Minute on the clock: Ravneet Gill, founder of Countertalk

I just wanted to let people know how to find good places without shunning or gossiping about the bad ones

Then it turned into a job advertising platform where we now vet the places who are looking for hires to make sure they're treating people properly.

Why did you set up the business?

After seven years in the industry, it wasn't until I started working at St John that I realised good places exist. I thought if I'd come here when I first started rather than working in all these crazy places for years, I'd probably be a lot happier and further along in my career. I wanted to let people know how to find good places without shunning or gossiping about the bad ones, because hospitality gets a lot of bad press and I think this is more conducive to change.

You've just launched Spaces, which matches chefs and events with venues. How does it work?

Pop-ups and events are a powerful way of getting your name out in the industry, but when you've been working hard all day, testing your ideas and building up a following of your own, it's hard to then have to go and find a venue, figure out if they have an inventory and negotiate a fee. All of that is so much admin. Spaces is connecting empty venues, like restaurants which might be closed partly during the week, with people who want the opportunity to showcase their skills.

So it is an Airbnb for pop-ups?

It works very well for pop-ups and supper clubs, but it could also be for things like book launches or photography shoots.

It generates revenue for the restaurants that need it, but it gives a platform to people who don't want to commit to having a full-time place. Chefs create a profile with information about what they do and click a button on the website to connect with a venue.

Have you got many venues online already?

We have around 17 live on the site who pay a monthly fee to be featured. They have to provide a lot of information, like a floor plan, do they have Wi-Fi and a point of sale system – all of that has to be available. One of my favourites is Benk + Bo in East London, but we're putting more up each week. We hope to expand to the rest of the UK this year and perhaps launch with a few cool places in Europe next year.

Are you hopeful for the future of hospitality?

I'm extremely positive in a sense that hospitality is not going to go away. But the issue is populating it with enough people who will sustain it. I think that will mean a lot of places will close, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

In the past lots of people opened restaurants who had never worked in them before and so they didn't think about their staff. Unfortunately, that means there are a whole group of people who were not treated properly, had a bad experience in hospitality, and left the industry.

It's important to focus on the places that are doing it properly and can sustain it, so when a person leaves they're happy and move on to the next place feeling positive. That's a massive key to getting the industry back to where it should be.