00:09:33 · Levi Fawcett
[00:09:33] S9: When I go and look for parts, I go door handle for my 2015 Toyota Corolla. There's actually 300 different variants of Toyota Corolla. Each one of those cars has a different door handle. The core thesis there was because there are so many parts and they fit so many different vehicles, because the data is so complicated, as a buyer, I want to put in my exact vehicle, and then I want to see all of the exact parts that fit. That's an incredibly difficult problem. It's painful for me as a buyer, but the question was, can it actually be solved technically at scale? The way we went about proving that was talking to customers. We talked and have continued to talk to hundreds of customers all the time. It's not statistical, it's a bit more anecdotal, but really understanding the business helps a lot. The second thing we did was go talk to buyers where they were, how they thought, the types of problems they faced, and so I think that's what we did. We tried to really understand based on these conversations and based on information we could find on forums and other. One of the most challenging things I think we've faced for us, we came extremely close to running out of money. This was during COVID actually. Those times were particularly hard because the enormity of the problem just felt overwhelming. I think at the time we thought maybe there's like a ten percent chance of solving it. That period was one of the hardest. The problem just looked so large and overwhelming that it didn't seem possible for a few people to solve it. There just seemed like there was no path forward.
00:10:57 · S8, Levi Fawcett, S0, S1, S2
[00:10:57] S8: What was really difficult was not so much the lack of money or worried about running out of money, it was more the pressure to turn what we'd been spending the past three years on, to turn what we'd been building, the relationships with customers that we'd formed over all of that time, trying to turn that into something bigger. For me, I'd been living without a salary for three years at that point. I think we're all very ambitious. I think we wanted to do something very impactful with our lives. It was a moment of taking a step back and really having to think, okay, what are we gonna have to do here? You know, what are we gonna have to do to to really achieve our ambitions, to really make the impact on the world that we want to want to make? [00:11:36] S9: We worked ridiculously hard, seven days a week, sixteen hours a day, and we just solved each problem as it came. There was no alternative. Right? The alternative was to stop, and then we probably never would solve the problem. We would have found those Ad[00:11:50] S0: This episode is brought to Ad[00:11:52] S1: you by Indeed. You're ready to level up your business, but the pressure to find the right person to make that happen is intense. Indeed sponsored jobs can help carry the load. Ad[00:12:02] S2: It boosts your job post to help it reach quality talent fast. Ad[00:12:05] S1: Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.
00:12:05 · S1, S3, S4, S5, S7
Ad[00:12:05] S1: Cut through the chaos with Indeed sponsored jobs. Get a $75 sponsored job credit at indeed.com/podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring now? Then this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Ad[00:12:20] S3: Sam's Club is the club for every holiday club. Guess who's joining the club this season? Walmart Plus. Yep. Sam's Club Plus membership now comes with Walmart Plus at no extra cost. Two memberships, one great price. Just a $120 Ad[00:12:33] S4: a year can Ad[00:12:33] S3: save you time and over $700. Wanna get in on the membership duo of the century? Visit sam'sclub.com. Come join us. Sam's Club. Ad[00:12:41] S5: Annual plan only auto renews TNC apply estimate based on average combined Walmart Plus and Sam's Club Plus savings among members of both for one plus year versus nonmember or club member pricing slash fees. Excludes membership fee. See Walmart Plus terms and Sam's Club terms for more info. Ad[00:12:50] S7: It's officially the holiday season, and Abercrombie's new collection has outfits for everything on your calendar. It's the busiest time of year, and between shopping and party invites, I don't have time to plan every look. But Abercrombie's always got me covered. Their sweaters are the perfect easy layer for low key plans, and on a nice night out, I'm reaching for their classic trousers. Fill your closet with the pieces you'll need all season long. Have a very Abercrombie holiday. Shop in the app, online, and in stores.
00:12:50 · S7, S10
Ad[00:12:50] S7: It's officially the holiday season, and Abercrombie's new collection has outfits for everything on your calendar. It's the busiest time of year, and between shopping and party invites, I don't have time to plan every look. But Abercrombie's always got me covered. Their sweaters are the perfect easy layer for low key plans, and on a nice night out, I'm reaching for their classic trousers. Fill your closet with the pieces you'll need all season long. Have a very Abercrombie holiday. Shop in the app, online, and in stores. Ad[00:13:20] S10: This is Blue from the UPS Store with a very special holiday announcement for small business owners. We're open. Let's be real. Your deadlines don't take holidays. So while the other guys are checking out, the UPS Store is here to pack, ship, print, shred, notarize, and check more things off your list all year long. With over 5,500 locations, there's a blue near you at the UPS Store. Shredding services are provided by Iron Mountain as is. Visit the upsstore.com/shredding for full details. Most locations are independently owned. Product services prices and hours of operation may vary. See store for details.
00:13:20 · S10, Levi Fawcett
Ad[00:13:20] S10: This is Blue from the UPS Store with a very special holiday announcement for small business owners. We're open. Let's be real. Your deadlines don't take holidays. So while the other guys are checking out, the UPS Store is here to pack, ship, print, shred, notarize, and check more things off your list all year long. With over 5,500 locations, there's a blue near you at the UPS Store. Shredding services are provided by Iron Mountain as is. Visit the upsstore.com/shredding for full details. Most locations are independently owned. Product services prices and hours of operation may vary. See store for details. [00:13:50] S9: Optimization. So I think it was just that. Just worked incredibly hard, didn't give up, and get it in front of customers well before it was ready. I think one of the biggest moments, actually, I think it was probably probably was when we launched with eBay Australia. They were one of our earliest marketplace customers. Within a few months of launching with them we could see we were increasing their conversion rates enormously. That was really the moment for us because suddenly that was clear the value we were providing and it was clear that it made a much better buyer experience, which was our number one goal.
00:13:50 · Levi Fawcett, S8
[00:13:50] S9: Optimization. So I think it was just that. Just worked incredibly hard, didn't give up, and get it in front of customers well before it was ready. I think one of the biggest moments, actually, I think it was probably probably was when we launched with eBay Australia. They were one of our earliest marketplace customers. Within a few months of launching with them we could see we were increasing their conversion rates enormously. That was really the moment for us because suddenly that was clear the value we were providing and it was clear that it made a much better buyer experience, which was our number one goal. [00:14:24] S8: So I guess earlier on in the Partly story, we're working with smaller businesses and we discovered that the problem was far more fundamental. It was a case of asking why five times to actually get to the root cause. So it really was this layer and layer until we finally reached this fundamental problem. I think the biggest lesson I've learned is who you spend time with and what people you surround yourself with. The people you spend time with are the people that you become more like and I think that that's proven to be incredibly true. Those are the people that influence each other. So that's probably been the biggest reinforcement of a lesson that I think many have been taught since they