(Photo : The University of Sheffield )

Speaking at an Entrepreneurship talk in University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, Los Angeles native, event speaker and entrepreneur Terry McGinnis expressed concern over rise of dependencies on big corporate ecosystems that prey on consumers and see them as "small and unimportant bits of data that comprise big clusters of analytics that give up on privacy and provide an unnecessary need for big tech bodies".  

Terry who is a 27 year old American-British entrepreneur and OnlyOne ambassador gave criticism to the recent rise of users depending on one or two services at a time for all of their needs. Giving a speech to over 200 attendees from PhD candidates to local business professionals, Terry provided an impactful speech reminding even those overseas the impact Californians have on progressive issues worldwide.

"Coming from an e-commerce background for us data is everything. There is a cabal of services that prey on small businesses and cunningly say they are there to solve the needs of many whilst solving the needs of only but a few, enterprise few - indoctrinating many through scrupulous business and advertising practices, overpromising and underdelivering. 

When you pretend to focus on businesses that make up most of our economy through actual value proposition, whether through goods or services, or even both - you give up on values that make countries like Britain and USA perfect for innovation. A lot of businesses, or conglomerates in our line of work state clearly they are there to help the small enterprises that hold up our economy on their tired knees; yet make most of their revenues from large enterprise contracts which benefit only them alone."

Terry is the founder and CEO of a company named Online Shop, a company that is becoming one of UK's largest online retailers providing similar services to that of Amazon, eBay or an upscale version of Wish. The company had recently announced that it would be taking an ethical stance against commercialism and open its tools to everyone as a way to give a fighting chance to small business enterprises across United Kingdom and the world. The entrepreneur has long since been a marketing staple in the entertainment world working on some of the biggest movie and music video productions of all time, now tackling issues faced in the technology sector through his own venture of Online Shop and as an innovation director for marketing firm Multiply which aims to help startups accelerate their growth through unprecedented levels of success. 

"We're taking a big risk pivoting - but its necessary to set a precedent that will help local businesses and individual entrepreneurs over big marketplaces that do nothing but pit sellers against one another. The small businesses that get outpriced and unfairly treated by e-commerce giants are the ones that create the most jobs, and they are the backbone of every economy, not a marketplace who's main purpose is to drive traffic to most fairly priced products to make you buy and increase cart value.

This is why its time for someone in the area to make a stand and solve real problems, for real businesses and real people, who create and depend on trade. We're building solutions that is there to create a community of developers, designers, business owners - you name it. We want to be open to all. That's the only way our society will progress. An open, and not a closed, ecosystem of tools that enrich a users experience, give a local business the latest tools to attract more buyers and sell more in few button clicks just to name but a few."

Online Shop is one of only few online retailers that stock everything from affordable goods to luxury items from Gucci and Louis Vuitton seeing meteoric rise in success and profitability according to reports. 

There has been an outcry of support for the company to make the shift to set a firm example with a USA market takeover planned from the hands of Shopify and Amazon within the next several years. 

According to recent surveys by PAC (Public Affairs Council) a remarkable 92% of Americans give small firms and enterprises a more favorable rating over big brand counterparts. This provides the necessary safety net for the company to make a major shift in planning and execution, with CEO Terry McGinnis making a tough bet to invest in servicing independent entrepreneurs and small businesses over international conglomerates. 

As the speech came to an end Terry remarked with a statement that touched on issues many businesses of today face, not having the ability to easily launch and sell or to even gain access to same tools.

"I see a future where a lot of consumers will be bored and tired of having their items delivered the next second like everyone else. We all miss the sense of discovery we once had, stumbling upon a small business or a recommendation from a friend about a new classic record shop in town. This is our target demographic, we want you, your cousin's new clothing business or your uncles carpentry store. We will provide you the same technology the big conglomerates use, at few clicks of a button. We will challenge the status quo and simplify everything. You want to accept crypto? No issue. You want to integrate with messaging apps? There's an option for that too - no extra fees or overcomplicated systems to use."