Tom had a developer friend build an MVP to prove the widget could embed naturally into websites. Once he saw it work, he went all-in: hired a lead designer, a head developer, and a front-end developer — all before a single customer. He funded it with passive income from his 10-year-old marketing agency (70+ clients paying hosting fees). On paper a terrible idea, but it let him sell to bigger companies who needed proof the product was real.

• Use income from a previous business or side hustle to fund the first hires if you believe in the idea
• Build a working MVP first to prove the core tech works before hiring a full team
• Hire for the roles you can't do (design, backend, frontend) to move faster than solo
• Show bigger prospects a polished product from day one by investing early in the team

Tom and his team went door-to-door showing the widget on iPhones. Prospects were confused — they thought it was a mobile app. An early team member suggested switching to iPads so people could see it embedded on a website in their own branding. They also printed brochures explaining the problem ("You can't get sales outside of hours. This fixes that."). The iPad + brochure combo made the pitch instantly clear and got them their first wave of paying customers.

• Demo your product on a device that matches how customers will actually use it (web = tablet, not phone)
• Print a one-page explainer that states the problem and solution in the customer's language
• Walk into businesses unannounced with a working demo — show, don't tell
• Let early team members suggest tactical changes; they see what's confusing in real time

Tom didn't skip a single business — music studios, repair shops, electricians, anyone open. He just walked in and demoed Avenue. Trades responded better than anyone else: they were direct, no-BS, and only paid if it worked. That feedback loop was exactly what Tom wanted — tangible results, not hype. Trades also referred him to other trades, saying "This has no use to me, but talk to my friend." The niche found him by responding consistently.

• Go door-to-door in your local area and demo to every business, don't pre-filter by industry
• Track which types of businesses respond best and lean into that vertical
• Ask for direct feedback face-to-face; the harshest critics often become the best customers
• Use referrals from non-customers ("This isn't for me, but try my friend") to find the right fit

Tom's Stripe dashboard shows steady, compounding growth: $597 AUD in August 2023, then $63,000 AUD (~$50K USD) in August 2024. He reinvested every dollar back into the business — hiring, AWS hosting ($150/mo), Twilio for SMS automations ($4K/mo), and AI tools like Claude. The business scaled without outside funding by solving a real problem trades were willing to pay for immediately.

• Reinvest early revenue into the core infrastructure (hosting, SMS, automations) that makes the product stickier
• Track MRR month-over-month in Stripe to see if growth is compounding or plateauing
• Keep costs lean where possible (AWS at $150/mo) and spend big where it drives retention (Twilio SMS)
• Bootstrap as long as you can if the business is cash-flow positive and growing

Avenue doesn't just embed on the client's website — it also goes directly onto their Google My Business profile as a "Book Online" button. Customers can inquire through Google or the website, and both lead to the same branded form. This Google partnership gave Avenue instant credibility with bigger trades clients, who saw the Google integration as proof the product was legit and widely trusted.

• Integrate with a platform your customers already trust (Google, Stripe, Shopify) to borrow credibility
• Offer multiple entry points (website + Google profile) so customers can book however they prefer
• Use partnerships with big names (Google) as social proof when selling to larger clients
• Make the product feel native to the customer's existing tools, not a separate login

Tom's biggest lesson: get someone to commit cash before you finish the product. If a prospect hears the problem you solve, asks the price, and is willing to hand over money on the spot, you're onto something real. Customers don't care how much effort went into building it — they care if it fixes their problem. Tom wishes he'd sold more before hiring the full team, but the early in-person sales validated the idea fast.

• Pitch the problem and the price before the product is done; if they want to pay now, build it
• Use pre-sales to validate demand and fund development without outside money
• Don't wait for the product to be perfect — sell the outcome, then build to deliver it
• If prospects ghost you or say "maybe later," the idea might not be painful enough to solve