formed organically based on the top ideas. Then teams put together their business plan and pitched them to seasoned entrepreneurs.
Start-Up Ottawa has provided the winners with mentors, experts, promotion, and tips for dealing with investors.
InvestOttawa provided, as of November, three months of office space to Tannahill and his team on Aberdeen just off Preston. Gowlings LLP, an Ottawa law firm, offered $1,000 of legal support.
“They’re definitely on the right track. They just had a campaign they did through Indiegogo,” says Cheryl Draper, one the organizers for Start-up Ottawa.
“They’re definitely gaining a lot of traction and developing their brand.”
Indiegogo is an online crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter. Interested consumers can donate money to a business or project in the hope of seeing it come together.
“A lot of artists have been really receptive to the idea,” says Tannahill. “Now, we’re trying to build up their portfolios through our photoshoots.”
The pictures..are put up on Tattoo Hero’s website and used to showcase the diverse range of tattooing talent in Ottawa.
They also use events like this to generate buzz about their business.
“We’ve been using them for a bit of marketing,” says Waselnuk. “Maybe 80-85 per cent of the people at the events sign up for our newsletter.”
In the future, Tattoo Hero plans to launch an online store similar to the popular www.etsy.com portal, which offers handmade products and other items.
Then they will begin charging for online consultations and offer limited-run pieces of merchandise.
Waselnuk plans to only issue 100-150 of each piece of merchandise before switching designs.
Tannahill admits that figuring out where the money comes from can be a challenge. More revenue generators are in development and will be announced later this year. For now the mood is that of cautious optimism.
“The overall idea behind Tattoo Hero is a good one,” says Shawn Carrier of Centretown’s tattoo parlour The Ink Spot. “But there won’t be a way to know for sure until it goes live.”
Registration is now open for Ottawa’s next Start-Up weekend, which will be held on May 24 at 126 York St.