mmMule – Page 2 of 2 – StartupSmart

How many staff do you have?

 

For now it’s just the three of us. And of course there’s Henry the Mule, our trusty mascot.

 

How do you promote the business?

 

Our initial traffic was all from social media, from Twitter in particular. We built up a lot of buzz prior to our soft launch so had a really amazing start.

 

We’ve grown really well on social media – I guess that’s down to the nature of the site, its uniqueness and the fact that the content is shared really easily from our site to help with this viral growth.

 

From there, we’ve just used traditional PR. In the longer term, we’re also looking at large-scale partnerships to help drive user acquisition and will be using a small army of mmMule and AngelMule ambassadors to help grow the brand.

 

How do you stand out in the market? What’s your point/s of difference?

 

We’re literally one of the first sites in the world to attempt something so big.

 

We’re solving a real two-sided problem – we’re enabling people to essentially shop without borders whilst truly enriching people’s travels by connecting them with locals.

 

We have such a strong social focus and we are working hard to maintain a loyal, engaged community.

 

Our biggest point of difference is probably AngelMule, which is something we’re really passionate about.

 

We believe that most people want to make a difference in the world and now, with AngelMule, we’re enabling those connections.

 

We’re dreaming big and we really think that mmMule is going to forever change the way people travel, get stuff delivered and help not-for-profits.

 

What are your revenue projections for 2011-2012?

 

At this stage we’re pre-revenue – we haven’t introduced the monetisation strategy just yet. Our main aim is to grow the community.

 

We aim to have postings from over 100 countries within the year.

 

What’s the biggest risk you face?

 

I think with any peer-to-peer website, the biggest thing to overcome is the trust issue, so we’ve been really thorough in providing trust and safety advice for our users.

 

We’ve also introduced features like a private messaging system and references to rate experiences. We’re looking at adding even more trust and safety measures as we grow.

 

Is there anything you would have done differently?

 

Of course there’s a million things we would have done differently, but that’s what is so fascinating about working in a start-up – you never stop learning.

 

In fact, I think the constant learning you experience, and the agility that’s needed in a start-up, is what we thrive on.

 

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?

 

I have a few pointers:

• Get out there amongst it. The more entrepreneurs you talk to, the better you will become, the leaner your processes will be, the clearer your pitch, the more focused and driven you’ll become.

• Follow your passion. A start-up is damn hard work. But if you’re following your passion, you’ll always want to jump out of bed in the morning, even on the tough days.
• Don’t be afraid of failure. It is not a sign of weakness – it’s a sign that you are innovative and dare to think differently. If you want to change the world, you can’t just follow the crowd.
• Stop chasing money. Do what you love and what you’re passionate about. If what you do is good for you, your customer and the planet, you won’t have to worry about chasing money. The money will come later.