Paul Trappitt. He’s currently the CEO and co-founder of Smartbeat. Before Smartbeat, he was the senior business analyst at National Australia Bank and a senior project lead at SignIQ.
Famous Five:
Favorite Book? – Start with Why and The Startup Owner’s Manual What CEO do you follow? – Gary Vaynerchuk Favorite online tool? — HubSpot Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – “I wish I knew smartphones were coming”
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:22 – Nathan introduces Paul to the show 01:45 – Smartbeat helps small businesses to navigate the complex omni channel 02:30 – Paul shares how one of their paying customers uses Smartbeat 03:02 – Smartbeat is about the people that are already using your business 03:10 – Smartbeat turns customers into raging fans 03:20 – Smartbeat is currently focusing on brick-and-mortar businesses 03:51 – Paul explains how they can help Jim, the café owner 05:14 – Smartbeat provides Wi-Fi to business owners and other technologies 05:50 – Smartbeat targets your audience in social media 06:32 – Smartbeat is a SaaS business 06:39 – Pricing starts at $250 a month 07:06 – Smartbeat currently has 5 customers 07:12 – Paul had a Wi-Fi company for 3 years 07:38 – Paul’s Wi-Fi business did $20K in 2016 07:44 – Paul pivoted because there was too much competition in the Wi-Fi space 08:23 – Smartbeat raised $150K in Australia 08:39 – It was an equity round 08:55 – Paul shares how he came up with the valuation 10:10 – Smartbeat started in 2015 10:18 – Team size is 6 and they are all based in Australia 10:30 – Paul shares how they find their customers 10:55 – Smartbeat built their list organically through networking 12:35 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Don’t be afraid to pivot—you’ll know when it’s time. One way to build your network is by spreading news about your product in social gatherings. Technology is unpredictable so you have no choice but to adapt.
Resources Mentioned:
The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences Organifi – The juice was Nathan’s life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he’s driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books Freshbooks – Nathan doesn’t waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives