Good luck trying to find out anything about David Soutar’s company Wattcost. Search online and you’ll find just one story, and even that doesn’t give much away. His pitch at SydStart, which landed him second place, was the first time he’d revealed any detail publicly.
The available information, or lack thereof, is all part of the plan. Soutar has a diverse background, having sold beer to Scandinavians for Fosters, and built mobile phones for Phillips. His background extends across engineering, product design and marketing. But it’s the skills he has learnt along the way that Soutar says have helped with his latest project.
Wattcost is a hardware and software combo that helps households save money by analysing their energy usage.
“The technology allows us to capture electricity bills and analyse them in real-time,” said Soutar.
“We can break it down to an appliance level, to work out the best way to save on energy costs.”
Soutar explains that the solution is the first of its kind. It’s much cheaper than engaging consultants, or buying the associated tools required to conduct building audits.
“We’re transferring what’s available in a commercial situation to households.”
The technology will be able to tell you, based on the data it collects, what electricity plan best suits your usage. It will also be able to alert you to devices which are sucking up power, or even send an alert to your phone if you’ve left the stove on.
Tools for product research
Most people build a product and then test the market. Interestingly, Wattcost has done the opposite. Soutar spent more than a year undertaking extensive market research whilst figuring out how to develop a product with some expensive engineering challenges. He says tools like AYTM, SurveyMonkey, and QuestionPro, have been useful in determining who the exact market was.
The findings showed that Wattcost’s market was predominantly women between 25-65, who pay the bills and are looking for savings. This information has shaped everything from prototype design through to the company’s guerrilla marketing strategy.
Soutar sourced technology that allowed him to build a product that could do the job at an appropriate price point. He’s at the point where he’s almost ready to take Wattcost to market. It will need to be tested first under the independent C-TICK compliance standard. Once that’s complete, Wattcost will launch in the Australian market.
Finding co-founders
That’s not to say there haven’t been challenges. Finding a good team to assist with building a hardware and software combo was one.
“The biggest challenge has been finding people with the same mindset. I’ve found some through the Founder Institute, also the co-founder speed dating meetup.”
When it comes to recruiting outside his own area of expertise, Soutar said he relied on people he trusted to vet potential applicants.
“The best thing to do if you don’t have the skills is to find someone you trust. If you’re looking for a coder, give them a task and get someone to check it.”