Reducing environmental impact, with Nick Russill

In this insightful interview, Nick, Co-founder of Snow Forecast (and TerraDat Geophysics):

• Summarises the purpose of his website with an insight of its scale of users and the site’s business model.

• Explains the website’s different revenue streams, and his preference for subscriptions and direct deals over advertising an income revenue.

• Details the turnover of the business and the vast increase in subscribers following the Covid-19 pandemic, recognising the impact of Snow Forecast’s sister websites on the increase in users.

• Recounts how his education and personal life led him and his partners to create forecasts for specialist activities, and the decisions that led them to launch a public website.

• Enthuses about the community served by the website, and that community's impact on decisions they make in operating the website.

• Pinpoints the moment when he realised the business was sustainable and successful, as the website started to create revenue.

• Highlights the new challenges involved operating the five sister websites and shares his hopes for the growth of the websites, and some new innovations for future proofing.

• Stresses the importance of a strong company culture and how their own company culture allows them to turn issues into advantages.

• Reveals lessons he’s learned from the business, including not pursuing side streams that aren’t lucrative, and the importance of consulting other sources for innovation and technical input.