Eighty-Eight of London

Tell us about your business?

Eighty-Eight of London is a boutique piano studio founded in 2016 by concert pianists and classical music entrepreneurs Samantha Ward and Maciej Raginia, creators of International Festival and Summer School PIANO WEEK. With its convenient locations in Soho and Marylebone, the studio provides specialist piano tuition to busy professionals and corporate clients alongside offering the highest possible quality of musical instruction to children as well as online baby classes.

How did the pandemic effect your business?

With COVID-19 forcing the business to suddenly close its doors to all clients attending lessons in person in the city, the company set out on a mission to create the best musical experience for all its clients by incorporating state-of-the-art audio and VoiP technology and launching four streams of new online products: Engage baby, Inspire kids, Relax professional and Captivate corporate. The business needed a brand new website in order to promote the programmes to new clients in the UK and abroad.

What support did you receive?

The ERDF grant awarded to Eighty-Eight of London by the London Business Hub accelerated the launch of the company’s new online products worldwide by way of financing the development of the new website delivered in just under a month.

What would have happened if support was not available?

Without the award from the London Business Hub, facing suddenly depleted resources and heavy disruption to its traditional client base, Eighty-Eight of London would have struggled to tackle the effects of the pandemic, finance the new website, invest in new technology and have enough funds to advertise its new products to individual and corporate clients internationally. Thanks to the London Business Hub’s timely intervention, the company was not only able to survive but it managed to attract new business across Europe, North and South America and Asia. Further developments include launching online baby classes in all time zones and a wider rollout of the Captivate corporate programme across the UK.