Startup Life: Unscripted is a TNG Media newsletter, as part of The Nudge Group, where we feature candid conversations with startup operators about their career journeys and experiences. If you received this email as a forward, you can read all our past interviews and subscribe right here.

From FMCG to Startups: Gareth Stewart's Insights on Navigating Career Transitions.

Welcome back to Startup Life: Unscripted! Today, we had the opportunity for a sit-down with Gareth Stewart, a Senior Marketing Manager at Sleek, a one-stop-shop for entrepreneurs to start and grow their business in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK.

Key interview takeaways:

🔀 Juggling Sectors: Gareth's shift from FMCG to tech provided unique insights. He talks about how this mix shapes his work at Sleek.

⏳ The Power of Pause: Gareth took a break, and it changed his outlook. He discusses how the time off gave him a fresh perspective on startups.

🌏 Messaging for Entrepreneurs: Effective communication is key. Gareth explains how Sleek tailors its messages to resonate with young entrepreneurs globally.

🚀 A Day at Sleek: What's a typical day like at Sleek? He shares a snapshot of his daily tasks and responsibilities.

🧠 Tips for Marketing Aspirants: Breaking into startup marketing? Gareth offers practical advice and insights for newcomers.

Hey Gareth, thanks for joining us today. You've worked across such a diverse range of sectors – from FMCG to technology. How has this diverse background influenced your approach at a startup like Sleek?

In the early part of my career, I worked as a brand strategist, which gave me the chance to work on an eclectic bunch of accounts simultaneously. At one point, we were rebranding Aussie Wool, Weightloss, and Nutella all at the same time.

After a few years though, I found myself craving to see what it would be like to build a brand from inside a company, which ultimately drove me to take a leap and move to a client-side role (what some agency folks call "the dark side").

Fast forward to today, I think over my career I've had the pleasure of working across a pretty wide range of marketing problems, and I ultimately believe that the function of being a good marketer solely comes from a deep understanding of your customer and being able to provide them value at each step of their journey.

Transitioning from a company that went from service to SaaS must've been an experience. How did those pivot moments prepare you for the dynamic nature of startups?

I think we learned the hard way by getting many things wrong and unfortunately wasting a lot of time by chasing the wrong opportunities. At that time, there wasn't a huge precedent or a defined way to build a startup, and so as a result, we had to learn by trying, failing, and going again.

It was a pretty painful process, but I learned a lot through it. I think the biggest lesson I learned about the nature of startups during that time was this: make 100% sure that the problem you are solving is a real problem. I can't stress that enough. It needs to be a real problem that real people will pay money for.

The only opinion that really matters in the first critical years of a company is the market's. Whether we (as founders or employees) want to admit it or not, most of us can be pretty biassed towards the products we create because we believe in our ideas and want to see them succeed.

To pedal a cliché, you've gotta be ready to kill your darlings. Accepting and refining your product in line with market feedback will ultimately be the defining factor that determines your startup's success.

Taking breaks, like your sabbatical, often lead to introspection. How did that time off shape your perspective when diving back into the startup environment?

I think it just reinforced that I'm a person who is energised by variety and it validated that it was time to take a leap and dive into something new. Breaking out of your usual context is a potent way to clarify what you want, but it doesn't have to be a 6-month sabbatical - it could look like a long walk, a surf, or a camping trip without your phone. Anything to break you out of the norm.

🎗️ A quick word from Sleek 🎗️

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Sleek aims to simplify entrepreneurship. In your role, how do you craft messages that resonate with budding entrepreneurs across different regions?

Sleek in Australia is like the little brother/sister to our much larger presence in Singapore (where we were first founded). We benefit from the existing messaging and consumer testing/market testing that this location has already gone through.

That said, my role is to find ways to tailor and customise this for the Australian market. And no, that doesn't mean just adjusting copy for Aussie slang or adding a few F-bombs here and there. What we've really been working on is trying to find niches and communities that we can target and test - for example, we are looking heavily into the startup community as well as providers in the NDIS.

Given the wide spectrum of your roles and experiences, I'm curious. What does a typical day-to-day look like for you at Sleek?

In my role, I lead the go-to-market strategy for Australia for Australia together with our Country Managing Director / Co-Founder. An average day usually starts with some form of exercise (free endorphins), after which I make my way into the office or WFH. Currently, my time is divided between three core responsibilities:

1. Content creation - creating strategic content pieces that will drive organic traffic to Sleek.

2. Events / field marketing - activating the brand through various educational and promotional events, either on our own, with partners, or through sponsorships.

3. Partnership development - identifying other players in our customer's ecosystem that offer complementary services to Sleek. 

Given the diverse trajectory of your career, what advice would you offer to budding marketing professionals looking to make a mark in the startup world?

I think the job market today is very different from what it was a few years ago, which I believe is actually a perfect opportunity for aspiring new recruits. I hope I don't age myself (too much) with this comment, but I believe that finding a way in which you can demonstrate value before you get the job is crucial.

It puts you in a completely different position and shows that you have the ability to generate interest and are a valuable hire. I don't think that in this market, having an unbalanced sense of entitlement  (i.e. expecting to be given an opportunity - without proving value) will take you very far. 

What's next for Sleek in the Australian market, and how do you envision its growth in the coming years?

We want to become the platform and provider of choice for any entrepreneur to launch and run their small business. It's our hope that growth will continue on its current trajectory and mature into a recognised Australian fin-tech brand.

From the Startup Life team

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