Cocktails with Lauren McClure
What kind of day are you having?
Busy, busy. I’m wearing enough hats to be a circus act!
What’s in your handbag?
My Samsung Galaxy S3, hand sanitiser, Dior kiss lipgloss and lipstick, my business card holder and Extra peppermint gum.
Flats or stilettos?
Flats. I can get around faster and more efficiently and still be stylish.
Who does your hair?
I usually do it myself on a regular basis, but Terry Shoucair does it when it’s in need of some extra TLC or for special occasions.
What perfume are you wearing?
Viktor & Rolf — Flowerbomb.
How would you describe your personal style?
Laid-back. I like to be comfortable in what I’m wearing. I’ll dress up if the occasion calls for it, though.
You recently launched your newest business venture, a site called Blast. Tell us a little about it.
Actually, I’ve been working on this project since college. I graduated from Bryant University in Rhode Island in 2011 and I studied entrepreneurship there, so I knew I always wanted to start my own business and I had been working on the concept of Blast since I was in college. I was inspired by the company Groupon when I was away. The long story is that when I moved back home I started working at an advertisement agency and ended up working with Alex Morissey and we were working on a project for Coca Cola last summer: their summer promotion. It was really in social media and so we started working on that kind of stuff together and I told him about Blast and that’s how we started working on it together full-time, so it’s been a work in progress for a long time and now it’s finally coming to fruition. So I’ve been over the moon about it. It’s been great because everybody I’ve spoken to about the idea has been really receptive and so I’m really happy about that.
Are you trying to build a legacy as an entrepreneur?
Absolutely, I want to build a legacy. I went to school for entrepreneurship, so that’s exactly what I want to do. As I said before, Go Viral is the parent company for Blast and at Go Viral we offer social media and marketing tools and the goal with Go Viral is to become the online marketing innovators in Jamaica. Blast is just the first of an online marketing platform that we are going to be pushing out throughout the year so we are gonna be consistent with the things we are pushing out because we want to be the one-stop shop for online marketing. Having a partner like Alex Morissey is great because he already has a foot in the industry in terms of his reputation as being an expert in social media.
Are you a romantic comedy or action- adventure type of gal?
Depends on what mood I’m in, but definitely I’d say leaning more to the romantic comedy side.
What bad habit would you most like to put in your rear-view mirror?
Definitely biting my nails and not being able to balance; I’d either just put more into work or put more into family but I’ve been getting a lot better at it.
Who inspires you?
Zachary Harding, who was my boss before I started this business, really kind of took me under his wing when I got home and mentored me in many ways. But not only in terms of marketing, because he is a marketing genius, but he also taught me about being in the business world because I was fresh out of college at the time and I think he definitely shaped me into the businesswoman I am today and almost everything I learnt about marketing was through him.
What is your idea of a perfect date?
I’m a very simple girl as I told you, so dinner and a movie work fine for me. I’m a foodie also and I love food, so going to dinner is a passion that I share with my boyfriend; we’re always going out to eat every weekend.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Hopefully, owning a very successful business named Go Viral. I’m not sure if you asked me that last year I’d definitely be able to say, but everything has changed so quickly since then.

