Founders Ditch Social Ads: Taylor Swift & Prison Tablets?

Build Mode Returns with Go-to-Market Insights

A new installment of Build Mode is now available! This season focuses on valuable lessons derived from go-to-market strategies. Isabelle Johannessen, editor of Startup Battlefield, engaged in conversation with Jas Schembri-Stothart, co-founder of Luna, and Andre Peart, founder of Untapped Solutions, to gain their distinct viewpoints on effectively reaching specialized customer groups. This discussion followed their participation as candidates in the 2024 Startup Battlefield competition.

Customer-Centric Approaches and Guerrilla Tactics

Following our initial episode featuring Deon Nicholas, co-founder of Forethought AI, where we examined the essentials of building a company centered around the customer, this episode delves into innovative tactics and experiments. We explore how these strategies proved successful in connecting with two markedly different demographics: teenage girls and individuals with prior incarceration.

Luna's Strategy: Engaging Directly with Teenage Girls

Luna, a well-being application designed for girls, encountered a significant hurdle in reaching its intended audience – the founders were no longer teenagers themselves. To gather necessary feedback and insights, Schembri-Stothart’s team conducted visits to schools throughout the U.K.

These visits involved direct questioning from students, resulting in candid and constructive criticism, as well as expressions of interest in contributing to the app’s development. This led to the formation of a dedicated group of brand ambassadors.

• These ambassadors actively participated “behind the scenes” in the app’s creation.
• They also generated social media content to promote the application.

Effectively, they established their own go-to-market team, organizing activations at large-scale events, such as Taylor Swift concerts, where a concentrated number of their target demographic would be present.

Untapped Solutions: Reaching the Formerly Incarcerated

Untapped Solutions faced a different set of challenges. As a platform often described as “LinkedIn for the formerly incarcerated,” Peart needed to ensure the platform’s accessibility to individuals who are currently or were previously incarcerated, to facilitate their employment prospects.

Operating within a largely underserved technological landscape, they actively pursued speaking engagements and initiated their own National Reentry Coalition. They also launched an event that began this April.

Combined with partnerships with organizations supporting the approximately 600,000 people released from prison each year, this approach has resulted in widespread availability.

Ubiquitous Access to Untapped Solutions

“We’re in almost every prison system,” Peart stated. “So if you’re on a tablet, you already have Untapped.”

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