FT Start-Up Stories Buddi: what to do when a deal goes wrong
Jul 2, 2018
In this engaging discussion, Sarah Murray, founder of Buddi, shares her journey from setbacks to success after losing a crucial government contract. She reflects on the challenges of selling to large institutions and the importance of adaptability in entrepreneurship. John Mullins, a London Business School professor, highlights the significance of customer-driven product development. Together, they explore the pivot to international markets and the lessons learned in resilience, innovation, and the need to persevere in business ventures.
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Founding Moment In A Supermarket
- Sarah lost sight of her daughter in a supermarket and felt a heart-stopping adrenaline rush that sparked Buddy's creation.
- She searched for an existing product, couldn't find one, and decided to build the device herself.
Plans Are For Thinking, Not Prediction
- Business plans are mainly to show investors you can think through the market and funding needs, not immutable blueprints.
- Sarah expected pivots and built for multiple markets, which later enabled major shifts in customers and use cases.
Pivot To The Justice Market
- Buddy pivoted from consumer kid-locators to monitoring offenders in the community after discovering large incumbents used outdated tech.
- That justice-market shift grew into roughly 90% of Buddy's current global work.