About Sal

Hi I’m Salim Virani and I’m an entreprenerd.

I’m into startups (web-based and otherwise), social hacking, and emerging technologies.  I have long applied Agile business practices, and my approach is aligned with frameworks like Rework, Customer Development and Lean Startup.

When I have spare time , I like to experiment with martini recipes, cinematography and geeky stuff like ambient technology.

Consulting

I use customer research and marketing techniques to develop new revenue sources at much lower cost and risk than conventional processes. My expertise is in “Agile” business startup processes such as Lean Startup, direct marketing, customer data analysis, Web 2.0 technology, real-world digital hardware such as digital signage, and community & social network design.

I’ve been lucky enough to work with clients around the world. My clients have included: connect@JWT, Holiday Inn, Best Western, The Metropolitan Police, Nestle, Scott Paper, The People Speak (who pioneer democratic systems and events), and various venues, retailers, charities and consulting practices. I also consult for clients of Flint PR, a leading publishing and arts PR firm in London, and Design HQ, a Canadian design firm specializing in sustainable projects.

I help businesses with product launches, positioning and developing new revenue streams. If you’d like me to get involved with your business, please get in touch.

Around The Corner TV

My startup, Around The Corner, uses video interviews to help travellers find unique and interesting things by personal recommendation. It’s a tech business based on a very human principle – that people identify with others based on social cues, not stats or aggregates.  I’m currently working with a number of hotels internationally, to research and develop this concept.

Clubs & Associations

LKIC – the London Knowledge Innovation Centre, is a business incubator founded by Trevor Baylis and run in partnership with London South Bank University. I became a member of LKIC by invitation, after winning their latest annual Tycoon Bootcamp contest. (It was more like Dragons’ Den than The Apprentice in case you’re wondering!)

The Hospital - The Hospital is a private club for media & art types in Covent Garden.  You can go there in your jeans and order Asahi on tap.

The Hub – Founded in London, The Hub is a worldwide network of values-based businesses and projects.

In the past

In my days as the Digital Media Director at connect@JWT (now rmg:connect), I worked within the Creative and analytics teams to push boundaries and build their interactive capabilities. This approach directly resulted in connect@JWT earning a standing in the AdWeek Top 10 Interactive Agencies.

I founded Hotelicom, a leading provider of customer-facing technology for hotels in Canada;  Divetank, one of Canada’s largest online scuba retailers and Geekmail, an email service provider, and a few other small web-based startups.