{"id":43379,"date":"2023-10-20T15:28:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/thereitis-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:28:09","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:28:09","slug":"thereitis-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/thereitis-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"ThereItIs – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Guy<\/div>\n

\"GuyAfter relocating from Sydney to Adelaide, Guy Sewell was looking to go it alone by starting his own business.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He came across some technology developed over a 10-year period at Flinders University, and realised the commercial potential.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His new business, ThereItIs http:\/\/thereitis.com\/about\/ , is based around a system that allows online data, such as clothing or profiles, to be displayed in a 3D, cloud-shaped manner. Users can then sort and zoom in and view the items.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sewell spoke to StartupSmart about how he aims to take the business\u2019 product global.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

How did this venture come about?<\/h2>\n


<\/b><\/p>\n

I moved from a job with Fairfax in Sydney to Adelaide and I had always wanted to have a go at my own business. There weren\u2019t too many opportunities at other media companies at Adelaide, so I decided I wanted to carve my own niche.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I talked to Flinders University about the technology that we now provide with my Fairfax hat on. I had three sleepless nights mind mapping what it would take to build a business around it myself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I talked to my wife and I went for it. I quit my job three days after seeing the technology and re-engaged with them as soon as I\u2019d quit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why convinced you to take such a bold step?<\/h2>\n


<\/b><\/h2>\n

I thought it could become a revolutionary way to view data. I personally find it hard finding data online. I hate online shopping.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It ticked all the boxes \u2013 it was revolutionary, it was scalable and it had a global market. I ran it past a few mentors who said I should go for it, but that I\u2019d struggle to find reach from Adelaide.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What were the formative days of the business like last year?<\/h2>\n


<\/b><\/p>\n

I used sweat equity and didn\u2019t pay myself for the first eight or nine months. I got the IP secured and found myself an office at Flinders University. I managed to secure angel funding with a blue sky pitch.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I had to work hard to track down the right angel, I won\u2019t say it was easy. They said they invested 20% for the technology and 80% for me. They felt that with a bit of capital and guidance, I could push the team forward. The hours of advice that they\u2019ve invested has been invaluable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How big is your team?<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got four full-time developers. We spent nine months solidly developing and then got feedback from about 800 people via a trial at a local bookseller.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t expecting such great feedback. Technology is moving in our favour \u2013 browsers can cope with a lot of data now, even on mobiles and other platforms. I wouldn\u2019t be able to have done this 18 months ago.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We still need to work with user experience experts for the iPhone and iPad versions. Once we have a core version we will be able to build libraries and licence to other developers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Which industries is this technology aimed at?<\/b><\/h2>\n


<\/b><\/h2>\n

Content management systems, medical imaging, retail sites \u2013 anything that has large amounts of data, really.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m focusing on eCommerce at the moment as I can get quick wins there. I\u2019ve spoken to a category leader in Sydney and I hope to sign off on that. There\u2019s also the largest French mass merchant and another company based in the UK.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found that LinkedIn is a great tool. I\u2019ve got the platinum membership and can send 25 emails a day to big CEOs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We hope to build traction with the medium tier. I\u2019ve been in business to business sales and I know these things can take 12 months to integrate. I\u2019ve got to think about how long the sales cycle will be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I could give exclusivity to one business, but it would handicap me if it wasn\u2019t in a very niche category. It\u2019s better to licence it broadly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you licence the technology to various third parties, won\u2019t this make it harder to sell the business?<\/b><\/h2>\n


<\/b><\/p>\n

It depends who the exit partner is. Maybe we will build up the customer base and revenue and not just be offering technology.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If we don\u2019t go out and prove it, no one will want to buy it. It\u2019s a chicken and egg situation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I do have contracts that stipulate that they can be cancelled within a certain period.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is your ambition for the business?<\/b><\/h2>\n


<\/b><\/p>\n

Our first revenue should be in the second quarter of next year. We want to push it out to the smaller end of the market \u2013 it will depend on the traffic of the sites, but we will have fixed monthly fees ranging from $30 to several thousands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The short-term goal is to get licensing in Europe by the end of June and validated by consumers in the medium-term. The back end of next year, I will look to move to the US in order to grow the business.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A 36 to 48 month exit strategy is feasible. I\u2019m looking at a four-year window to build and sell the business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After relocating from Sydney to Adelaide, Guy Sewell was looking to go it alone by starting his own business.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,3,4,21,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}