Ep148 – Matt Elsley (Co-founder & CEO – Qsic) on teams, fundraising and enterprise sales

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep148 – Matt Elsley (Co-founder & CEO – Qsic) on teams, fundraising and enterprise sales May 13, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep148 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & CEO of Qsic, Matt Elsley. Qsic leverages smart devices and other inputs such as music to drive changes in real-time consumer behaviour such as increasing their spend in retail stores. They have had a fascinating journey since launching in 2012, initially bootstrapping for the first few years before going on to raise an angel round from some of their early customers. They are now used in over 2,500 retail stores including 7-eleven and McDonalds in the US and this week announced their Series A funding round of $4M led by Carthona Capital.  In this interview we discussed: Their decision to shut down their first business to go all in on QsicThe journey from bootstrapped to VC funded companyHow to sell to large enterprises like McDonalds and 7-Eleven in the USHow COVID helped Matt and his team reassess and refocus the businessHow to get the most out of your advisors and investors& much more! Timestamps  2.20 – Introduction to Matt and the story behind finding Qsic 7.00 – Decision to shut down his previous business and focus on Qsic 9.16 – How the introduction of streaming platforms helped to inform the market and with finding customers11.30 – Importance of having support and investment from customers especially in the early days14.55 – Pre-investment bootstrapping, borrowing from friends and family, maxing out cards 16. 14 – Building a startup with young families to support 19.06 – Sharing the conviction for the idea and bringing the team on the journey22.34 – What they hired for in the early stages of the business and why their fist hire was a CTO23.42 –  Attracting the best people in the early stages 26.06 – The story behind the haunted office space they previously worked in 28.53 – The importance of co-founders and how Matt met his co-founder, Nick, in school29.58 – Getting  key customers such as 7/11 and McDonalds US early on in the journey32.40 – Acquiring enterprise customers and the importance of doing both talking and listening in pitch meetings34.58 – Finding the industries your product is ideal for a pitch to the largest players within the industry 38.13 – Listening to the customers to first understand their focus, their why and their needs 39.30 – How COVID-19 provided the team time to reassess and refocus the business43.50 – Attracting the right people as advisors and connecting with people47.34 – Making the most out of advisors/board members 49.00 – Raising $4M Series A during COVID-19 41.49 – Trusting your instincts when choosing between investors 54.12 – What’s next for Qsic 55.28 – Where to find Matt and Qsic  Links Mentioned Matt’s Links  Matts’ LinkedIn Qsic Website Qsic LinkedIn People Mentioned  Nick Larkins – Matts’ Co-founderMatt Allen – Qsic ChairmanDean Dorrell – Carthona Capital James Synge – Carthona Capital Andy Mullins – Sand Hill Road Group Companies Mentioned Carthona Capital Special Thanks: Special thanks to Matt Allen and Andy Mullins for their help with this interview! ? Feedback/connect/say hello: [email protected]@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. Find all links to the podcast here. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep148_-_Matt_Elsley_Co-founder__CEO_-_Qsic_on_teams_fundraising_and_enterprise_sales.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. 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