David Mellstrom, co-founder of Buddy, describes listing his SMS commerce platform on Acquire.com and the immediate buyer demand he received.
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 …”
Prediction Not 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…”
Opinion
Mellstrom: Marketing tools like Klaviyo left a huge purchasing gap
“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.”
Assertion Not 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.”
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…”
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.”