16 August, 2019

E67- Damien Mahoney, Stackla

This week we are releasing #Ep67 of #OTPBD with Damien Mahoney, Co-founder & CEO of Stackla. Stackla is a content-marketing platform founded in 2012. It is a classic example of how an Aussie startup successfully ventured into the great US market. It is a revolutionary platform enabling all types of B2C businesses to generate authentic, trusted and dynamic user-generated content. Stackla covers a diverse spectrum of sectors including travel, retail, media & entertainment, etc. They pride in possessing a prestigious customer base which includes big brand names like McDonalds, Lenovo and Visa.

Damien shares plenty of worthwhile advice for founders looking to take their startups to the next level. Damien’s approach with Stackla was always taking things one step at a time. He says, “It was always about building upon the foundations that we built the building upon and the progress that we just made and trying to take the business to the next level.”His perspective is quite refreshing which portrays that one can still succeed with a mindset different from typical entrepreneurial ideologies.

In this pod, we also discuss how Aussie startups vary from Silicon Valley startups. We dig into the reasons why it is a struggle for local startups to raise capital in the US. Stackla went through 40-50 venture capital meetings for funding and didn’t find much success in the American market. The Silicon Valley investors generally look for something extremely disruptive and Aussie startups have more of humbler visions and pitches compared to their American counterparts. Damien talks about one of the key challenges’ startups face- hiring. He emphasizes on how strategic hires can bring structure and immense growth to businesses. He sheds some light on day-to-day of startups and shares his own share of experiences.

As per usual, we conclude this pod with a fire-round and get to know this talented founder a bit more. We hope you enjoy this pod. Tune in below!