13: Winning at Shark Tank & the Start-Up Scene with Waive Car Founder Isaac Deutsch
My Guest: Isaac Deutsch
Isaac Deutsch is the co-founder and CEO of WaiveCar, a ride sharing company offering free use of a fleet of electric cars, each with an LCD display on top for advertising. Isaac comes from the real estate world where he worked on both commercial and residential projects. He took that passion and molded into a new kind of business.
Isaac describes the brainstorm behind WaiveCar, what’s it like to be on Shark Tank and get a deal! as well as gives us a window into the tech startup world, which is fascinatingly different than the small business world not only in the day to day, but the entire business model.
Pivotal Moments:
Trying to negotiate a commercial real estate deal with a billboard on top, and realizing that outdoor media is a great industry.
Having his partner Zoli Honig, who he partnered with because Zoli was the only guy he knew in tech, reject his first idea as stupid.
Getting seen by Shark Tank after a write-up in a local Santa Monica paper.
Getting a deal with Kevin on Shark Tank, that was then renegotiated afterward (as apparently most Shark Tank deals are).
Finding a product offering that is win-win-win, so that they have a wait list of customers from launch day.
Cutting a deal with Hyundai by mentioning sushi at a conference.
The Struggle:
WaiveCar has enough users, and Hyundai is handing them cars. What they really lack is coding talent. Chris, the lead dev (developer) on the team chimes in on the struggle to find the talent needed, with many hiring insights along the way.
The Breakthrough:
WaiveCar has gotten their best talent by poaching it from other startups and similar companies, as people tend to wander through the space of early startups and jump ship when companies get too big- and this is something they can do again. Or just grab whomever is coding in the local coffee shop
Quotes:
“If you don’t love it, don’t do it.” -Isaac Deutsch
“You can always get more money, but you can never get more time.” -Chris McKenzie
Resources and Links:
- Find a free car: www.waivecar.com
- Find Issac on Social Media: LinkedIn, Twitter
- Read about the startup scene (explicit language warning): Disrupted, Dan Lyons
- Work with Estie: www.strandconsulting.net
- Join us on the Show: www.estierand.com/breakthrough
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