Meet Elliot Riley-Walsh, Founder at Collector Catalogue App: Valart
Valart is a collector’s best friend. We help collectors easily catalogue, value, and manage their collections all in one place. Without Valart, collectors are left either with uncatalogued chaos or painful manual alternatives, all while they guess their…
Valart is a collector’s best friend. We help collectors easily catalogue, value, and manage their collections all in one place. Without Valart, collectors are left either with uncatalogued chaos or painful manual alternatives, all while they guess their items’ worth.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
I am a collector. It’s played an important role in my life. When I was younger, I had been a promising athlete but a degenerative spinal condition stopped that.
That’s when I got seriously into collecting, to get me through it. However, as I amassed more and more things, I realised I had no idea recording what I had – nor any idea what it’s all worth.
Tell us about your core product or service
It’s very simple: Valart is a platform for managing, tracking and valuing collectibles. That gives collectors control over what they have, but it helps solve a lot of other problems.
Collectors suffer from a knowledge gap. Professional services – probate lawyers, insurers, wealth managers – struggle to understand what collections are worth, and so collectors cannot properly access their services. Valart solves this knowledge gap for businesses, meaning collectors can finally be taken seriously.
We help collectors easily catalogue, value, and manage their collections all in one place.
What most excites you about the collectibles industry?
Collecting, finally, is going mainstream! When I got deeply into collecting after my diagnosis, people used to say collecting was weird or childish, that grown adults should not do it. Now it is being seen as something to be proud of, and that shift is incredible. There’s a real joy seeing people get into this world, and seeing the buzz they get when they add to their collection.
What has been the biggest challenge you have had to overcome along the way?
I’m from Anglesey. It’s not exactly known for its tech ecosystem or startup scene. I have to travel to places like Cardiff, Manchester, and Liverpool to build the business and make connections – remarkably, it’s easier to get to London than Cardiff. The disability makes this travel harder. But being a Welsh founder, I am determined to build and grow a successful tech company in North Wales to show others that it can be done, no matter where you start from.
What is your number one piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?
When I started, a mentor told me to create a “brag sheet,” a simple list where you record your wins and achievements, no matter how small. The highs in business are incredible, but they are not frequent, and the lows can be tough. On the difficult days when you question everything, that brag sheet is a reminder of how far you have come and why you started. It is one of the simplest, most powerful tools to keep you going.
What can we hope to see from Valart in the future?
Growth. We’re building an affiliate network with real authorities within collecting communities, such as the Triple Takeover Toycast which covers Transformers toys. And we’re redoubling our B2B efforts – we think that’s where arguably the most exciting opportunity lies.
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Based on reporting by techround.co.uk.