People’s Champion finalist 2017: Mous

Start-up name: Mous
Founders: James Griffith and Joshua Shires
Started in: March 2015
Based in: Ipswich
Business description: Online store which manufactures and sells protective iPhone cases and accessories

Shortlisted categories:

Crowdfunded Business of the Year, Exporter of the Year, Product Business of the Year

The Mous story:

There’s few bigger first world problems than cracking the screen on your brand-new iPhone, and if there’s one thing Mous know about – it’s just that.

Finding that standard slim phone cases aren’t protective, and protective phone cases are ugly, the Ipswich-founded start-up has tested the iPhone’s resilience to being dropped from everything from 45ft high cranes to Waterloo Bridge in a bid to offer consumers the most protective phone cases on the market.

Not compromising on looks either, Mous offers a range of iPhone covers in walnut, bamboo, black marble, black leather, carbon fibre and more – with each purchase coming with a free magnetic wall mount.

Available on the iPhone 6 and 7 models, Mous’ advanced impact material AiroShock contains thousands of micro air pockets that absorb the impact when a smartphone comes crashing to the ground – with added protection coming via a steel plate.

Founded by James Griffith and Joshua Shires, the former is a University of Leeds graduate with a degree in mathematics and previously worked for Proctor & Gamble and was commercial manager of the Braun electrical UK.

While the latter has a degree in mechanical engineering from Oxford Brookes University.

Operating between their offices in Hackney and in Shenzen, China, the duo moved to the far East early-on in their start-up journey to do consultancy work for European businesses and to “pay the bills”.

Initially launching a range of accessories on Indiegogo, Mous’ original offering sold $2.4m worth of stock, a feat the start-up claims is the “most successful iPhone case campaign ever.”

Increasing its headcount from five people to 25 in just six months, the product design and manufacturing start-up is already developing a new wireless charging range for the iPhone 8.

Why Mous made our shortlist:

Operating in an incredibly competitive market, (searching “iPhone case” on Amazon returns six million results), Mous already ships to over 100 countries across the globe with 80% of all sales going to consumers outside the UK.

Running marketing campaigns in everything from Korean to Portuguese, the two and half year old  business already looks to have all bases covered.

Where to find out more about Mous:

Website: www.mous.co
Twitter: @MousCase