Brawta Living, the promotions company founded by William Massias, hosted a successful launch recently.

The company, registered in March 2015, first went live in October 15 silently. Since then, CEO Massias has built a solid foundation and team, offering Jamaicans a little “brawta” for their money.

The launch took place at the Eden Gardens Restaurant and Spa in New Kingston and welcomed various members of the media and other guests who were privy to an open mini-interview, after which the audience could ask questions. There was also a live demo of how to successfully use the Brawta Living website.

Brawta comes from the Jamaican term meaning “a little extra”. “I was looking for a Jamaican word that would resonate with our local market and give us the ability to use and market it in the region,” said Massias.

The concept behind the company is to offer customers up 50 per cent discounts or more on various lifestyle services such as hotel stays, spa visits, restaurants, and adventure tours.

Past offers have included Kas Creole Beach Resort, Express Gym, Tea Tree Creperie and Yaaman Tours, to name a few. “Our mission is to help our merchants grow their customer base while we help the consumer receive the best deals from their favourite businesses,” shared Massias.

Brawta Living’s best deal to date was with Jam West, in which they sold over 230 offers.

“They are extremely happy. They are so full from what we’ve done that all their weekends are booked till next January,” said Massias.

Massias waited two years to launch officially, as he wanted to take his time and not rush the process. “I wanted to make sure that we were ready.We’ve learnt so much in two years. Now we’re in a great position, we have a great team, a secure website that’s very robust. Now we know we are ready,” he explained.

A 25-year banking professional, he started the company after taking a seven-year hiatus. In only two years, he has now built a 14-member team and a solid e-commerce business. He joked that he initially thought it would be something that he could do while working from home, but the company just continued to expand. “Now we have a beautiful office at Central Avenue.”

When asked at the launch what made Brawta special, Massias highlighted the company culture, which he described as a “culture of happiness”.

Another differentiator, he stated, between Brawta and the competition was that, while other companies try to lock merchants into long-term contracts, they believe that merchants should be free to use the services of whomever they choose.

Massias used the launch to highlight the importance and opportunity that e-commerce is presenting to the Caribbean, and to share that it represents access to the world.

“Can you imagine where companies in Jamaica had a way of showing their products to the world? Open it up to Europe, China, because all these countries are opened up. Other companies are opened up to everybody else, so why can’t we be opened up to them?”

He also explained that when he first got the idea for Brawta Living, he observed that others had failed to succeed because of timing. There was not yet the possibility of an easily available local means of payment, and also a lesser proliferation of capable smartphones. But now the time is ripe.

When asked by attendees about recommendations for success, Massias pointed out that the reason for failure of many Jamaican businesses was their lack of sufficient capital or proper structure. He explained the critical importance of such things, including a proper business plan.

“Jamaicans are very, very entrepreneurial, but are often under-capitalised. You also need the right knowledge. Someone who can guide you along as a mentor, and people who can help you if you get into trouble. You have to have good governance, good directors.” He also encouraged people to share ideas and seek guidance. “Don’t just take your ideas and hug it up, you have to get people involved, find people who can invest in your idea…if not, you’re just a person with a good idea that will go nowhere.”