Summary
Welcome to another episode of the Startup Junkies podcast!
On this week’s episode, Caleb Talley and Jeff Amerine talk with Steven Gurley, George Wauchope, and Evan Mathis, co-founders of Giftgoat. Giftgoat is an online service that sends personalized thank you notes, greeting cards, and more for you. Say goodbye to the guilt that comes from forgetting to send a birthday card or a thank you note because Giftgoat has you covered. Tune in to hear the guys talk about working remotely, founding a company in the middle of a global pandemic, robots that imitate different handwriting styles, and much more. You do not want to miss this episode!
Shownotes
(1:50) Introducing Giftgoat
(5:55) The story behind the name
(8:05) Grassroots customer acquisition
(12:22) How the three founders came together
(14:14) Managing workflow, company culture, and growth when working remote
(21:44) COVID-19’s effects on Giftgoat
(24:04) Managing launch week, and commitment to hustling through the early days
(26:47) Advice for the younger self
(28:39) Where can you find Giftgoat?
Links
Quotes
“We’re looking at data. That’s all we want is to see how users are interacting with our platform so that we can make a better product.” (24:53)
“I would have told myself to not try to grow companies too quickly, because in the event of something like the global pandemic, that could be the end for your company.” (27:05)
“So I think the biggest thing is to just bury your ego and listen to people who are more accomplished and successful than you.” (28:14)
Giftgoat – A Pro Bowler, Marketing Executive, and Developer Start-Up a Company During the Pandemic
Are you always forgetting to send your friends and family a birthday card or message over the holidays? Do you feel weighed down by the pressure to send individual, handwritten thank you cards after an event or for a gift? Giftgoat has you covered!
Giftgoat is an online service that sends personalized thank you notes, greeting cards, and more for you! All you have to do is type up the message you would like to send or pick from a selection of pre-written messages. Choose the card you would like to use and select handwriting that you think best matches the note’s context. Giftgoat’s super cool robots hand write your message onto the card of your choice to give it that special touch. Plug the addresses in, and *boom* you no longer have to feel guilty about forgetting to send that special card or note.
Steven Gurley, George Wauchope, and Evan Mathis co-founded Giftgoat, which launched earlier this month. Steven and Evan met years ago when Steven was hired to document Evan’s transition from playing football at the University of Alabama to playing football professionally. While the relationship got off to a rocky start, the two became longtime friends and now business partners. George and Steven met while working in the crypto space in the Cayman Islands. They quickly became best friends and have worked together on multiple projects.
The three founders built Giftgoat fully remote, having regular meetings using Zoom, and utilizing other new-age business tools, such as Teamwork, Google apps, Slack, Hubstaff, GitHub, and Loom. They fully funded Giftgoat and are hoping to have $100,000 MRR before taking on capital. In the scenario where they do take on additional capital, they are looking for someone who would add money and business ideas.
With the launch happening earlier this month, the founders are attempting to do the majority of their customer acquisition through grassroots marketing. They believe that they can attract new customers by using the service themselves and encouraging businesses they work with to do the same. They are supplementing this marketing by also appearing on podcasts and television to promote launch week. Now, they are looking forward to the market data available post-launch.
“We’re looking at data. That’s all we want is to see how users are interacting with our platform so that we can make a better product.” (24:53)
As far as COVID-19, the pandemic that has negatively affected many businesses and individuals has not had the same adverse effects on Giftgoat. With the business being set up remote, it has not encountered any of the difficulties other companies have experienced finding a way to transition from an office-based environment to work-from-home. The pandemic is also keeping people home and away from family this holiday season. Steven, George, and Evan believe this works in Giftgoat’s favor, as it is easier to encourage people to send notes, cards, and letters to those who are unable to see their family this year.
To send a card to a loved one, click here.
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