Tell us about Tiller.
Using a combination of hardware and software, Tiller helps freelancers, agencies and small businesses keep focused on their work by simplifying time tracking.
How did you get on the Tiller ride?
We were scratching our own itch. At our design company Joan, we weren’t very good at remembering to track our time. After talking about the problem with friends, we came up with the idea of using hardware. We thought it might help us remember to do it and also make it much faster. So far it seems to be working.
Do you have any tips for acquiring new users and/or scaling your business?
We’ve gained all our initial interest from word of mouth. We spend time one-on-one with people to learn about their day-to-day, which helps us improve the product and it often means that people talk about us and refer their friends. We also spend time refining our communications and marketing message so people who might not know us, will understand the product quickly.
We spend time one-on-one with people to learn about their day-to-day, which helps us improve the product.
If you could go back to the start, tell us two things you would do differently.
Try and set more realistic exceptions around getting to market. Even though we were warned hardware was hard, we set overly ambitious goals and that hurt morale a bit. We would also back ourselves more. There have been a few times when we’ve outsourced things we could have, or ended up doing internally anyway, and in hindsight we could have learned more or saved money instead.
What’s the biggest win you’ve had so far?
Getting the first working prototype. I think we hacked different versions of Tiller together for 12 months, before we were set on a fully custom prototype. Tony, our development lead, plugged it in and got it working with our software within a few hours. That was a big moment for us.
What’s your biggest mistake?
I’m not sure we’ve uncovered that yet. Tiller is still pre-launch. We’ve invested in lots of things that may or may not pay off – things like branding, patent applications, video production, content strategy. We’re also taking a risk, mainly targeting individuals and small businesses in the beginning and funding Tiller through Kickstarter. Some of these will pay off and others won’t so much.
What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?
Something with pixels, bits and people. I’ve been around internet things for ten years and it’s my favourite space to work.
I’ve been around internet things for ten years and it’s my favourite space to work.
How’s your experience been funding your startup?
We’ve self-funded everything so far with money from our client business. It’s been tricky and probably taken longer than if we had raised money, but we own the whole business right now. We’ll need funding for our first production run, but we’re going to look to our community for help with that, and try and crowd-fund it through Kickstarter in early September.
Have you had any challenges sourcing/growing your team?
So far we’ve been lucky to meet and work with really incredible and diverse people. Next year could be really challenging for us if our customer base grows quickly. We’re keeping a close eye on it.
Do you believe someone with no business or entrepreneurial experience can succeed in the startup world?
One hundred percent. We love talking to people who are experts in a vertical. If you’ve spent a long time in one place you can sometimes see opportunities that others can’t and you also have a good idea of how a solution should be put together. With the right partners, anyone can be a really great founder.
What’s the best advice you could give to someone starting out?
My favourite piece of advice comes from Twitter/Square CEO Jack Dorsey. If you have an idea for something, map it as soon as you can and show people. That could be a paper sketch, interface mock-up or something physical. Then ask people what they think and gauge their feedback. If they respond strongly, pursue it – if not, it can go on the shelf for another time.
Show people and gauge their feedback. If they respond strongly, pursue it – if not, it can go on the shelf for another time.
What’s a secret you’ve been dying to share?
I’m still playing PokémonGo.
Sign up to hear more about Tiller’s Kickstarter launch at www.gettiller.com.