Bootstrapping from Australia: Emagine CEO Dave Peters (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Did you spec out the software that you were going to build?

Dave Peters: The way it worked was when I was in Paris, we built a custom-built software. I had actually licensed that software on an exclusive 15-year deal with that telco when I left. Because I didn’t have any capital, I said to the IT guys, “I’ll pay you guys a certain percentage every time I sell it.” We did that. I literally had a box of software and returned to Australia with that. After a few years, I put some money into getting it developed.

When I recruited a couple of guys to do that using my own funds, they told me, “This software is probably useful for that particular function but you might as well start again.” I wouldn’t have started if I didn’t have it. When the guys who knew about the software started looking at it, they said, “We’re better off starting from scratch.” They closed that box up and we started building the software from scratch, which I then led in terms of the design.

Sramana Mitra: How long did it take you to get that product developed with the developers that you recruited?

Dave Peters: Just before I jump into that, I realized an important other thing that happened at that time. I teamed up with another co-founder in the first two or three years. We both put some of our own money and bootstrapped the company. That was the first funding. He had a background in telecoms and sales. The plan at that stage was, I would be doing the consulting and he would be selling the software.

We recruited a couple of developers. They opened the box. They built the first version, which was the demonstration version of the platform, within three or four months. It was rather rudimentary but, at least, that gave us something to start selling. The first sale happened within 18 months. We made lots of presentations and did lots of trips, but we were a small startup. It took us a while before we made our first sale. The first sale of the software was to a small reseller in Australia. Essentially, they were starting up. I knew the guy who was running it. He said, “We need a platform like that.” We managed to do a deal where we installed that platform for them in order to help with their customer engagement.

This segment is part 3 in the series : Bootstrapping from Australia: Emagine CEO Dave Peters
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