Redeployable
In this episode, we talk to Ben Read, former soldier turned tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech platform that connects military service leavers with careers in technology and other A-grade industries.
We discuss how to grow a tech start-up, such as the challenges of bootstrapping, developing early interest in your product before it’s launched, the power of a strong brand position, how to do top-of-funnel marketing authentically, and a whole host of other insights that start-ups (and most scale-ups) will definitely want to hear!
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00:00:01 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Hi, I'm Chris, founder, senior brand designer and growth marketing strategist at Haus of Hiatus brand Growth Studio, who wants to document innovative and disruptive ideas from successful small to medium sized enterprises. Tell startups to get strong market position as quickly as possible. In this episode, we talked to Ben Read, founder of Redeployable.
00:00:20 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
An online platform that connects military service levers to high performing tech organisations. We talk about why veterans are powerful additions to the workflow for scalers, the importance of brand perception, and bootstrapping away to success.
00:00:47 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And it's really good to meet you. Finally. I've heard loads about your company and it seems to be kind of everywhere on LinkedIn now, so getting this chatting person hear everything about how you've built it is.
00:00:57 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Nick, thanks so much for giving it the time.
00:00:58 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
I was gonna ask.
00:00:59 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
How you doing?
00:01:00 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah. Good. I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of days actually I've.
00:01:04 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I went, I went. I went a little bit manned down. So I've I'm just coming off the other side of it at the minute, but really good to be here and and to be speaking with you.
00:01:13 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, maybe it's hopefully it's not the dreaded COVID-19 that's struck him. But that kind of area is kind.
00:01:18 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Of behind us now. So I'm.
00:01:20 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
It's not. It's not. It's not. It's, uh, I won't be too graphic, but it's I've been, I've I've been leading the foetal position on the toilet floor a couple of.
00:01:31 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Times in the last.
00:01:33 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
The last death.
00:01:35 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah, yeah.
00:01:36 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
It sounds like the the the the 20. The DMV from kind of opt towards you know when it be like you just be waiting for that moment.
00:01:40 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah.
00:01:41 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Where it hits you.
00:01:42 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And it's like ohh God not right now. I'm on a flight somewhere.
00:01:45 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Something something similar to that, Chris, something similar to that.
00:01:53 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Mate. Well, yeah. Thank thanks so much for giving up the time to to to talk to us as as we kind of mentioned this was something for kind of startups to kind of document the learnings, the good and the bad points about those early days of when your bootstrapping and building something.
00:02:07 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You know, I guess what we're not further ado, could you can you tell me a little bit more about redeployable, please? Like where? Where did the idea for the business come from?
00:02:16 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah. So it it came from, from my family. Really. I I, I I was. I served in the room for 12 years. Got out in 2017. Got out because my brother.
00:02:27 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I got into technology sales.
00:02:30 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Ohh cool.
00:02:31 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Which you know, at that point in my life, I was like, how can I go and earn some more cash and get a bit more financial freedom? And do you know, do what we want to do. So I decided to leave. I was a Sergeant when I left on.
00:02:38
Yes.
00:02:43 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Just on the advice of of of my brother, I'd seen what he was doing. I also had a friend who was a sick fob PE teacher who got into tech as well as tech sales. So she got she got me an interview with her boss in a pub in Staines and I got I got the interview with him, really casual interview. I didn't know it was never interviewed in my life, so I.
00:03:03 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Didn't know what to expect.
00:03:04
Yeah.
00:03:04 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
We we literally had a.
00:03:05 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Pint.
00:03:06 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And and talked about life and then he verbally offered me a job. So I went in. The next I went in the next day and signed off and.
00:03:15 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And and yeah, got out. But I think it was a chain of events that led to the business. I think you were a victim of your circumstances. I started in a bigger.
00:03:26 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
See a tech business? It was a tech business, but was, you know, my first the first gig was like selling photocopiers and IT services and print software. And then I got into a Canadian software company, did that for 2 1/2 years, then went to a startup as head of sales, who start up with a. Yeah, I think like a 25 person software company and.
00:03:32
Yes.
00:03:45 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And it's got the startled bug of you.
00:03:49 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Understanding more about the startup world, understanding more about the commercial side. So I wanted I wanted to, I wanted to go and go and do my own thing and all the way through that time I I was earning more and more, more and more and more money, which was great and I couldn't believe how much money you could earn in the industry.
00:04:09 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So I was advising friends on on how to get into the industry. None of them knew what I was doing really, they didn't understand.
00:04:10
Yeah.
00:04:15 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And it.
00:04:16 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So from there it just I just looked at you know how how, how do people not know about this these opportunities like especially in technology, how how they not got an eye on them, how is how is nobody telling them about about the opportunity out there. So I just decided to go and and and do it myself and and create something that gives people that opportunity.
00:04:23
Yeah.
00:04:36 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah. And that's where redeployment came from. So essentially, you saw the opportunity of getting.
00:04:42 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Service leavers and veterans into kind of software and and more tech related roles. And so you you kind of what you you built the app yourself or you kind of got a team got teamed together and and they built it.
00:04:55 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah. So it's it's the at the first 9-10 months of of the business, I'd just look at it as like brand building. So yeah, we were always going to go and raise investment or the plan was I always had me, I am going to raise capital.
00:05:11 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
But I felt like we needed to build a brand, get some, you know, get some case studies, do some, do some good work, start to get a name for ourselves before we start on the journey of building the techs. Or I think we. I started the business full time in in the April, April 22.
00:05:27 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Ran all the way up to December of that year. Did did more like recruitment and like started working with some you know some of.
00:05:34 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Biggest tech companies in the world like Ciscos or and zeros and then and then. At that point I then start to speak to investors, started to do all of our UX for for our app, you know and just the first iteration of the app. And then I went out to investors and and went from there. So I started building the team and things like that.
00:05:54 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, about. I've gotta tell you, for as as a.
00:05:57 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
As as a brand designer myself, hearing somebody in tech as well saying I designed a brand before I designed the tech is is. I can't tell you how refreshing that is because it's usually the other way around. You know we we work with like tech startups on their brand and they always like no, but the product has got to be absolutely perfect before we get the brand tidied away. And here to here.
00:06:17 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
They you know, way around, you got to grow their awareness and perception of the brand 1st and then develop the tech afterwards. And just like I can't more more people think like that as well. That's so refreshing.
00:06:27 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I'm a I'm a I'm a marketing wannabe. You know, I'm a I. I'm a big believer in.
00:06:32
Yeah.
00:06:34 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I'm I'm I'm a I'm a I'm I like a solution. Sales was like where I found my niche. When I got out.
00:06:41 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
But.
00:06:42 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Since I've left that, I think the the the brand side, the feel of how you know how people feel about your business and the service you offer. And I think there's so many things that contribute to.
00:06:51 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:06:55 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
The back story, you know the, the, the team. I think it's so, so important and it's something that's very difficult to replicate.
00:07:04 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
You know, people can build, people can build technology like your technology, right? But they can't build how people feel about your business. And it takes a long it takes a long time to do that. So I'm a bit. I'm a.
00:07:04
Yeah, yeah.
00:07:15 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Massive believer.
00:07:16 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
In.
00:07:17 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Investing in in, in marketing and brand to make sure that people get a good feeling about you.
00:07:24 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah. I mean, especially in with.
00:07:25 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
With the era of.
00:07:26 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Generative AI, kind of on our on our doorstep as well, isn't it? You know, it's obviously ChatGPT and the other other new products. And now we're starting to write code better than, you know, a lot of the the top engineers can write it. And so I guess there's there's in looking. Looks like we're going to be on a a a shift towards learning those those.
00:07:43 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Hard coding skills at first. If there's a model that can do it better or faster, cheaper than we can and it it makes more sense to lean into that branding and like, like you say, building those positive perceptions about a company before you.
00:07:56 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And focus too much on the UX of, you know, of the of the.
00:08:00 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Product or the UX of the products and interest. So I agree with you and all of that and I think it's gonna be more, it's easier and easier to build that applications and I'm not a developer but you know, I mean Gemini like Google are launching the new LLM and and you know you can build a very simple.
00:08:17 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
That just from some some kind of text based prompts.
00:08:20 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Like.
00:08:22 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
That that's super cool. And it's gonna be we're gonna be able to, you know, innovate quickly in the future, but.
00:08:29 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
If nobody knows about you and you haven't got that attraction demand and then does it really matter what app you have like? I feel like I feel like you've gotta you've gotta put yourself out there first.
00:08:43 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Personally, but then that's easy. It's easy. It's easier to say when you've got a services. Ohh, I mean your business that can generate revenue as well, right? Like we we we were able to generate revenue through that brand building phase and and and also me personally I had money put aside to not so I didn't have to take money out of the business as well at that time.
00:08:43
Yeah.
00:08:45
3.
00:09:03 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So I guess it's all like the situation that people are in as well. If they're solely relying on revenue from the app that they're building, then maybe, you know, maybe they need to get that app out as quickly as possible and then start to look at brand thereafter. So.
00:09:11
Yeah.
00:09:16 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Bring up to here. There's that's that's a. That's a really great insight. That's. Yeah, there's, there's definitely a lot to to chew over. Actually, I think I think we definitely come back to that at some point. But I guess probably for to help kind of other start or sorry startups in their their journey. How do you can you give us some insight like how?
00:09:37 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
How do customers find you in the company in terms of that early stage of you say when you were building it from April until you know to actually launch the app, how were they? How were they finding you? Is it knocking on door? Does it you know?
00:09:50 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Fees, you know in in central London, what what were you doing to to?
00:09:55 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Awareness.
00:09:56 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Well, we got two. We got two stakeholders in our world, right. We've got the, the veterans, the service leavers and we we have the companies that you know we want wanna either wanna or we want them to hire the veterans or service leaves which very much like a marketplace model, you know supply and demand is like the reality.
00:10:14 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, yeah.
00:10:15 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
From.
00:10:17 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So if you like, if you dial it into like the consumer, then like the veteran it's it's very much being. I'm quite I'm quite hot on on LinkedIn and building in public and doing a lot there. That gets us a lot of of of attraction and you know events we do events with big brands we just did.
00:10:37 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Better you know that gets us a lot of attention from a B to B perspective. It was very like network driven for me and and initially I was tapping in.
00:10:48 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
The people that are new and starting to to connect them with vets to like tech sales roles specifically because that's what I knew. So I was like, I know tech sales and I know the the military community. Therefore I'll just connect people into those tech sales jobs because they're really good opportunities. So I did a bit of network and then I I was just like, who can I get that?
00:10:55
Yeah, yeah.
00:11:08 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Like Hero Brands that are good brands that we could put all of our websites.
00:11:13 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So.
00:11:14 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So I went after like 0 with an X for for a while we did a big event with them in December.
00:11:14
Yes.
00:11:20 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Cisco companies like that where it's like that was more my sales me going out there and actually finding the right types of people and and and and you know and having those conversations. So a bit of a mix originally anyway.
00:11:33 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:11:35 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, strong. I mean, I mean, I guess it's, it's the sort of thing because obviously your your journey is is incredibly interesting, inspiring itself, cause obviously went from fleet manager in the, in the air core into into those kind of SaaS sales roles, which in itself that sort of transit.
00:11:51 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And you know, it's not. It's not a common one you hear about in the, you know, in the veteran community, enough as it is. But then I guess you've built your 12 years in the military would have built those those kind of social skills, those networking skills, the ability to to understand the heart of a problem, to deconstruct it and also to kind of be able to communicate that to.
00:12:12 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You know, people who are busy, who are tired, who are stressed on operations and those sort of things. So I can see I guess reverse engineering. I can see how all those years in the military would help you in what you're doing now and and but then also to to build redeployable in the state.
00:12:29 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
That it's it's it's fascinating.
00:12:30 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah. So it's, yeah, it's it. Well, well, First off, I was in the remit. I was as a as a Remi airtech. Not on mirco. Yeah, just.
00:12:39 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Sorry.
00:12:43 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I've got a blueberry behind me, but it was a no.
00:12:48 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
That's confusing.
00:12:50 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
It's not. It's not you. It's not a usual it.
00:12:53 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
It's not unusual in terms of I meet a lot of people who are in the software space now selling software who are ex mill, but it's not massively usual like because people aren't aware of the opportunities actually.
00:13:05 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:13:06 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Actually, a lot of the things that you do in the military translate really well into cells, but also individual roles.
00:13:14 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Translate well into cells, you know, so for me.
00:13:17 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Being an aircraft engineer, you're process driven. You act with a level of integrity. You know how to communicate both up and down and and that really helped in sales and in software sales specifically and well, people I guess would be found as a businesses and things. I mean people know that what sales sales isn't like flogging a.
00:13:37 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
You know, some double glazed windows, especially when you shutting like hundreds of £1000 worth of software. So it's very consultative. It's very process driven. So I think that transition for me was I didn't find it too difficult the the challenge that I or the challenge that some would have.
00:13:40
Thank you.
00:13:55 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Uh.
00:13:56 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I guess versus me at the time was I didn't have, I didn't have a kid at that at that point. I didn't have a little one. So my my ex, my outgoings were, you know, my mortgage for our first house. So I took a wage drop to get into my my first sales role. Quite. I mean, I I I I I earned nearly over.
00:14:16 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Double my sergeants wage in that first year from Commission. But I took a massive base salary cut. I think I was on twenty £24,000 a year when I got out as a Sergeant.
00:14:25 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Dropped down to.
00:14:26 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah. Whereas I don't. People don't need to do that now because it's more open and there's more. There's more opportunity, but.
00:14:33 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I think.
00:14:34 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
A lot of the skills translate and you.
00:14:37 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I think you've got to just be brave and go jump into these kind of opportunities because there is like light at the end of the tunnel where you can.
00:14:44 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Earn a significant amount of money and also have a bit more autonomy with your life and.
00:14:50 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, completely agree.
00:14:50 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Being one of those crews.
00:14:52
Yeah.
00:14:53 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, interesting here. I mean, so my next question, I wanted to kind of ask was more about like how how is redeployable's brand kind of changed in the throughout the marketplace because obviously it's I guess it it it's relatively new, but I would imagine you had to go through several iterations of you know kind of like your your logo design.
00:15:13 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Your, your your tone of voice, your personality, how it where it kind of sits in the markets against, you know competitors and and kind of peer organisations.
00:15:22 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And how how?
00:15:23 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
How it had to adapt to to what to change.
00:15:27 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah, I always, I always wanted it to be crisp and clean and fresh. And I always like, you know, we're we're not about.
00:15:39 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Connecting everyone with every role in the world. We're about connecting. We're about. We're we're we're trying to solve for under underemployment. So how can you get people? People might, you know, some people might think they're in great jobs and even if they don't like like them, they think they're great jobs. But there's other opportunity out there that might be even better.
00:15:42 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:15:59 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
For them, and they're just, they're not fulfilling the potential in the role that they're in. But they were the options that they were given when they got.
00:16:04 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:16:05 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So we're trying to solve for underemployment and what that means is bringing the best jobs in the UK and then eventually globally to the to the military community. That's what we're all about. So to me, that's premium, you know, and it's tech and it's tech focused. So I always wanted it to be clean.
00:16:23 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:16:25 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I always wanted it to be crisp. I always wanted it to be, not specifically military in in the brand and that was really important to me. You'll find that across all of our site.
00:16:33 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:16:36 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And when you want sea warships and people.
00:16:40 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Keep keep people in Cam cream and like, that's not what like we are cause at the end of the day, we are military focused. We're we're we're, you know talking about all the skills that you have and we're talking about how military experience you know can be a competitive advantage but you take your kit off when you get out of the forces like you're not. You're not wearing concrete anymore, you receive it.
00:17:01 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So what really, really that's really important to to me is is always to maintain that.
00:17:06 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, I mean, I I love that because it's, I guess one of the you know, the, the, the semiotic signs. Obviously the military is like you mentioned, Cam, cream, it's rifles, it's the stencil fonts, you know, it's it's all that, that, that there's semiotic signs that can make it a little bit cliched there I say.
00:17:23 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
So what from?
00:17:24 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
From a brand design perspective, when I saw Redeployable I was like.
00:17:27 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
That I know I clearly know what you're aiming for with redeployable, but the fact that you've gone in a completely different register.
00:17:34 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You know, complete different signs and codes from what you were expecting. It's refreshing. It's a, you know it's it's a real strong USP. You know without without you know kind of blowing smoke it's you know I I think it's it's it communicates confidence without being cliched which is a hard it's a hard thing to do for a lot of companies so.
00:17:55 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
But you know, when I when I saw that and obviously read about your background, I was like, I didn't wanna chat to Ben for the podcast because there's a there's a tonne of lessons there. I think there's a, you know, a lot of startups, especially from the military community, you could do with just picking up on, you know, not avoiding those cliches is is.
00:18:11 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You know such a an easy thing to miss, I think.
00:18:13 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
In those early days.
00:18:14 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
It's it's. It's an interesting one because like even with when you talk about like like military attraction, we see.
00:18:24 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Feel like people doing like memes on on their on their social of like, you know, like something something.
00:18:32 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And we, we've done it. I think we've done.
00:18:33 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
It once before and.
00:18:35 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
We we did it and it pains me because it's just like that's not the feel of the brand. We don't wanna be doing these means to to just to to to generate more attraction like get more attractions. Yeah. So I just think it. We're trying to just stay true to that throughout. That's that's just really important to us.
00:18:46 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Attention.
00:18:53 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Is that we we maintain that brand and make sure that we kind of stay true to it so.
00:18:59 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, I mean, especially especially when you think that obviously the part of the target market is the companies that you're you're recruiting for. And so by being too too focused on the, the veterans, other things is it can put off, you know the the the actual other side of the the balance as you know the people you're trying to get them into the companies are trying to get them into.
00:19:20 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Whereas you you've retained the you know this this concept of redeployable which is a is a is a real cool.
00:19:26 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Brand position, but they're not using those. Those Cam cream and their their rifles and the the you know the tank images or the silhouettes and stuff. So yeah. But I think it's I think it's I think I think it's powerful and it it does get me on to the kind of the next question is you mentioned social media is is how has how has your brand used social media.
00:19:45 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
To to kind of grab attention of the veteran community and then those those companies as well.
00:19:51 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Super, super important, I'd say probably the most LinkedIn specifically has been the most important, most important channel for us.
00:20:00 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I'll. I'll wait before I start the business. I started testing a little bit on LinkedIn of like posting bits about sales and the military and playing around with it for a bit before I even left my my role as as a supply compass. And I just think.
00:20:18
Yeah.
00:20:20 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I've tried to maintain that all the way through the business.
00:20:22 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And, you know, went and I felt the pain when I don't do it for a couple of weeks and then come back to it like, I think staying consistent and me personally building.
00:20:34 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
In public and trying to be out there in terms of what we're doing is really important. I mean, you probably wouldn't have ever known about us if we weren't putting things out on LinkedIn, right, you know, so.
00:20:44 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Of course, yeah, yeah.
00:20:45 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I I encourage the team to do it as well, so I'm really I'm really hot on that. You know, the team putting themselves out there cause you know, they might not work for redeployable forever, you know and and the likelihood is they, you know they won't. Well they won't work for redeployable forever, right they'll they'll.
00:21:02 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
They'll they'll have long careers that they, they've got long careers ahead of them, so they've got their own personal brand and they gotta put themselves out there and and start to be creative like that. So I just try and I'm trying to build it into the culture a bit where we're comfortable doing things like that as a team and they're good. They're good with it. But I, yeah, social is so important and for our.
00:21:19 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yes.
00:21:22 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
For our customer base and for the vets, LinkedIn for us is where it's at.
00:21:28 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, it's, it's great to hear. I mean we, we've so far we've done done a number of podcasts with other kind of veteran focused tech and tech and kind of production companies and and it sounds like LinkedIn is is the new you know the new billboard I guess for for companies because people are now understanding the power of it. And but and also understanding where kind of Instagram, Facebook and.
00:21:49 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Dare I say TikTok play their part in the the the B2C side of the marketing? But yeah, it's it's good to see. We've definitely seen more companies now you know go into, go into their setup with their marketing, social media marketing strategy.
00:22:05 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You know, already already decided and worked on before and not as an afterthought. So yeah, it's good to hear.
00:22:11 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
We're not. We're not perfect, right? We there are other channels we wanna we wanna.
00:22:16 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
We wanna, you know, move into. But for us it's you. We're a small team, so there's only. There's only so much you can do. Well. So like Tik Toks a great example, you know, from a well you if you think about the cohort people getting out now they're not, they're not 22 years getting out. We meet a lot of people have done 678 years, nine years.
00:22:35 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:22:37 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
It's the new generation of levers getting out of the forces. So from the consumer, the the candidate.
00:22:43 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
The veteran side.
00:22:46 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
We you know, they they're not. They're not a lot.
00:22:48 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Of them aren't.
00:22:49 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
On.
00:22:49 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Facebook as an example. Yeah. Or they might be on Facebook, but that's not where they're spending most of their time. So yeah, we we have a lot more to do as a, as a business, but it's a it's been debt social's been so important.
00:22:52
Yeah.
00:23:02 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
To us, redeployed was obviously gonna be around for for a long time. It's going to.
00:23:07 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
It's gonna obviously want to last last through whatever iterations of social media.
00:23:11 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
They come and have you had to experiment with any new approaches to raising the the company's profile as in trying new social media platforms or kind of event marketing or that or you know podcasts of your of your own for example is anything you you guys are have have done or looking at fair to raise a profile yourselves?
00:23:29 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah, we've done. We've done it. So we I ran a podcast myself when we were.
00:23:33 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
TO11 and two man band at that point I did a I did 13 episodes of a podcast, which was pretty well received but not not giving it the time I needed so that something was coming back to us as a team. We've done three events now, one with zero or one with sales force and one with with meta that there.
00:23:46 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:23:53 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
That's gonna be a a, a constant thing for us. We're gonna be doing more events. Big events, probably 2 next year and then more intimate events. Kind of smaller tech companies in different regions of the UK. That's a big. That's a big piece for us.
00:24:09 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
E-mail marketing is important as well, yes.
00:24:14 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So yeah, there are there are a number of different channels that we that we've I've experimented with or you know are are doing partnerships are a big part of marketing in my opinion and and relationships with partners. So yeah.
00:24:29 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
To you.
00:24:31 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, it's, it's great to hear. Like there's one one thing actually which I I don't hear very much of in kind of startups or veteran owned company that actually is is e-mail marketing and the power of it. If if done well, you know respecting the the audience and not just sending out junk, you know every other week for you know.
00:24:51 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
By way of examples, you know it's nice to hear that there's other people think about it as well because it's, yeah.
00:24:57 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Definitely something that you don't hear talked about much across the the startup or veteran community here.
00:25:02 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah, yeah, it's important, I think done. But you just said you what you said was, you know, super important with it. If you do it right and it's not horrible spam and.
00:25:14
Yeah.
00:25:15 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
You know, cause people people aren't stupid to it now, are they? You know that.
00:25:18 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
People are busy.
00:25:19 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So I think the way that you sequence an e-mail marketing campaign is so important.
00:25:20
Yeah.
00:25:26 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Completely agree, completely agree. Well, yes, it does get me into my next question and feel free to to kind of avoid this one or or say no is is do you see redeployable kind of launching any new products or services kind of I guess in the in the in the coming years I mean I guess it's obviously you're you're a tech company so you can pivot.
00:25:26
So.
00:25:46 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Really well.
00:25:48 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
But I guess you know, would you be looking at expanding it to to kind of like non military or emergency services or you know something like that in?
00:25:56 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
The future, I guess.
00:25:56 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah. Easy, tiger. Easy tiger.
00:26:00 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I'm I'm I'm the the expanding outside of the military is certainly not something we're going to do in the immediate future. It might be something we look at in the future around Chris, which is in general, but that's not not something now in terms of.
00:26:15 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
New products, yes.
00:26:18 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
We've literally, in my opinion, got the first iteration of our product out there, which is like the match side where you share jobs and you match with jobs. So we're releasing the first iteration of a product called Engage. Engage is actually a product that allows companies to engage with vets when they're not looking for jobs, when they're actually exploring the market.
00:26:41 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So fundamentally we are pre networking for the vets, finding all of the best companies, finding the people to speak to in those companies and then bringing them all into one place so veterans can come in and network themselves in in there. So. So we'll we'll probably be releasing that in in a couple of sprints. Then we're releasing something called engage plus and then we're releasing something called translate.
00:27:02 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So this whole.
00:27:03 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Got like 5-5 pillars of the product that we wanna we wanna get out there. Where? When? What we've launched now is nowhere near where we want to be in the next.
00:27:07
Yeah.
00:27:12 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
12 months, yeah.
00:27:15 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
But I've gotta say not not only having the products named after they kind of like almost mission effects verbs, you know, like they engage.
00:27:20 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And.
00:27:21 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And translate that's that's. That's cool. That's got that's got like real character about it. But I'm just thinking now, I'm not thinking my own transition from the military in 2015.
00:27:32 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You.
00:27:32 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Goes back like there was nothing like this. You know the the career Transition partnership was kind of geared, you know, kind of put you in touch with things. And there's a few events get on then. But you know when you're when.
00:27:42 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You're when you're.
00:27:43 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Talking about getting companies in front of of, you know, kind of service leaders who are who are.
00:27:48 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Still kind of pre.
00:27:50 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You know, pre thought out that path that's you know that's fantastic because I get.
00:27:54 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
I I talked to a lot of people who are contemplating leaving the service or they're in there during it, you know, and kind of end up giving giving the same advice, you know, over and over again about kind of networking and getting business cards and getting LinkedIn sort of that.
00:28:08 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
To to now take that approach one step further and say right, let's kind of put interested people in touch with the companies beforehand. That's like that's a breath of fresh air because it's that that year of transition is just stress.
00:28:19
Yeah.
00:28:20 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
So.
00:28:21 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah.
00:28:22 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
That's it. Like that's that's what we wanna we wanna prevent, right? You get told to go and network and then you gotta go and find these companies and and and find the people within them. So what we what we wanna do is actually bring bring that into into one place to make it easier for people to start that networking process.
00:28:31 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:28:40 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So actually, with the people who you want to meaningfully speak to within the companies, you know there are a lot of people on the peripheries that that give you advice, but they might not have the advice from an industry perspective and the function you want to go into. So we want to bring the legitimate people that you should be speaking with into into one place. So you can start that networking process.
00:28:53 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, yeah.
00:29:02 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, fantastic. Well, I look, I look forward to seeing that. That's gonna be. I'm definitely gonna definitely gonna keep my keep my out and recommend it to friends and and you.
00:29:09 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Know kind of because.
00:29:11 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
They they sort of tools are absolutely valuable when they can transitions and it's I think it's having having a child, buying a house and making a career transition where where kind of vote.
00:29:22 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
To be the three most stressful things you can do in life, and so if you're trying.
00:29:24 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
To.
00:29:25 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Combine one or all three of those at the same time you know.
00:29:30 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
In my view, it's so anything to make it easier is.
00:29:33 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Is.
00:29:34 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:29:34 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Great running a startup as well.
00:29:38 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Bootstrapping and I had a fourth on bootstrapping.
00:29:39 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah.
00:29:40 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Really, really the start of it like this is really the running to start trying to scale a business is.
00:29:45 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Way more stressful than having a baby.
00:29:49 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Very much.
00:29:53 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
That was a great about. It added that to the make sure that goes in the show notes.
00:30:00 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Also, well, let me get on to kind of the political question for I can let you get on with your with your day, kind of what do you see as the main challenges for startups trying to grow and stand out in the current marketplace? I guess specifically with like we said, generative AI on the scene, we've now got kind of no code low code websites coming out like what can you what?
00:30:20 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And you see is that the main, the main barriers to entry for startups?
00:30:24 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Capital and the risk element of it is I think the biggest challenge. You know how quickly can you get to some sort of revenue because?
00:30:33 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
All Emily, you just need to buy yourself time.
00:30:36 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I always just look at it as like time. You're just always buying yourself time.
00:30:40 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Like.
00:30:41 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Can we drag along as a business for?
00:30:43 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Another six months.
00:30:45 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
You know, but do things in that time develop the product, you know, get some more wins, build some more customer relationships and be in the same cash position in six month time. It just in a bare spot, just generally like everything's about like.
00:30:58
Yeah.
00:30:58 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Buying time isn't.
00:30:59 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
It so I I think I think like the the amount of time.
00:31:04 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
You have at the beginning of the.
00:31:05 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Journey is super important, like I was very lucky that.
00:31:09
Yeah.
00:31:10 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
You know, I got into cells and I I did alright it and I put money away. I didn't invest money. I just put it. Which is, you know, everyone tells you you need to invest your money wisely. Well, I just kept it and used it, you know. And I think that period of 12 months where the business didn't pay me anything. I literally paid myself.
00:31:22
So.
00:31:30 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Out of out of the business money, that's out.
00:31:32 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
The sevens that get get that gave me the time and flexibility to then go and take risks and.
00:31:34
Yeah.
00:31:40
Yeah.
00:31:41 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And so I think that's always the biggest challenge and it's always the bit that I'm really apprehensive about advising people on, like, tell I'd never tell someone to go and do it. Like I hear people say every, everyone should go and try and be an entrepreneur or try and start a business. And I just think that's like really, I think that's really naive.
00:32:00 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Advice because it's not as easy for As for Pete as as that for people, right, it's it's it's it's such a big step change for the family so I think.
00:32:02 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:32:11 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
That is always gonna be the barrier. You need a good idea or you need a reasonable idea, but you'll end up pivoting anyway, because you'll just talk to customers and the, you know, the market will tell you that you need to do something else. But yeah, just having that that leeway to go and test things out and and try things is is definitely the, I think the biggest challenge.
00:32:18 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, yeah.
00:32:31 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, I completely agree. I mean it in. In some ways there's a lot of design thinking that comes into running a business in terms of kind of having to understand those customers, pain points, pivot the business accordingly. And then also understanding is that is that the decisions that you're making on every day has a knock on effect to your family, to people that you employ your partners and and stuff like that. In terms of you know how you position the brand and knock on effects.
00:32:54 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Like you say, it's not like you're just, you're just.
00:32:56 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You know, building a house or something like that, it's something that's, that's, I think, a a good friend actually described it as trying to ride a bike while building it. And it's on fire down a hill. And I was like, oh, that's. Yeah, that's a.
00:33:06
Yeah.
00:33:07 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Pretty good metaphor.
00:33:08 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Actually, for startups and you know, we're always talking about kind of you know the cash flow and runways, you know, making sure you've got enough runway for.
00:33:17 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And like you said, like that six months down the line is are we still going the same position and?
00:33:21 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
You know, kind of growing is is I think you're right. Like the the the advice on just go ahead and do it is so short short sighted. You know it's like someone saying I'll never give up and it's like well clearly sometimes you got to give up or pivot, you know, and that that kind of advice needs to, you know, be contextualised.
00:33:40 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
With, you know, if you're gonna do a startup, if you're gonna start a business, research it, understand your customers have contingency plans, talk to, you know, so many assets, so many components of it that you like. You say you just can't tell people just to go and start a business, cause everyone's really cut out for running a business, are they? It's.
00:34:00 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Well, some people don't like some people don't operate well with like ambiguity and like the uncertainty like I heard I heard, I can't remember what the podcast was, but they were talking about like medical students. He was the person's brother who was speaking. He was, it was an entrepreneur and.
00:34:17 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And the he. He's like my brother knows that is in medical school for seven years. He needs to do this. He needs to do this. He needs to do this. He needs to pass all of them. But he needs to. This, this, this and this and then become a doctor and then it'll it'll be paid this and then this is and it's at that level of certainty.
00:34:37 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Of you know it's not easy, but there is certainty there. This is what I need to do to achieve it like this style world is just not that. It's just like it. It's like just constantly up and down. One day you'll lose a really important deal. The next day you'll secure some investment the next day.
00:34:45
Yeah.
00:34:53 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Feel something's something's going on with, you know. Whatever. So, so just some people and there's. I don't think there's anything wrong with that either. Like some people don't want to do that or they don't need that kind of. Like, let's level of stress for their personality and.
00:34:58
Yes.
00:35:09 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
So that's why I always I when I makes me cringe a little bit when some people say everyone should run their own business at some point in.
00:35:14 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Their life.
00:35:15 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
It's a thing that's like, see, it feels like not the greatest of advice in the world, cause just being too general so.
00:35:22 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, it's it's the quickest, quickest way to to lose a tonne of money as well. In my, in my view, you know, is to say to people is like.
00:35:29 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Go and start the business. It's like, do you understand how much cash it takes to actually just just running a business on day-to-day basis, you know, month to month is that I don't, I don't think kind of enough people actually really understand that that truly understand that pain of like you know how much it costs just to simply just have some you know have a business.
00:35:49 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Alone make it profitable. So yeah, completely agree. It's such kind of short sighted advice, but.
00:35:57 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah. And I guess then just before I can let you get get back to kind of building building redeployable you any final words of advice for you know for startups, full scale ups who you know who, who, who do want to go into this, who want to maybe pivot who who want I know just something encouraging.
00:36:16 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
To kind of hear on, you know on, you know from your journey that you can help.
00:36:22 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Some of the best, the best advice I I I got. I met a guy who who went to Y Combinator twice with two startups and I was umming. And knowing his whether to go and raise money probably in January, I'd always thought I was going to. Then I was. I'm in an hour and whether I I I wanted to and I was like.
00:36:40 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Worrying about like how much I was giving away from like equity, how much I needed to raise and he just said to me, Ben, don't optimise for dilution now.
00:36:52 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Optimised for cash because you might think you're building a recruitment tech marketplace for the military community right now, but you you you'll be building a bank in two years time. You don't know what you know and it's like you need, you need the cash to to do to, to get there. And it's just it's just some of some of the advice.
00:37:03 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah.
00:37:11 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I've been given.
00:37:13 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
A lot more advice like awesome advice, but that bit of advice really stuck out to me. It's like, you know, it's so true. It's so true. Like you don't.
00:37:18
Yeah.
00:37:21 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
You don't. You think you know what you're building, but actually things change a lot and you pivot a lot. And I think as long as you're not, you don't have some cost bias where you're really tied to ideas all the time. And you know, if something's not working, you spend a bit of time. It's fine. If it goes in the bin because you know you'll do other things, you just need to keep moving and iterating.
00:37:27
Yeah.
00:37:43 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
And I think that's it. Like, just get comfortable with the fact that whatever you think you're building, the reality is probably it's going to be different in a year, two years, 66 month.
00:37:52
Yeah.
00:37:54 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, such such good advice. Like, you know, I I I think back to like some of the things that I've kind of worked on in the past. And you know my, my, my business journey starts off with a a social enterprise four or five years ago and it was completely the wrong kind of model for what I was.
00:38:08 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Trying to build.
00:38:08 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
And but like you say, is is deciding early. You know that thing is not the right path, you know.
00:38:14 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
In it come back to it later on, you know, and in in some cases actually kind of you do end up coming back to those things which don't work at the at the time. Maybe they're too early, maybe it's too late for the market, but actually do learn a a tonne of things which can help you out for the next thing in the you know the the thing after that as well, don't you? So it's.
00:38:33 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Yeah, I'm a I'm a big, big believer in that pivotally, you know, drop it off if it's not working. Don't kind of persevere with it. If it's clearly sinking, you know, is is kind of let it go and don't go down with it.
00:38:48 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.
00:38:49 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Fantastic.
00:38:53 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Great, Sir. Well, mate. Well, thank you very much for the for your yeah, for your insights on the podcast, something fantastic. There's some real real huge Nuggets of information here for, for startups and scale up. So yeah, I think we'll we'll be.
00:39:05 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
They'll be absolutely dining out on the on this night, so I'll let you get back to your day. And thanks so much for joining us.
00:39:11 Ben Read, tech entrepreneur and founder of Redeployable, a UK-based tech recruitment platform for veterans
I appreciate Chris, thanks so much.
00:39:15 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
It was really great chatting with Ben and hearing how he scared his.
00:39:17 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
Company.
00:39:18 Chris Shirley, Website Developer, Digital Marketing Specialist and Brand Designer at Haus of Hiatus, website and brand design studio
If you want to know more about redeployable, you can find the links to the website in the show notes below and I'll see you next time.
