Episode
7
April 1, 2020

Timing, Team and Relentless Customer Focus

Tyler Spooner

U Group & Co

Hear the fascinating story behind Uno Group's early days back when they were "tinder for food" right through to their recently announced partnership with the world’s largest market research company Nielsen.

Weird Growth's first live episode with special guest hosts Dave Newman and Scott Glew from Morning Startup Perth. Hear the fascinating story behind Uno Group's early days back when they were "tinder for food" right through to their recently announced partnership with the world’s largest market research company Nielsen. Tyler also touches on how Uno Group has adapted in the new landscape bought about due to COVID-19.

Company

Market intelligence platform

https://theugroup.co/

Problem

Gathering useful information on consumer trends

Customers

Consumers and market research companies

One big piece of advice

Timing and team. Make sure the market is ready for your product. Make sure you have the right people around you to support you.

Bullets

(2:55) – What drove Tyler in the beginning: A clean start

(3:18) – Tyler’s first steps in Western Australia, exploration of Jim Rohn, and key influences early on

(5:18) – Tyler’s first experience with cold sales and selling his commercial cleaning business, Econ Cleaning

(8:05) – How Tyler’s frustration with the processes of West Australian charities led to him founding Feedme

(9:35) – Tyler’s experience with Founders Institute and key learnings

(11:09) CSIRO’s ON Prime program

(11:55) – The core problem Feedme solved: it’s hard to find food you want to eat

(12:45) – How Feedme found and connected with 20,000 users using Facebook marketing campaigns

(13:55) – Feedme’s experience in the Plus Eight Accelerator

(15:22) – How Feedme used the Jobs-to-be-done framework

(16:10) – How Feedme connected with users through the app, promotions, Facebook messenger, and email

(19:05) – The launch of Unocart as a grocery delivery service

(21:12) – The pivot to data collection: low volume, high value, and long sales cycles

(24:50) – How Uno Group incentivises users to join the platform

(25:25) – How Tyler stays energized and motivated to continue iterating

(27:00) – The current state of Uno Group

(29:02) – Uno Group’s partnership with the world’s largest market research company, Nielsen

(30:05) – The future of Uno Group: Doubling down on the core value proposition

(31:30) – The start-up Tyler would create right now if he was starting again: Solving the COVID-19 induced unemployment problem

(36:30) – The one thing Tyler would recommend to anybody growing a SaaS solution: Intercom – The ultimate customer support tool

(39:10) – How Tyler found Co-founders

(39:52) – Policy changes Tyler would recommend to state and federal politicians to help them better support early-stage start-ups: Research & Development

(40:28) – Tyler’s Motto: There is only a Plan A, no plan B

(41:12) – Where Tyler found good software developers: The importance of understanding enough to judge developers

(42:11) – The cure-all for pitching to investors: Growth solves all problems. “If you have traction and revenue, you won’t need to find investors, they’ll find you.”

(43:10) - The most effective thing Tyler did to grow his business: Deliver groceries himself

(43:38) – What Tyler advises small business during COVID-19: Double down on the most valuable thing you’re providing customers

Show & Tell

https://redash.io/ - make sense of your data

https://music.youtube.com/ - The recommendation engine