It’s a good intro into what Pollenizer does.

Should you white label?

White labelling your product might sound like a great way to have a second revenue stream and make some fast cash, but it is hard, a big distraction and often just means you’re not strong enough yet.

Ideas in no particular order:

Focus – If you want to be a direct to customer business AND a white label business when you’re a startup you are going to find it very very very hard. It’s two different businesses. Different customers, different products, different marketing, different all round. White label is a great business model – so if you want to do it, do it, but close down your direct to customer business and focus on White Label.

Not ready – often times when you speak to potential customers early in your life as a business they will ask if you white label. What they are really saying is “You’ve got a good base idea here, but our brand is stronger than your product and our skills can finish it off.” That’s fine, it just means that customer is not ready for you yet. Don’t bust your gut to look after them because most likely they still won’t be happy. When someone wants a white label product they expect it to really work. Most likely you’re not going to be able to give them this and you’ll spend a lot of time trying to keep it going.

Scale – white labelling can get you a small number of large customers, but often not a large number of customers. Make sure you’ve got your market worked out and pricing else you might sell yourself into a corner.

Customer contact – you also lose contact with the users. There is now someone between you and the daily usage. This is harder earlier on when you’re still concocting your magic and need lots of good feedback.

Brand – you’re brand is now a behind the scenes brand, not an in-front brand. That’s fine, lots of great companies are like this, but just be aware.

Got any good/bad white label stories to share?

You should think about what applies to your business, but here are some good generic ones you can use;

1.  ”I bought this on  ___________”
2. “I’m just so addicted to _________”
3. “Have you checked out __________”
4. “The latest big thing is ___________”
5. “Hi, I’m from _______ and we’re looking for cool products to sell”
6. “_________ IPO’s on NASDAQ”
7. “________ gets investment from Sequoia”
8. “I work for _______”
9. “Your name, your job title, __________”
10. “Why don’t you _______ it?”

Any more to add?

I’m flat out finishing off the end of this year with a bang, so here is some brief thoughts;

• Absolutely!
• Take risks – you have no brand. The big guys can’t take small risks, so to beat them you have to risk something.
• You can never please everyone, even when you’re huge. Pick a group and make them crazy happy. This will make someone else crazy angry. That’s ok. This goes to things like email too. If a few people aren’t complaining about your spamming, then you’re probably too quiet.
• Have a crazy big vision to go for. You can’t pivot pivot pivot endlessly. It has to be in a direction and if you’re not painting that sucker big, colourful and zesty every week then why would anyone else get up every day to work their butt off for it.
• When I’ve done it well:
• Wooboard – aiming for 1 trillion Woos by 2020. Huge!
• Kazaa – make P2P the most amazing digital distribution channel the world has seen for fans and artists.
• Pollenizer – create a new way to incubate businesses and build a billion dollar company doing it.
• When I’ve done it badly;
• Tangler – trying to please everyone, especially Mike Arrington.
• Zapr – not trusting my gut when I felt our strategy was going to broad.
• Posse – not being more ‘assertive’ that we could have iterated faster.
• Pollenizer – initially trying to be everything. It sucked.
• 100 other times.

Anyway, here is what Dave says. As per normal it comes with a language warning.

3 legs of Startups: Customers, Product, Capital

For a startup, there are three things you need to develop: a product, a customer, an investor.

Recently at Pollenizer we had an epiphany. Well, it was more of an observation of what was happening, but it was just as powerful.

Like all startups, we have a limited time to get the job done and get to the next level. Though I guess this is more for us since every single business we work on has a limited starting investment, and hence a limited timeframe.

For example, if we start the Minimal Viable Product phase, we have 12 weeks to build it, launch it, get traction and get investment to keep going. There is no 13th week if we miss it. This does a lot of things to our team.

It forces the product team to be brutally focused. Just the key features, leaving enough room for lots of testing and iteration.

It forces the marketing team to get out in front of customers. You can’t wait to the last minute to build traction.

Plus (here is the epiphany) it forces the founders to get in front of investors straight away. You can’t wait to the last minute to build a relationship and go through due diligence.

That’s the third startup stream: Capital Development.

Quick story….

When we started Wooboard, it was an internal business. i.e. the idea came from the team. So it was 100% Pollenizer funded. From day one, we knew that this couldn’t go on past the first 12 weeks. So we needed to make sure there was funding to take it further. Like all grit your teeth and get it done founders, I didn’t want to leave it to chance. In the first week I sat down with Bronwen (customer development) and Albert (product development) and we set some goals around what evidence we’d have to show for the business by when.

Working backwards from week 12, if it was going to take a week to get paperwork and money in the bank, we needed a YES by week 11. A few weeks to pitch it and close it. So we needed evidence of a business by week 9 at the latest.

What evidence? We imagined pitching Wooboard then and what we’d have to say to convince them that there is a business here. How many customer? How many paying? How much of a product? Support? Love? We wrote it down and that was our goals.

Then I started pitching and talking to investors. Not asking for money. Just telling them what we were doing. Getting them excited. Telling them the vision.

And I kept talking to investors. Constant updates. New versions. News.

I focused on a few investors who were showing interest, and in particular, Trevor Folsom from Elevation Capital. He had built a successful business up to 1,000 staff based on culture so I thought he’d be a good target. I pitched it every chance I could, including Innovation Bay, and by the time I was due to pitch it there, Trevor had said he was prepared to invest. That was week 8, 3 weeks ahead of schedule.

There is no way that could have happened if we had waited till week 10 or even week 6 to start working with investors. It was crucial to start early. Scott Farquhar from Atlassian started a lot of us thinking about this when he gave a talk to the founders and team of Pollenizer. They had recently closed a huge round from Rich Wong at Accel and he said he’d started the conversations and relationships more than 5 years earlier.

Now I recognise that not all startups need funding, but I think more need it than don’t. If you don’t, great. If you do, start early. Also, this may not be big news to some, but the idea to think about it as something you have to develop rather than just expect is useful to me.

So we now have 3 bit mottos at Pollenizer when we start a new business;

• Product Development: Launch it now!
• Customer Development: Sell it now!
• Capital Development: Pitch it now!

What the role is;

• Leading a team of 4 customer development/marketing people as they work their butts off to start new web businesses.
• Build processes and systems to more efficiently and effectively get customers for new startups.
• Keep up to date on new systems, ideas, methods and implement them in our startups.
• Work very closely with product, engineering and design people to create great startups.
• Tracking and measuring everything that moves.

What we’d like to see:

• Must have worked on startups (day 1, creating products, no budget, finding customers, selling)
• 5-10 years online
• Marketing, customer acquisition roles.
• Strong hands on acquisition and Conversion skills
• Strong metrics/data driven person
• Heavy detail person, not big picture/strategic.
• Great people person, leader, manager.
• Great written and spoken communication skills.
• Sydney based (or willing to relocate)
• Able to juggle 5-10 businesses as once.
• Eager to work in high risk, uncertain environment where it’s up to you to work it out.

Key reasons the team at Pollenizer love what they do:

• The challenge – it’s hard to get startups off the ground, Pollenizer constantly challenges you.
• The impact – work a hard day and you’ll see a full days worth of value. Everyone makes an impact.
• The team – you’ll be surrounded by a strong team of passionate people always keen to help.
• The variety – you’ll never get bored. Everyone works on 2 businesses at once and you’ll get to have input into 4+ more.
• The pride – startups are high risk and they don’t always work, but you’ll be proud of the effort and thinking you put into the business to give it the best shot.

If you’re interested, please email your Linkedin profile to info pollenizer com or get a referral via Linkedin.

So here is a challenge for you.

I got an email today from a guy who had 3 ideas he could pursue and he wanted advice on which one to do.

I answered with this;

If you could only ask the budding entrepreneur one question for him to decide, what would it be?

Firstly, startups are hard work. New, risky, vague, emotional, financial, complex and constantly changing. In the past two weeks we’ve taken some huge steps forward and at the same time I’ve screwed a bunch of things up. Some big ideas haven’t worked out, a change of approach back fired, a partnership didn’t gel and in all the work a few details got missed. I don’t expect perfection but it still hurts. We’re a young company, applying a new way to kick start new ideas. It’s hard.

Secondly, there were a few things missing. The Pollenizer team is everything. A group of committed, talented, creative, caring people who turn up day after day to deal with the uncertainty, risk and high walls of startups. We are currently working on 6 live businesses and advising 6 others. To think I could even start to do 1/100th of it myself is crazy. Let’s not even start talking about the amazing finance, product, engineering and design work that I can’t even contemplate. (OK, I could probably do the design… just kidding crew.)

Thank you team for making Pollenizer what it is – an amazing engine trying our best to produce great web businesses.

The big one missing is Phil. Typically we are joined at the hip on things like this but for some reason they picked me out. Maybe because I’m the ego of Pollenizer doing talks and workshops around the country in an attempt to placate my failed drama career. For whatever reason, to miss Phil is to miss not just a limb, but a heart, brain and soul.

I try to thank him as much as I can, but even with Wooboard I couldn’t do it enough. But lets face facts. He’s an ex theatre director, philosophy student who taught himself to build websites for money. Then he takes a crazy job at Kazaa as CTO and just keeps going. Then he has the audacity to think he can also do business deals by starting this thing with Dean called Spreets and sells it in 13 months. But it doesn’t stop there. He rolls the IP from Spreets into Dealised and raises $5m. CTO’s aren’t supposed to do that. He is a true entreprenerd and he’s completely nailing it. I’m working hard just to keep up.

Phil brings process, discipline, big thinking, integrity, openness, and relentless hard work in the face of intense, obscure adversity. He continues to blow me away with his ability to get things done and I’m starting to think his capability is limitless.

We refer to each other at times as our other wives. So a big thanks to my startup startup wife Phil, for putting up with me and lifting me up with you. I’m proud to be in the trenches with you.

You are about begin the startup game.

You are facing north. Or what you believe north to be.

Before you is an opening. Beyond that are many openings.

Each opening shows opportunity. Each could be the first step towards the big vision. Towards your dream.

Which one to take? It doesn’t matter does it? You can try them all surely.

You step through an opening. Second on your left. First on your right. Second on your right. Second left. Third on your right. First on your right.

You are back to where you started. But now your a little tired and hungry.

Another opening. More. More. At last, some progress.

This part looks harder. You need some help. There are people in the game. You can ask for help. You share your vision. Some come along. Some help. Some don’t.

More progress. A little more hungry, a little more tired.

The way, north you assume, is blocked.  Go back? Move it? Go over? You go over. It hurts. You lose some people.

More progress. More hungry. More tired.

“Pssst, over here”, you hear from an opening, “come this way. It’s a shortcut.”

That’s great. A shortcut. You’re hungry and tired. You take it.

It’s no short cut. It’s longer, harder and you’re not even sure you are going in the right direction any more.

You get back on track. Some people are still with you. Some have left.

How far are you away from the end? A day? A year? A lifetime? What if you don’t actually get there and you need to start again? It’s possible.

You keep going.

You go faster. More tired.

You try new things and they don’t work. More hungry.

You reinvent. More tired.

You get more help. More hungry.

You keep going.

You keep going.

You keep going.

You keep going.

You keep going.

You come out into a clearing.

It’s light. There is fresh air. You know where you are and you know who you are.

You are not where you wanted to be. You know it for sure.

You have failed. You feel empty.

You look back from where you came. It looks unchanged. Same openings. Same challenges. Same short cuts. Same people.

You sigh.

What about you? Are you the same?

You understand now.

Openings take time. Make you tired. Make you hungry. Choose wisely. Focus.

People can help. Some people, and you know which ones.

Short cuts aren’t short cuts. They are distractions.

Challenges can be overcome. If you persist. If you are determined.

You smile. You grit your teeth.

You turn.

You are facing north. Though you know that it isn’t.

Big congrats to the Dealised team in Pollenizer for an amazing year. From starting the company to growing some great customers and now closing this funding from excellent investors, it’s a hard job, done well. Hat’s off to Oliver, Andy, Serdar, Kevin, Fleur, James, Jon, Clare, Bree and Phil.

Huge welcome to the Dealised team into the Pollenizer hive.

Now the really hard work begins.

Here is the official media release;

Australia: Dealised raises A$5 million in Series A funding led by SingTel Innov8

Dealised platform powers group-buying market leader Spreets

UK (TBC): Dealised, leading group-buying platform solution names

new VP to lead European expansion

Dealised partners have already beaten Groupon
SINGAPORE | SYDNEY I LONDON (July ##, 2011) – Dealised, a group-buying platform solution innovator, has announced (S$6.5 million) – (A$5 million) – (£3.5 million) in its Series A funding to accelerate the global roll-out of its solution platform. Led by SingTel Innov8, the SingTel Group’s corporate venture capital fund, Series A also included Yuuwa Capital LP, an Australian-based venture capital firm. Dealised is the first to offer this group-buying platform solution in Asia. Dealised will use its regional Asian headquarters in Singapore to drive global business expansion and develop mobile group-buying solutions.

Dealised is already working with several UK-based customers, including The Daily Telegraph, as well as leading media owners Mecom in Scandinavia and with customers in Australia/New Zealand, the Middle East and the US. Companies, including media firms, mobile operators, retailers and others, use Dealised’s technology and services platform to create and manage their own deals. A firm can have a dedicated group-buying offer running within weeks, without significant upfront costs.

Dealised also announced the appointment of veteran telecommunications executive, Jonathan Marchbank as Chief Executive Officer. Mr Marchbank has worked in the US and Asia for the past 20 years, with both mobile operators and device manufacturers.

“Dealised partners in Australia and Scandinavia have already beaten Groupon and Living Social; our partners now dominate their respective market. With our platform, partners quickly create and manage regular offers for their customers, maintaining revenue and relationships at risk from Groupon-like clones. We are busy repeating that successful formula in other markets,” noted Mr Marchbank.

Mrs Yvonne Kwek, CEO of SingTel Innov8 said, “Dealised’s platform and market knowledge offers publishers, media companies and telco companies the opportunity to generate better value for their customers through innovative group-buying services.”

“The most exciting trend is in mobile, especially in Asia, and we see the volume of group-buying transactions on smartphones and other mobile devices growing exponentially over the next couple of years. Our operations in Singapore, as the business hub for Asia, are where we will focus on mobile growth,” concluded Mr Marchbank.

Dealised is one of the earliest entrants into what is a very young industry. It was created in late 2009 to power Spreets, an Australian deals site, which quickly became a market leader. Spreets was acquired by Yahoo7! in Australia in 2010 for A$40 million.

Other Dealised investors include Sydney start-up incubator, Pollenizer and a select number of angel investors. These investors bring a great depth of managerial experience, with backgrounds in digital media, e-commerce and mobile. The company will use the A$5 million from this fundraising to grow its base in Asia and in Europe, and to develop mobile group-buying solutions.

Media Contacts

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About Dealised Pty Ltd

Dealised is an Australian-based company offering a group-buying technology services platform. Dealised partners – media, telecommunication firms, retailers and others – use the platform to diversify and increase revenue, and strengthen customer relationships.

The business and platform began in Australia in 2009, powering a business called Spreets, now Australia’s leading group-buying player. In 2010 Yahoo bought Spreets exclusively for their Australia and New Zealand business (Yahoo7). The company’s technology and expertise was retained and is now offered as a Dealised package to companies around the world. Dealised is powering millions of dollars in deals each month in 15 countries and in over 100 cities.

The team behind Dealised are pioneers in the group-buying and social commerce industry globally, with backgrounds in digital media, e-commerce and mobile. Investors include Sydney start-up incubator Pollenizer, SingTel Innov8, a wholly owned subsidiary of the SingTel Group and Yuuwa Capital based in Perth, Western Australia, as well as individual investors.

About SingTel Innov8

SingTel Innov8, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SingTel Group, is a corporate venture capital fund, with its own set of decision making, approval and funding processes. It has an initial fund size of S$200 million. SingTel Innov8 focuses its investments on technologies and solutions that lead to quantum changes in network capabilities, next generation devices, digital content services and enablers to enhance customer experience. It works closely with the ecosystem of leading innovators, developers, government agencies, R&D and capital providers to bring cutting-edge technologies and solutions to the various markets the SingTel Group operates in.

About Yuuwa Capital LP

Yuuwa Capital LP is a $40 million early-stage venture capital firm based in Perth, Australia.  Yuuwa Capital is supported by the Australian Government through the IIF program, and private investors.  Yuuwa seeks to invest in businesses where it can provide both capital and expertise to help founders, management and early investors turn good ideas into great companies.