Travel Wahyoo Validating Products for Restaurant Entrepreneurs

Product validation is an important step for early stage startups that should not be missed before moving on to the next stage. Journey to find product market fit actually does not stop at a certain point, but continues and periodically in accordance with the development of market dynamics.

Each startup has their own journey when validating their products, Wahyoo I also have my own story about this. Therefore, on this occasion, Founder & CEO Wahyoo Peter Shearer will share his experience validating products at Wahyoo in a series of incubation program sessions DSLaunchpad ULTRA.

Starting as an advertising startup for a food stall

Wahyoo Initially it was founded because of Peter's desire to revitalize the food stalls so that they are more pleasing to the eye so that brands can use them to advertise online offline. This segment is eyed by Peter none other than because he has experience working for an agency company. Up to 1,5 years since its inception Wahyoo, he admitted that he had not applied any technology because the focus at that time was very different from current developments.

After that, team Wahyoo many discussions with food stall owners what they really need is a supply chain. When this issue was raised, they immediately tried to solve it by partnering with a third party, yet the company does not yet have its own technology team. As a result, everything is done outsourced.

"Wahyoo It's a bit unique because we didn't prepare the technology from scratch, so there's no MVP. We were overwhelmed because we used it outsourced tidak full time, so every time there is feedback from consumers the process is slow. This situation forces us to walk first which is important order to us, until finally our operations were a complete mess,” he said.

The situation was finally resolved thanks to acquisition Wahyoo to Address.com. From there, Wahyoo now has a technology and product team that can make the pace Wahyoo smoother as a tech startup.

After the supply chain issue is resolved, the needs of food stall owners also increase. They need additional income outside of their food trade. Wahyoo also partnered with F&B brands to expand their sales channels. Next, add financial service features to help their cashflow when developing their business.

“Always depart from the problem first, what they need. Then we make a product and ask them for validation, study the response. We also want to confirm if there is any impact of everything we do because we want this food stall to prosper, cost efficient, generate more revenue, and finish financial issues-his."

Always pay attention to metrics

Peter emphasized that product validation must be done because it can help save expenses, both in terms of time and money. At the same time, the way to mitigate the risk of the startup is closing. The reason is, many theories say that out of 10 startups only one is successful, the rest fail, it's because of their absence product market fit.

“We definitely want our products to be cool, sought after by many people, even at the extreme, is there a possibility that consumers can demo if our products are not available. If there is such a dream, then it is necessary to carry out market validation.”

To help with validation, Wahyoo using retention and contribution margin metrics. Peter explains for retention, keeping in mind the target user Wahyoo it is quite unique, it is necessary to carry out an educational process so that they become loyal users.

In maintaining these two metrics, Wahyoo design the application with supporting features, such as daily check-in, challenges, and so on to foster a sense of dependence with Wahyoo. The company also pays attention to how often consumers order products through Wahyoo, considering that their main business model is product ordering for the supply chain.

“We want them to open the app as often as possible Wahyoo and shopping diligently. That's why we make features daily check-in, there are all kinds of challenges too, this is for make sure Through this feature, behavior can grow to continue using our application.”

Partnership with brand also reproduced, so that shop owners can add other sources of income from sales. Especially in the midst of this pandemic, the need is even higher. Peter said that the turnover of the 100 stall partners surveyed dropped drastically between 25%-75% since PPKM was implemented. The most drastic impact was felt by food stalls located near offices and campuses.

“We keep thinking about how the kitchen stays bubbling, that's why now it's important to have an online presence. So the pandemic is for us like blessing in disguise, " he concluded.