{"id":42629,"date":"2023-10-20T15:22:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/peazie-ceo-thomas-mahon-on-the-secrets-of-securing-big-business-partners-as-a-startup-everyone-is-faking-it-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:22:36","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:22:36","slug":"peazie-ceo-thomas-mahon-on-the-secrets-of-securing-big-business-partners-as-a-startup-everyone-is-faking-it-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/peazie-ceo-thomas-mahon-on-the-secrets-of-securing-big-business-partners-as-a-startup-everyone-is-faking-it-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Peazie CEO Thomas Mahon on the secrets of securing big business partners as a startup: \u201cEveryone is faking it” – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Melbourne-based startup Peazie has entered a new growth phase on the back of a series of lucrative partnerships with large corporate clients.<\/p>\n

The promotions and audience conversation platform closed a $2 million funding round last year<\/a> and has since been working to validate its service and business model.<\/p>\n

Peazie CEO Thomas Mahon says this phase has now been successfully completed, and the startup is now accelerating its growth and partnerships.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeazie has gone from a business that was validating a product in the market to a business that\u2019s very well validated and now in scale mode,\u201d Mahon tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are two very different challenges but I\u2019m really happy that we\u2019re now operating a business that\u2019s confronted by a new, second challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no longer any question marks over whether what we\u2019ve created is of value. The new question is exactly how big the market is and how quickly we can take it to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peazie was founded in 2011 but has come into its own across the last year, with Mahon saying revenue has grown by eight times in these 12 months.<\/p>\n

Mahon says he knew that Peazie was in the midst of a paradigm shift when the startup hired its first sales person.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you work on something all day everyday it becomes your world,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concern is that you start to believe your own bullshit. Bringing a new person in and seeing them just as excited as you are without that history is when you realise just how exciting it is to move from validation to scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

The startup now has a team of 20 employees and has signed deals with the likes of Southern Cross Austereo, Vans, and Audi.<\/p>\n

Mahon says Peazie is also working with a number of \u201ckey media and publishing partners\u201d including some \u201cglobally recognised enterprises\u201d but is unable to name them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t want you to be screaming from the rooftops about a big win,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to celebrate but the only people you can celebrate with are internal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahon says there are a number of secrets that startups need to consider when trying to land a big corporate partner.<\/p>\n

Take a walk in their shoes<\/h3>\n

Mahon himself was on the other side of the table for the last decade working at big businesses before making the leap into the startup world and joining Peazie.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely ideal if you\u2019ve worked for a major corporate before you try to partner with one,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving sat on both sides enabled me to have an empathy that is paramount to getting deals done between small businesses and big businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarge corporations are very complex and they\u2019re all very different but if you understand the fundamentals of those complexities you\u2019ll be in a better place to navigate them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big deals come with big expectations<\/h3>\n

While it\u2019s important to not under sell your company, he says it\u2019s also crucial to pitch something you can actually deliver on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s best not to go in and promise the world if you don\u2019t think you can deliver it,\u201d Mahon says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAim for the top but be ready when you get there. Selling to corporates will test your ability to get the attention of and hold your own in front of some pretty experienced people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Be confident<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s inevitable that a startup will feel on the back foot when meeting with a big business, but Mahon says it\u2019s important for the little company to hold its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need their money more than they need to spend it on you \u2013 that\u2019s the reality,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you go into partnership discussions with businesses thinking like that you\u2019ll rarely come out with a good outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your value stacks up then there\u2019s every reason you should go into a meeting feeling like they need you as much as you need them.\u201d<\/p>\n

You have to put yourself out there<\/h3>\n

After attending a talk featuring entrepreneur John Roa, Mahon says he was struck by a particular quote: \u201cIf you stop telling people that you can do stuff, that you can\u2019t quite do it, then you\u2019re only innovating so fast.”<\/p>\n

\u201cJump in the deep end but only if you believe yourself and your team can swim,\u201d Mahon says.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is faking it until they make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter,<\/em>LinkedIn <\/em>and <\/em>SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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