Turning a side job into a startup: Tribe, Mad Paws, Beam Australia

More people than ever are working non traditional work weeks, and it could be the key to our next big startup succeeding.

startups

If you’re keen to grow your side job into something huge, you’ll need to work smart.

The workforce is rapidly changing: millions of us are no longer working one full time job.

Today, one third of Australian millennials have a side hustle, and this number is growing. By 2025 this generation will represent 35 percent of the workforce. That’s a lot of people working on the side to generate extra income.

That’s not the only way our employment is shifting: according to Dell’s Institute for the Future research, by 2030 every organisation will be a technology organisation.

It’s clear that the people getting ahead are thinking outside the box. Maybe they’ve started a side hustle selling their goods online. Or maybe they’ve got a great idea for a startup they’re working on each night after their ‘day job.’

While some of those people are happy to keep their side hustle on the side, others are hoping to grow their start up to become their primary income.

Of course giving up your job to focus on your startup comes with risk: you’re not getting a weekly pay cheque to cover your base living costs.

But many people are giving it a real go. The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise report found that 97 percent of businesses in Australia are run by less than 20 people.

Many of these people are former employees, looking to move into their own businesses.

Stephanie Reuss and Victoria Stuart spent many years climbing the corporate ladder before realising their dream: opening Beam Australia, a company dedicated to providing more flexible jobs across a variety of industries.

“Not everyone has the luxury to step off their job for side hustle” said Ms Stuart.

“But there’s a risk of burnout and a lack of engagement” if you don’t find a solution, such as working part time while trying to launch your startup.

Providing more options for part time work has been the key raison d'etre for the duo, who have worked tirelessly since launching in October 2016.

While that often means getting highly qualified mothers back into the workforce, the two say that today it is common for people to be looking for part time work for other reasons, such as creating more time to advance their side hustle.

“We came from the perspective knowing the traditional 40 hour working week isn’t working for many people: not just working women” said Ms Reuss.

With a huge number of people wanting time to work on projects outside of their main job, Ms Stuart said companies need to think laterally about why these people still might be a fantastic asset as an employee.

“These people could be former CEOs”. She said a company can get a lot out of them even if they only have them working part time hours.

She said it’s a slow process, but companies and government departments are starting to realise that presenteeism - being there for the sake of being there - is counter productive. “You’re better off investing in someone who is going to bring a huge quality to that workplace while they’re there.”

Ms Reuss said there are wider societal impacts too. Giving people a day or two off a week to work on their side hustle, is a “pretty powerful way of supporting business growth. The impact to the economy could be huge.”

In terms of their own start up, the duo admit it has been a steep learning curve.

Neither had worked in recruitment before, and they needed to work hard to learn the industry.

“In a way, there’s been a lot of learning, but we also came in with fresh eyes, which our clients have said they appreciate” said Ms Reuss.

She does, however, admit to making a few costly mistakes, something familiar to many start ups.

“We’ve definitely spent money on things that haven’t paid off, which is tough when you’re a start up.”

“There is a lot of pressure on startups to quickly raise money. I guess (be) that next unicorn. For something that might not even be required” said Ms Stuart.

“For us the most important thing was to build the solid foundations of a business that will set us up for longer term success.”

She said they learned they needed to outsource key tasks as early as possible in order to succeed.

“A lot of time founders (of startups) hold onto tasks that should probably be outsourced: finance, legal, marketing. As soon as you can outsource that, the better”.

She said one of the keys in expanding their business was investing in the right technology.

The Dell Institute of Future Research found that 80 percent of jobs can be done remotely, and Ms Stuart and Ms Reuss knew this stat would be applicable to their growing business.

They didn’t need their staff to spend time in a head office - but they did need people in different locations around Australia to interview candidates and grow contacts with local businesses looking to hire staff.

The said their team needed the right technology to be able to work anywhere, and just as importantly use that tech to build team morale, which is difficult when you’re not seeing your team every day.

“We want to build the right team culture. It’s critical (to the success of any startup). We’re really proud of our team, and the energy people bring to work each day.

“We use a collaboration tool to help retain a culture, and we do all our vetting of talent through video calls” she said.

This huge investment in key technology is something that is familiar to other successful Australian startups, who know that small business can no longer put technology on the back seat if they’re to succeed.

Thomas Derricott is the community manager of Mad Paws, a platform giving pet owners access to highly vetted pet sitters.

“We knew there was a gap in the market - there just wasn’t enough options for pet owners to have their animals cared for when they went away.

“We wanted to get to market and connect pet sitters with pet owners.”

But he said there were problems in the early days, including huge issues with technology, and the imbalance between supply and demand (they had too much demand, and couldn’t keep up with finding vetted sitters, such as veterinary students).

“We were running a war between growth and technology. We needed to upgrade our technology and upgrade our usability (in order to grow further)” Mr Derricott said.

After generating more capital (including a key partnership with Qantas), the company could invest in a website rebuild, which has allowed them to grow.

“It was a huge cost - but we had enough behind us by that stage”.

He said while their company is founded on tech, it’s important for startups to recognise they need a cross section of people to be successful.

“We needed people from every level of Australian society … not just top tech people.”

And his message for those looking to turn their side hustle into a successful startup?

“Acknowledge there’s a wealth of things you don’t know. And find the right people to help meet those gaps.”

Other new(ish) Australian startups kicking goals

These startups are embracing our digital society, investing in technology and using it to reach their customers, leaping ahead of the competition.

Tribe

TV and Radio personality Jules Lund launched Tribe after working in social media himself - helping build one of the most engaged Facebook brand pages in Australia. But he realised that for the price of one sponsored post from a high profile influencer, companies could pay a number of smaller influencers - and reach a lot more end followers. So he lunched Tribe - a platform designed to connect influencers and brands. And in just a few short years, they’ve overseen thousands of campaigns.

Indigital

Mikaela Jade is an indigenous woman from Sydney who’s using augmented reality to connect with ancient Australian cultures. While she uses similar technology, this is far removed from a game like Pokemon Go. Instead Indigital users can point their phones at a piece of rock art or a cultural site, and an animation will pop up to tell the story. She’s hoping to incorporate the technology at key tourism sites around Australia.

Spaceship

Superannuation isn’t exactly a sexy subject, especially for young people, but these are the people who need to think about it. People typically have at least three jobs before they turn 30 - which means three lots of super fees eating away at the money you’re working hard to save. Spaceship is giving younger people a simple way to manage their future through their phone - with one account designed to help navigate their savings.

Originally published as Turning a side job into a startup: Tribe, Mad Paws, Beam Australia