In 2009, Rob Symington, Dom Jackman and Mike Howe found themselves unfulfilled with their corporate careers and wondered what alternatives existed to escape the corporate life.

Their Facebook page and blog, which originally listed exciting job opportunities, have since grown into Escape the City, a recruitment service used by a global community of like-minded people.

In 2012, the founders turned down a VC investment offer and instead leveraged their extensive community to run a very successful crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube, raising £500,000 in a week and a subsequent £100,000 in just a couple of days.

In the coming months, Escape the City will expand their recently launched search tool that employers can use to find talented people and will continue to run their popular events around entrepreneurship, alternative careers, and adventure.

Q&A with Mike Howe, co-founder of Escape the City

We asked him about his experience and reflections on starting up.

Why did you choose crowdfunding over venture capital offers ?

We were kind of looking at both simultaneously and we were talking to quite a few of the VCs. We were always very hesitant to go down the VC route. I guess part of the reason we started Esc was because we wanted to be free. Reporting your progress to a VC feels a bit like having a boss. Crowdfunding gives you more autonomy over your business. The process of actually crowdfunding investment is also a much better experience. Instead of pitching the next billion dollar business, you can be genuine and get investors who care about the problem you're trying to solve.

So, was it easy to crowdfund?

No, crowdfunding is hard and people think that they just put a pitch up and people are going to invest. It takes a lot of preparation. You need to know who your pitch is aimed at and warm up your target audience before your pitch is even out in the world. Create some buzz, demonstrate traction, and show an end product.

If you could go back in time, what would you have done differently?

Even if I was terrible at it, I would have learnt to code, because it would have saved a lot of money, a lot of time, a lot of effort. When you're a non-technical founder, it's hard to even know what questions you should be asking developers who you’re hiring to help build your vision. If you can't clearly communicate your requirements, getting the right help and building the right products is very difficult.

What challenges do startups like you face?

It's the everyday things that often kill startups. Renting a place to live in London is hard enough. If you can't cover your living expenses, how can you give yourself a long enough runway to get a business off the ground? If you're willing to take a step back, live with parents or couch-surf, you have a much better chance of survival.