Newsletter | May 2010 | Career development

What do ex-W.A. Ellis staff do once they leave? Go on to set up a successful DotCom business of course!

Central London Estate Agent to top van driver to the internet world – a direction not all ex-estate agents may follow but Angus Elphinstone found by default.  After working for two years in the Flat Department at W A Ellis, Angus attempted to create his own property investment company but unfortunately within weeks realised that this was not a viable proposition.  In the interim he invested in a "white van" and employed two or three tough Australians to move various objects and furniture from one location to another.  During the early stages of "White Van Gentlemen" the majority of his work was by word of mouth and Angus was able to build a strong reputation of reliability and punctuality.

Demand grew and "White Van Gentlemen" was officially incepted with the arrival of a second larger van.  WVG has gone from strength to strength and Angus witnessed an ever growing need for items to be shipped at a much lower cost than many of his competitors.  He also realised that it was cheaper to transport two people's possessions at any one time and to offer the customer a considerable saving. 

In 2009 Angus created "Anyvan" – the one-stop web-based tool that acts as a transport catalogue for the general public which enables customers to book removals and transportation via the internet.  The idea was to fill a van with more than one customers' items to be moved to the same or nearby area/location thus cutting costs and at the same time promoting an eco-friendly service.

I was determined there was a need for a cost-competitive company which was a service and transport provider for the general public as well as a customer bank for the transport companies and Anyvan would appear to fill this requirement.

http://www.anyvan.com/completed-deliveries