Meet the Director - Virgin Experience Days
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MEET THE DIRECTOR VIRGIN EXPERIENCE DAYS

The private equity experience

Danni Rush, Chief Operating Officer at Virgin Experience Days, talks to business journalist Nicholas Neveling about the variety of her role at the Equistone-backed business, why she loves the private equity model and the story behind the company’s continued growth.

Danni Rush, Chief Operating Officer, Virgin Experience Days

NN: How would you describe Virgin Experience Days?

DR: Virgin Experience Days is a leading e-commerce business that provides a large range of curated experiences and inspiring gift ideas. Our business is a platform that aggregates and creates experiences with a number of different partners that clients can purchase and then gift, both in the UK and the US.
 
NN: As COO, what are your key focus areas?

DR: I’ve been with the business for five years and I’ve got a pretty broad role with functional responsibility across a number of different areas. There are three pillars that I try to ensure I align our focus towards: our people, our customers and our partners and suppliers.
 
This includes, driving an entrepreneurial culture that enables innovation, but also the ability to execute at speed. There is also great value in really making sure that everybody has a voice. We have a super flat structure; people are clear on their goals, and they can execute. The impact you can have as an individual in the business is really significant. You can wake up in the morning with an idea and deliver it in the afternoon. Fostering that culture is a big part of my role.
 
The second part is around our customer proposition and what makes us a great platform to go for – extraordinary and everyday gifting. In the UK, our category is quite established. People understand what an experience gift is. In the US it is slightly different, but we are using our great brand and solid playbook to lead the category growth.
 
I spend a good chunk of time thinking about why and what you would buy from us. I have spent lots of time talking to customers and looking at customer insights to shape our product set and our innovation strategy for the future.
 
Finally, there are our partnerships. Traditionally, our sector is relationship-based and it hasn’t really moved on like some other sectors. Many of our partnerships are with people that the team has known for a long time. We pride ourselves on making sure that the relationship is very embedded, very strategic, and that as we grow, we support our partners to grow.

The impact you can have as an individual in the business is really significant. You can wake up in the morning with an idea and deliver it in the afternoon. Fostering that culture is a big part of my role.

NN: You have held roles at various public and private equity-backed businesses. What distinguishes the latter?

DR: The pace and the hunger for growth in mid-size private equity is definitely attractive to me. I like that kind of energy. You are clear there is a plan to exit and what that looks like from a strategic point of view, but there are obviously yearly goals that need to be focused on and achieved. It is a great way to work, and it really drives me to deliver the right outcomes for the short and long term.
 
One thing I say to my team who are newly into private equity is that the ability to have an impact in a business that is private equity owned, like ours, within a five-year timeframe, is significant and career changing. You have to be way more accountable, and there is obviously challenge and pressure that comes with it, but if you are ambitious and you like that pace of working, then it is a really exciting and very rewarding.

Track driving with drift limits gift day experience.
Track driving with drift limits gift day experience.
We were very clear on what we needed from a partner going forward, and from the moment we met Equistone, they were definitely at the top of our list.

NN: When did you first met the team at Equistone?

DR: My colleagues and I first met Equistone early in 2022, and we would go on to complete a deal in July 2022. We met Steve O’Hare, Richard Briault and Will Copeland in some initial meetings. I was really keen to get under the skin of how the partner we would choose operated. I knew that I would need to have a very close relationship with them, and therefore the culture of how that private equity house works was important to us. We were very clear on what we needed from a partner going forward, and from the moment we met Equistone, they were definitely at the top of our list.
 
Equistone’s culture is very aligned to the culture of our business. We have absolutely great relationships with the team and work really closely with them on a day-to-day basis.

Equistone's Richard Briault, Will Copeland and Steve O'Hare.
Equistone's Richard Briault, Will Copeland and Steve O'Hare.

NN: What does the rising cost-of-living mean for your business, and how are you adapting?

DR: While gifting can be categorised as discretionary, it’s not what our data shows. Consumers have cut back in other areas. People will still celebrate milestone events and birthdays and want to gift accordingly, and what we offer is a wide range of experiences and price points that accommodate all budgets. There is pressure on consumer spending, but our product proposition sits quite nicely to support customers to find a great gift.
 
NN: What do you see as the strategic drivers of company’s long-term growth?

DR: We created the gifting experience category in the UK and we expect this momentum to continue. The US opportunity is also hugely exciting with great growth potential. We are sharpening the focus on target cities and regions, expanding our product portfolio and expanding our demand generation reach through multiple channels. There is so much growth to go for.
 
We are also focusing on growing our omnichannel offering. The business has been D2C (direct-to-consumer) focused in the past, but we are also seeing a great opportunity in retail partnerships, online and instore and also in B2B (business-to-business). We’ve launched a new product this year – a multi-choice gift card under our B2B brand, Virgin Incentives.

City cruise with afternoon tea gift day experience.
City cruise with afternoon tea gift day experience.

NN: What advice would you have for management team executives about to work with a private equity investor for the first time?

DR: Keep your eyes on the end goal. Be clear on the exit story and what proposition will be compelling to the next potential buyer, whenever that might be.
 
Also, get under the skin of the business and know the numbers. I understand all of the commercial levers in the business, what they mean, how they’re growing, and that really helps me make quick decisions.
 
You also have to be prepared to roll up your sleeves. And buckle up. It’s a ride, as it is in any other business, but because of the pace and the need to grow and the acceleration of that, you need to be prepared to ride the wave and try and have some fun along the way. ☐

A full version of this article appeared in PLATFORM 10, Winter 2023/24