Failure Is A Really Useful & Powerful Thing: CMO Of Start-Up Sendle
Failure is a necessary precondition for success, according to Craig Davis the chief marketing officer of start-up company Sendle. Why does Davis believe failure is so great? Well, the birth of Sendle started because of the failure of its original idea: TuShare.
Davis shared the story behind ‘Sendle’ to the crowd at yesterday’s Daze of Disruption conference. Sendle is a company which delivers parcels door-to-door across Australia at flat rates cheaper than traditional post, but that’s not what it originally was meant to be.
“I consider myself to be a serial entrepreneur and a failure,” Davis explained. “Since I left high school; I’ve started and partnered in 11 businesses, worked in five more and six of those 16 have been failures. I feel quite comfortable saying that because I believe failure is a really useful and powerful thing.
“I could stand here and try and paint the picture of brilliant design, searingly smart minds and a trail of success but that would be bullshit. Sendle, like most good ideas and start-ups that start to get real traction, was born out of failure.”
TuShare
In 2012 Davis and his team created TuShare, a platform where people could share unwanted but still useable goods with people around Australia-no money involved, just giving and sharing. Over two years the TuShare community grew to almost 50,000 members and over 40,000 kgs of items was saved from going to landfill.
“The idea was that I could be in Bondi with an old fondue set that I don’t want, but someone in Darlinghurst might really want that. You could request it and pop past my place in Bondi and pick it up. Except what if you’re in Canberra? It’s unlikely you’ll drive from Canberra to pick up the fondue set.
“To solve this delivery issue we created this low cost, flat rate and near frictionless delivery service which doesn’t require you to go anywhere near the Post Office and inconvenience yourself. We built the ability to deliver things anywhere up to 25 kg nationally cheaper and more conveniently- we picked up a parcel and delivered for $9.75.”
The only problem was people hacked into TuShare just to use its delivery service. eBay sellers would post to TuShare with an already paid-for product and get the buyer to ‘request’ through the platform. “We didn’t imagine that the business would be in delivery, we thought we were solving another problem. But by accident we solved a bigger and more valuable problem.
“We were running two business, but quite painful we came to the realisation that the sharing platform was just not sustainable. TuShare didn’t have a sustainable business model, but we had this delivery business which people were loving and leaning into.” TuShare was disbanded and Sendle was created.
Read TuShare’s closing letter to the community.
Three learnings from Davis:
1. If you’re embarking or considering embarking on this journey make sure you have a problem worth solving. Make sure you have a problem that is really worth solving and there’s appetite for it. The only thing that turns a crazy idea into a good business is product market fit. If it’s a problem worth solving people will offer to help, Sendle has had partnership with NAB, Etsy and Velocity.
2. Make sure its a hard problem, if it is too easy anyone can do it. You don’t want to be the umpteenth thing heading into the marketplace. If it’s a hard problem then it creates a barrier to entry which make it hard for other people to enter the market.
3. Make it meaningful. The thing we brought from tu-share is the comitmment to service and to understand customers and our community. But cabron neutrality is really important to us, keeping our b-corp status. We wanted to maintain it.
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.