David Mellstrom, co-founder of SMS checkout platform Buddy, explains the opportunity he saw compared to incumbent marketing platforms like Klaviyo and Attentive.
0:00 / 0:10exact quote · 10.7s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“But we felt like, you know, those companies weren't taking marketing far enough, and there was still a huge gap between, you know, re receiving a message from a brand and actually making a purchase.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading:
filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard
(the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from David Maelstrom
Insight
Mellstrom: Text message marketing is far more effective than email or social
“And the inbox, the text message inbox is usually reserved for friends and family. So if you let a brand into your text message inbox, you know, you're probably going to read it. So it's just incredibly more effective than other mediums out there, whether it's …”
David MaelstromFeb 21, 2023▶ 3:58Startup Acquisition Stories with David Mellstrom, Co-founder of Buddy
PredictionNot checkable as stated
Mellstrom: Generational turnover in blue-collar SMBs will drive modern software adoption
“Look at like your local HVAC company. It's probably a 50 or 60 year old guy that owns the company. And he's thinking about, you know, either selling it or passing it down to his son. Either way, the new owner is going to be slightly more sophisticated than the…”
David MaelstromFeb 21, 2023▶ 17:33Startup Acquisition Stories with David Mellstrom, Co-founder of Buddy
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Buddy received two all-cash LOIs within 24 hours on Acquire.com
“It wasn't more than 24 hours after I listed on acquire that I got probably five to 10 inquiries and received two unsolicited LOIs for at or above asking price and all cash.”
David MaelstromFeb 21, 2023▶ 6:54Startup Acquisition Stories with David Mellstrom, Co-founder of Buddy
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Mellstrom: Buddy acquired its first 30 customers via Instagram DMs
“So we were like DM warriors on Instagram for like two or three months. And that worked. We got to, you know, I'd say probably 25 or 30 customers just using the like pure DM, you know, scrappy outreach.”
David MaelstromFeb 21, 2023▶ 5:09Startup Acquisition Stories with David Mellstrom, Co-founder of Buddy
Disclosure
Mellstrom: Managed Buddy acquisition diligence solo using venture background
“And for the most part, I managed everything on our end. So again, my background, you know, having been an early stage investor previously, like been through this process many, many times, seen the movie play out. Many different ways and felt, you know, confide…”
David MaelstromFeb 21, 2023▶ 11:33Startup Acquisition Stories with David Mellstrom, Co-founder of Buddy
Disclosure
Mellstrom: Buddy acquisition was not life-changing but provided bridge capital
“So, so we sold Buddy wasn't a life-changing outcome but it did provide some you know, some bridge, I guess, bridge money to go on to the next thing.”
David MaelstromFeb 21, 2023▶ 15:33Startup Acquisition Stories with David Mellstrom, Co-founder of Buddy
Made with StarZero
Turn any episode into a week of clips.
This entire site, over 100 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable,
runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the
moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.
We use essential cookies to make the site work. With your permission we
also use analytics cookies (Google Analytics and Mixpanel) to understand
usage and improve StarZero. See our Cookie Policy.