How does your previous role as GM of Byju’s influence your approach to leading Bigger, and what sets you apart from other service providers in the software engineering and startup scaling space?
Byju’s was a fantastic learning experience for me. In 2020, I set up the company’s Australia-New Zealand operation from scratch, and in less than two years we achieved an annual revenue of A$20 million and grew a team of 75 members across all departments.
From my time at Byju’s, I learned firsthand how to scale a business: building great teams, creating a strong sales funnel, and the overriding importance of developing clear metrics and constantly reviewing them. However, the most important lesson that continues to influence me is the belief that you can create something big if you are willing to work hard and evolve the right business model.
Reflecting on Bigger’s significant contributions to startup growth, can you recall a specific instance where your team’s efforts led to a remarkable impact on a startup’s growth trajectory?
Since our launch, we have helped more than 40 startups launch their businesses. Many were just in the “idea phase” when they came to us, but now, after just one year, they have customers and subscribers, some have raised capital, others are generating revenue, or have achieved other positive outcomes.
This is something that makes the entire Bigger team and me very proud. It is our mission to remove barriers and help startups achieve their full potential – that’s our raison d’être, and the entire reason we exist.
Among the companies we are proud to have assisted are:
- Building a ground-breaking SaaS platform to help the cleantech innovator, Green Interval, guide Australian businesses to quickly establish eco-friendly practices that are easy to use, measure, and stick to.
- Helping proptech pioneer LotTrackr develop an all-in-one platform linked with realestate.com.au to help developers, builders, agents, and homebuyers simplify purchases and sales in masterplan estates.
- Enabling disability advocate Jacob Darkin to adapt the capabilities of ChatGPT to help people with disabilities compose messages with detailed requests to their NDIS coordinators or support workers.
If a startup faced unexpected challenges during the MVP development process, how would Bigger adapt to ensure project success?
Our agile development methodology allows us to design, develop, and test your minimum viable product quickly, in a series of two-week ‘design sprints’. At the end of each sprint, we’ll show you a working prototype of the software we have built. This allows you to review it, make any necessary adjustments, or pivot if you choose to.
This flexible build methodology allows us to deliver MVPs in between two and six months – which is much faster than the average agency development time. Speed is always of the essence for startups, for whom getting an online platform or product in front of your audience quickly can mean the difference between success and failure.
Unexpected challenges often crop up when you’re developing a new technology. But having a Bigger software architect – effectively a remote CTO – who you can call on any time, will help to guide you through every step of your MVP, test it with different markets and customers, ensure its security, and overcome any challenges to bring your vision to life.
Lastly, considering Bigger’s vision of empowering entrepreneurs to validate, launch, and scale their startups efficiently, what advice would you offer to aspiring entrepreneurs seeking assistance with their MVPs? How can they ensure they are setting a strong foundation for growth with the services that Bigger provides?
The best advice I can give is to start working on your idea as soon as possible. Begin by building a minimum viable product, testing it with users, and keep improving it based on any feedback that resonates with you.
As an early-stage founder, you should spend most of your time (if not all of it!) talking with users and building a great product. When it comes to the technical aspects, ensure you find a tech partner who follows engineering best practices. As a founder, you don’t need to be a coding expert, but having a good understanding of the key principles and best practices can help you evaluate whether your tech partner is the right one for you.
I recently gave a webinar on this topic at Fishburners, and you can find the link here.
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