Mum creates money-saving app after chance encounter

If Silje Dreyer’s cab had shown up she would never have started a business that would help us all save thousands on our household bills.

Silje Dreyer and her co-founders Tim Nicholas (left) and David Wareing. Picture: Supplied

If the taxi Silje Dreyer ordered in May 2017 had shown up she would never have started a business that would help us all save thousands on our household bills.

But it didn’t, and the chance meeting between the Sydney mum, 38, and her Uber driver changed both their lives.

Perhaps because it was her first time in an Uber, Silje was happy to spend the 20-minute ride chatting to her driver. She told David Wareing she was a user experience and web designer, and David excitedly told her he’d been hoping to meet someone like her.

“He told me he had the beginning of an idea with another business partner, Tim,” Silje says. “I thought it was a bit strange my Uber driver was pitching a business idea to me, but he seemed like a genuine guy, so I gave him my email address.

“I thought that’s pretty safe, nothing can happen from my sharing my email!”

She never expected to hear from David again, but it wasn’t long before he emailed her and invited her for coffee with him and his business partner Tim Nicholas.

Silje says she was naturally cautious meeting up with a pair of random strangers, but she checked Tim and David out before progressing any further.

“I totally googled them and found them on LinkedIn,” she laughs. “They seemed like genuine guys. None of us are straight out of uni, so they had their CVs on LinkedIn, and I could see they were real people.”

In a coffee shop in the Sydney beach suburb of Manly, David and Tim told Silje their plans for GetReminded, a phone app that would help reduce household bills by reminding people when their contracts were due to expire.

“I really had this ‘a-ha!’ moment of, wow, this is something that could be really useful for people,” she says. “I wanted this service for myself.

“I use it myself right now, and it’s been a lifesaver, really. I thought if I was ever going to create a service or product myself, it would have to be something that I really believed in and something that would help a lot of people — which we genuinely believe it does.”

The meeting was perfect timing for Silje who was on maternity leave and had no job to go back to.

“I was really looking for something to get myself back into the workforce,” she says. “I wanted something that would fit in with my kids (then aged one and two). I needed something that I could own myself and build from scratch, so it was a really good time to meet them.”

David had a background in sales and marketing in the car industry, while Tim ran his own marketing agency — but they lacked the technical know-how to make their dream a reality. That’s where Silje came in.

“It sounded like, between us, we really had the skills to get something off the ground,” says Silje. She was sold.

Silje Dreyer with app co-founders Tim Nicholas (left) and David Wareing.

The trio set to work and created Get Reminded, an app that is now helping families save up to $2800 a year on household expenses.

“Many people are caught in a financial fog — not knowing when contracts expire for essential services like electricity, phone and the internet, resulting in overpayment,” says Silje.

“On average, families spend $14,000 a year on mobile phones, car registration and insurance, electricity/gas and internet/streaming TV services.

“This could be slashed by thousands of dollars a year by simply knowing when your service contracts expire — knowing what you are paying and how long for.”

Get Reminded works be sending a series of reminders when contracts are coming up to their expiry date. Not only will it tell you it’s time to review your contract, it will also send you relevant offers from providers so you can make an informed decision.

A free app for end users, the business generates revenue by charging the providers for the opportunity to send you their offers.

Silje says the system works well because you only receive offers that are relevant to you.

“We wanted it to be free for consumers because they’re already overpaying on their contracts,” she says. “And the way we’re doing it, you’re not bombarded with annoying advertisements, it’s actually helpful information that can help you save money — and it’s what you’re looking for at the right time.”

The app that Silje Dreyer helped create.

Silje says the app is off to a successful start, with about 15,000 reminders in the system right now.

“It’s been received really well,” she says. “We’ve had lots of downloads from the app store and lots of feedback as well, with 90 per cent of users absolutely loving the service.

“On average, people are saving $433 a year on their electricity bills by switching providers when their contracts end, while others are asking their current provider for a better deal and getting it.

“Many mobile phone users are paying for handsets they already own after their bundled contract for handset and network service expires, and they continue to pay the same amount when they could be saving as much as $50 a month.

“There are so many competitive offers it’s crazy people don’t shop around. Many just keep paying the same high rate and renew at the last minute.

“GetReminded is hoping to change all that by not only reminding people when it’s time to renew but also educating them on competitive deals they are looking for.”

Silje says it’s crucial for consumers to be proactive with their contracts because providers won’t be doing you any favours.

“The onus is no longer on businesses to remind you when your contract is up,” she says. “People have to take action and clear the financial fog themselves — to know when their contracts expire and have time to act on them or they risk paying more.”

The app is quick and easy to set up. “All you need is your name, the expiry date of the contracts or bills you want to enter, your current provider, and an optional description for each one,” Silje says.

“Then, when reminders come through, take a bit of time to sit down and look through your options so you can save yourself some money. The app will send you a reminder about two months before your contract is due to expire, so you’re not in a rush or doing it last-minute.”

Not content to rest after creating the app, Silje, David and Tim are already working on a version two of GetReminded.

“We’re adding some exciting functionality around making it a little bit more visible for you to see the value of your contracts and services,” Silje says. “Once you can visualise just how much you’re spending each year, the incentive to save where you can is much greater.”

If you’d like to save on your bills, you can download GetReminded free on iOS and Android smartphones, or check out their website.