DollarProbs Startup Company

Derek N. Shumway, Founder
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  • Entrepreneurship

See what our company does every week! This is a raw and real inside look at how a startup is trying to grow and survive. Everything we do is shared on this podcast so you know whether or not we actually sold LED lightbulbs or not!

Episodes

  1. 12/04/2020

    End of an Era: Closing Up Shop

    Derek, Matt, and Adam have finally made it to the end of the semester! Finals begin in two weeks, and the three have a roundtable discussion about what they learned from being with DollarProbs. Plans for the future of the company, and personal school and work plans are talked about as they look on to the next chapter of their lives.

  2. 12/04/2020

    Cold Calls are Cold

    Just a few more weeks until the end of the semester, where Derek, Adam, and Matt talk about how hard it is to sell by making cold calls. It's a learning process that just isn't for anyone!

  3. 11/17/2020

    Getting Under Way

    Adam and Matt take over the podcast while Derek is gone. In this short episode, they talk about how sales are going. Calls are being made, ads are being put out, and Facebook groups are being joined. Join us this week to see how sales are going.

  4. 11/06/2020

    The Sales Script

    This week officially marks the first full week the team has committed to make cold calls and try to their darndest to sell LED light bulbs! Adam, Matt, and Derek review the sales script and practice with each other taking turns being the customer and sales rep. While it's awkward and longer than desired, for being the first time doing this, the company could be doing worse! The three have agreed that each person will make at least 20 outbound calls, join 20 Facebook groups, and message 20 people in a bid to sell. Next week's episode, the 10th episode, will mark the almighty week in telling if the team actually sold any boxes. Also, Adam and Matt voted on sticking with the current sales plan, and, if changes to how the company should sell its LEDs or packages are shared for improvement, then they will be implemented to keep DollarProbs adaptable!

  5. 11/01/2020

    Assembly Line

    This is the company's 8th week publishing a podcast, but about 10 weeks overall of its existence with its interns Adam and Matt. In a surprise visit, one of Derek's friends, Alex, shows up to add his magic touch on sound and audio recording and editing to breathe some new life into the podcast recording! The team talks about social media and follows up on where its Twitter and Pinterest numbers stand. Interestingly, it is discovered that the cost per LED bulb for customers is not a strict trend, in that just because you buy more LED bulbs, doesn't necessarily mean the cost per bulb is cheaper than if you buy a few. It fluctuates within a small range! After the podcast ended, the whole company made a makeshift factory assembly line to package together with the very first LED light bulbs EVER! The boxes are beautiful, and the next day, sticker labels arrived so now it's complete! The next week will mark our first full week to try and make sales by none other than classic cold calling! Tune in next week to see if we actually sold any LEDs!

  6. 10/25/2020

    Really Boring Stuff

    This week, Derek starts the podcast off talking about adoption and how DollarProbs can play a small role in supporting it. Interns Matt and Adam enlighten with new fun facts about themselves to kick things off! Also, sometimes there are boring meetings, and then there are really boring meetings. This week's podcast is a full 45 minutes of the team mulling through numbers on end. The final prices for the cost of packaging including boxes, tissue wrapping paper, and sticker labels was confirmed and agreed upon by everyone. Shipping time frames and ETAs on all things light bulbs are talked about. A reminder not to leave any social media account behind is brought up as the company's Pinterest fell onto deaths doorstep with just 865 monthly visitors . . . down from about 225,000 at its height in early Spring of this year. Fear not though, as Pinterest and its friend Twitter will receive some TLC (tender, love, and care) this next week! DollarProbs' followers on Twitter did double though from 4 to 8—so not all hope is lost!

  7. 10/13/2020

    Just the Interns

    As Derek is away on personal matters this week, Adam and Matt are in charge of the week and this week's podcast. They review how this past week's social media strategy went and what results came from social media platforms. The company needs to start finding customers and the plans for how to do this are reviewed and some new ideas come up. Could they find potential customers at the different fairs that UVU holds? Would business cards and/or fliers be effective? These are just some ideas brought up this week to find new customers. Find out how the company is doing by listening to this week's podcast.

  8. 10/08/2020

    Cats, Bowling, and Boxes

    Beyond learning something quite exotic about the interns' lives with cats and bowling, Derek, Adam, and Matt learn the goods about creating and posting better stuff on social media—stuff that will drive engagement and increase post views. Matt found some specific times on when to post for the best chances of being viewed. Taking turns posting week by week has proven easiest! Adam explored online phonebook websites the company can use to call and organize a potential customer base. There are three people in this lil' company, and each team member will be in charge of a certain city. The team is starting off with Lehi, Provo, and Orem as the first markets for its LED light bulbs. The three made a revised goal to narrow down on material options so they can sell LED light bulbs in company-branded packaging. A script will be written soon so the cold calling can begin!

  9. 09/29/2020

    Meet Adam: Our Second Intern

    Derek and Matt welcome the newest intern, Adam! He's a business management major at UVU just like Matt. The company's first 73 LED lightbulbs were bought this past week—24 cone bulbs and 49 round bulbs. The three dive into the nitty-gritty of how much the LED bulbs cost, and what they could potentially sell for to customers. Are the costs too great? Are profits possible? Alternative options to resell LED bulbs in DollarProbs-branded packaging is also brought to light. Internal social media metrics are shared. The company commits to increase engagement in posts and how the DollarProbs Pinterest page can reach an audience of 200,000 again.

  10. 09/17/2020

    Talking Numbers

    We've found the cheapest LED light bulbs and now we will buy 100 bulbs this week to stay accountable! Matt crunched numbers on spreadsheets and created the beginnings for our first social media posts as an LED light bulb company!

  11. 09/06/2020

    Meet Matt: Our First Intern

    In this weeks episode, we are introduced to Matt, the one and only intern this semester. We talk about what happened and what progress was made in the last week and talk about what will be happening this upcoming week. We also go over a few ideas that we had for the company.

  12. 08/31/2020

    Starting from Scratch, Kinda

    Our very first podcast marking the birth of DollarProbs!

  • 12 Episodes

About

See what our company does every week! This is a raw and real inside look at how a startup is trying to grow and survive. Everything we do is shared on this podcast so you know whether or not we actually sold LED lightbulbs or not!

Information

  • Creator
    Derek N. Shumway, Founder
  • Years Active
    2020
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Derek N. Shumway, Founder
  • Show Website
    DollarProbs Startup Company