Last Updated on December 23, 2020
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About Josh Simons
After leaving school I started a band called Buchanan which had a solid ten year run. We had some success in Australia – TV, radio, national tours – all the exciting stuff! That led into the songwriting path where I got to work with incredible artists and producers like Travis Scott, Troye Sivan and TBHITS. Around the same time I began working on what is now Vampr.
About Vampr
Vampr is a social-professional network for the music ecosystem – or ‘LinkedIn for creatives’ as we’re sometimes called. I started Vampr with Baz Palmer, my old label boss, because we both identified that one of the key determinants in finding success in a creative field is by who you have around you. Lots of folks have talent but simply don’t have the right team available to them. Vampr has been solving this problem for hundreds of thousands of people since 2016.
Contents
How Did You Get Your First Several Customers Or Users? How Many Users Or Customers Do You Have Now?
Lots of growth hacking! I think the first 100 users came from an Australian news article announcing our launch. The next 900 took a lot longer – we would go through Craigslist and reach out, one-by-one, to potential users. Was a bit of a grind, but thankfully we’re far more efficient at marketing now, with thousands of new people joining the platform each day. I believe the total userbase is close to 700,000 people now.
How Does Your Company Grow And Acquire New Customers?
We don’t usually comment on this too specifically, suffice to say we have a marketing budget which is spread across a number of acquisition channels, which accounts for about 75% of growth. The other 25% is word of mouth.
What Actionable Tips And Tricks Do You Have For New Founders Who Are Looking To Get Their First Thousand Users Or Dollars?
Avoid spending money (or too much of it) before you’ve tested the market’s demand for your product. This means doing lots of statistical research, creating landing pages and conducting qualitative surveys. You don’t want to spend whatever startup capital you have on an idea or solution that no one either wanted or needed. Same thing applies for marketing. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars straight out the gate – test the various marketing funnels with a disciplined budget and then see what works for your product or brand.
What Is Something You’ve Learned That Would Not Be Obvious To Somebody Who Hasn’t Worked In Your Space Before?
Seasonality also affects digital products, even freemium ones like Vampr, so marketing in the winter can become quite expensive. You need to account for that.
What’s The Craziest Thing That’s Happened To You (Good Or Bad) On Your Founder Journey?
I have a good story involving a 48 hour flight across the world, a limousine, a queasy stomach and the south of France, but if I said anymore my co-founder might strangle me!
What Are Your Favorite Books?
I’m in the middle of Unweaving the Rainbow by Richard Dawkins. I’m really loving it. I’ve also just started reading Obama’s latest biography. I like to switch between books depending on my mood.
Anything You’d Like To Plug?
Head to www.vampr.me and check out our network – even if you’re just a fan of music it’s a great place to stay up to date with all your music news and discover new talent in your area!
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