Business ideas can emerge in boardrooms, from market gaps, or even during a crisis. For Jamie Conway, CEO of WhyBuy, inspiration struck in a kitchen cupboard—specifically, in the form of a chocolate fountain he hadn’t used since 2012.

“I bought it for a New Year’s Eve party years ago,” Conway explained from his London flat. “It’s perfectly functional, but I’ve never used it again. I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. That’s when it hit me—how much stuff do we own that we never actually use?”

This realisation sparked WhyBuy: a service designed to let people rent high-quality products only when they need them. Initially envisioned as a tools and household appliance rental platform, the concept quickly evolved—especially under the unexpected influence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If you'd asked me pre-Covid, I would’ve said we’re a tools company,” said Conway. “It was all about hiring a ladder, a paint stripper, or a hardwood floor cleaner. But when the pandemic hit, things changed. Suddenly, people were renting projectors for home movie nights, or karaoke machines for at-home parties. We pivoted—WhyBuy became about upgrading your lifestyle.”

And Conway didn’t stop there. During lockdown, he reached out to local gyms and offered to rent out their equipment. “I said, ‘Give me your gear—we’ll rent it out and split the revenue.’ Spin bikes were a massive hit.”

Although WhyBuy is often compared to platforms like Deliveroo or Uber, Conway is clear about the difference: “We're product-first. Quality is everything.”

Conway believes that culture is just as critical as logistics. “Everyone here is aligned. Even our customer support team came up with ideas like using the Fight Club quote—‘The things you own end up owning you.’ Though I did have to laugh when they called it an old movie.”

That quote reflects the broader ethos behind WhyBuy: a shift away from unnecessary ownership. “People are waking up to the fact that owning everything isn’t sustainable. Look at any suburban street—why does every house need its own lawnmower, its own drill, its own everything?”

Still, Conway is careful to clarify his views. “I'm not promoting communal sheds or some kind of shared-everything utopia. I’m a capitalist. But real capitalism is about creating value—not hoarding it. Let’s get rid of this thing that capitalism is evil. Capitalism isn’t evil. Being greedy is evil”

And with WhyBuy, Conway believes he’s doing just that: delivering convenience, cutting waste, and challenging our relationship with ownership—one rental at a time.