Getting celebrities to endorse your product may seem a stretch when starting a new business – However it’s possible and this is how we gathered celebrity endorsements in our fight against education inequality.

Will Adoasi is the founder of ‘Vitae London‘ – a watch company that buys school uniforms for children in South Africa with the sale of its watches.

The London-based watch brand gives 10% of its monthly sales proceeds to a South African based charity ‘House of Wells’ to support children through school.

Each purchased watch supplies a child with two sets of school uniform, a bag and footwear to see them through the year.

Since launching his ethical startup in 2015, celebrities such as Richard Branson, Emeli Sande and Paloma Faith have shown their support for the brand’s mission in getting social justice for children in Africa.

Will shares his top three tips on how to get celebrity endorsements for your ethical business:

“Find Celebrities With Shared Interests”

We are selling a high-end product and we also have a commitment to supporting charity – specifically education in Africa. 

We needed to find celebrities whose interests – and those of their followers – fitted with ours. We did this by reaching out on social media to the celebrities we felt would be interested in what we were doing and also like our style.

We supply school uniforms to school children in Africa and it was the news about how much we were doing that led Richard Branson asking me to join his team of Virgin Startup Ambassadors. This, of course, got other people interested in our company.

“Use Your Luck”

Sometimes you can just be lucky. I didn’t expect to meet rapper ‘Big Sean’ in Nandos. Because I took the opportunity to chat to him he decided to endorse the brand.  When unexpected opportunities appear you need to be brave and grab them.

In these situations it helps if you have a message that is very easy for people to understand.  You need a couple of sentences that explains what you’re offering and why it’s interesting, and unique. 

With only a few words, you can paint a powerful picture that helps your message stick. This is particularly important when talking to celebrities who are bombarded with people wanting their attention. 

“Have Faith”

You need to believe in your company and its mission and show your enthusiasm at all times.  If your belief is genuine, and your values are strong, this will come across to celebrities and the other people your contact and meet. Even as a startup with limited cash you can make things happen.

Images: Vitae London