An interview with Olivia Stodieck, founder of Dapta.
Olivia Stodieck shares her experience of the Tech South West StartUp Studio, what she has learned, and how she sees her business progressing.
How are you finding the TSW StartUp Studio programme so far?
We’re in week 5 now and so far Startup Studio has been great – and I am looking
forward to the last few sessions. It is quite an intensive programme – and finding the time
to work on the exercises can be quite a challenge – but it is really worth it. Startup Studio
really comes across as a high-quality practical and individualised training for
entrepreneurs.
What has been the hardest part of the accelerator programme?
I think the hardest part for me has been to try and put together elements of a business
plan with a lot of uncertainties around every element. Engineers such as myself tend to
dislike dealing with uncertainties. I think the real benefit of a condensed accelerator
programme like StartUp Studio is that we cover all the relevant topics (vision, market,
business model, investment etc.) at least once to understand how they apply to us –
giving each entrepreneur the tools they need to iterate on their own and reduce
uncertainty around the business plan one step at a time.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve taken from the programme so far?
Focusing on your beachhead market is critical. It is very tempting to think you can
address lots of different needs for different customer profiles with the same product – but
that is just spreading yourself too thin at the start.
What do you hope to get out of the programme – personally and for the business?
I know that I am learning a lot in this programme – the best part is exchanging with the
other entrepreneurs and learning from each other’s experiences. From a business side,
this has helped me to question and revise some of the assumptions we have been
making – the result is I think an improved business model and a clearer vision for the
future.
Find out more about Dapta at dapta.com and connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/daptablade
Learn more about the StartUp Studio at techsouthwest.co.uk/startupstudio