Wendy McMillan

Updated March 2010

Anyone who has ever had to tackle pressing legal, educational or financial issues knows that the first question is simply: who to ask? 34-year-old Wendy McMillan has decided to come up with an answer through a virtual marketplace for professional services, an eponymous initiative that gets queries sorted with ease.

‘Most people look for an adviser through word-of-mouth before resorting to search engines or directories, but these solutions are either geographically restrictive or else come without personal recommendations,’ Wendy explains. ‘Who to Ask? gives handy access to professionals located all over the country, on an Internet platform where clients can review the services on offer to be sure they are choosing the right advisor.’

Many heads in the cloud!

Wendy’s interest in delivering services from the ‘cloud’ has been inspired by her experience in telecommunications and consulting and a belief that the network is the ideal place for flexibility. It opens the marketplace up to those who have been left in the wings, such as graduate students, retired or semi-retired professionals, mothers with time constraints and people in remote locations, all of whom can now use it to bring in extra revenue. ‘There are so many people out there who would love to earn some extra money from their skills and knowledge, but they need someone to bring down the technical, logistical and financial barriers involved in running a small business.’

One-stop, person-to-person

Who to Ask? does just that by giving suppliers a one-stop site to promote their services, hold video-conference consultations with clients, handle payment via credit card or Paypal and develop feedback and file-sharing, all at a very low cost. ‘By aggregating numerous small companies that use the same tools it becomes highly affordable for each individual.’

Suppliers can set up their space on the platform for free and are charged on a commission basis once they generate revenue from their clients. More importantly, it’s simple as pie to use, a big plus for suppliers and customers alike: ‘Most people don’t understand coding,’ reminds Wendy, ‘nor should they need to!’

Making social sense

With educational costs rising, the baby-boom generation heading into retirement and tomorrow’s pensions looking increasingly vulnerable, the potential social benefits of this kind of platform are a prime motivation for Wendy, who grew up in South Africa during apartheid and has always felt passionately about people having freedom and opportunity. The pleasure of doing it alone with a small structure is also a personal plus for her: ‘One of the great things about working with smaller companies is you can make changes rapidly and just try things out,’ she says.

Currently in early start-up phase, the platform will initially launch in the UK only, but Wendy is keen to see it go global and start helping people further afield: ‘I’m really excited about the social impact it can bring. I would truly love to see people in developing countries able to easily access professional skills from around the world.’ So now you know who to ask!