Meet Jess Ruhfus. Fast becoming a name in Brand Alliances and marketing platforms. Jess is perhaps most well known for having launched Collabosaurus, an online match making platform for brands to source effective partnerships. Collabosaurus is already thriving, with exciting plans to launch overseas in the coming months. Best of all , you don’t have to be a big business to be part of the movement that is Collabosaurus.
What do you typically tell people when they ask you what you do?
This is a funny one because it changes depending on who they are. Often with people who are far outside of my target market, I’ll keep it simple and say ‘partnership marketing’ however, even then, I see eyes glaze over!
If I’m meeting someone in business, marketing, PR or management I usually say “Collabosaurus is like a dating site for businesses to find great strategic partnerships.”
What motivates you?
I keep a tight hold on the vision I have for Collabosaurus and why I started the business – to level the playing field between big and small brands, help people authentically tap into ideal audiences and continue to add value to their potential and existing customers.
Having a few people you can lean on, trust and talk through issues and ideas is extremely important to me too. Plus, I have a lot of people I need to prove wrong (I’m competitive and playing Monopoly with me is tiresome). Motivation, for me, comes in a lot of different forms, it’s about ensuring they all work together to push me forward.
What inspired you to create Collabosaurus?
I was working with a lot of small business owners in their marketing, and also organising company events when I came up with the idea. Collabosaurus came quite organically as an idea that addressed a gap in the market and would have made my job (and clients’ jobs) a lot easier at the time.
You see big brands collaborating on amazing, clever and creative projects all the time – and that’s because it’s a great way to tap into new audiences. I was inspired by what creative heavy weights were doing, as well as the potential for smaller businesses to grow in this way.
What benefits does Collabosaurus offer female start-ups & business owners?
In a nutshell, Collabosaurus simplifies the process for sourcing and negotiating effective strategic partnerships. We offer opportunities to gain exposure with huge audiences within specific target markets, particularly for businesses working with a tight budget.
We significantly cut down the time it takes to research, reach out and negotiate a valuable brand collaboration – Collabosaurus keep your brand name anonymous and segment matches based on who they are, what they want and what they have to offer in a partnership. This makes any negotiation a whole lot easier, and also safeguards you from brand collaborations that are not mutually beneficial.
Collabosaurus offers endless opportunities to expand your network and gain incredible exposure with your ideal customers.
How do you generate new ideas for your business?
Having different people to bounce ideas off is incredibly important for generating ideas. I keep my eyes on a lot of overseas marketing activity and am often inspired by international campaigns – from there I’ll take that idea to trusted friends, family and colleagues who can help snowball the idea into something bigger, better and more Collabosaurus specific. Don’t underestimate the power of your network!
What have been some of your mistakes/failures in business and what have you learned from them?
I wouldn’t call it a mistake or failure, but certain campaigns have certainly not returned results that I had initially expected. Early on, I poured resources and budget into a Facebook ad campaign that did OKAY – but just okay. I was expecting triple the results and I was certain it was achievable!
I was quick to jump on every other marketing idea I had to generate buzz and am now convinced that you should NEVER put all your eggs in the one basket. It has helped Collabosaurus grow significantly ever since.
I’m also quick to point out that sleep is important! Don’t let yourself burn out like I did – for about 2 weeks I was bedridden because I didn’t look after myself around launch time (it was crazy!).
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful start-up?
Expertise
Be a master of something. Make sure you’re an expert and continue to invest in professionally developing yourself. You’ll need some serious expertise to sustain a business – and for what you lack, it’s important you invest in people who have the skills you don’t.
Network
Never stop hustling and building your network. I cannot believe how much mine has grown in the last six months and the people I’ve been able to meet! Put yourself out there and reach out to those who inspire you. You never know where it may lead!
Balls
Yep. Things can get seriously stressful and you may sometimes feel like you need to curl up in foetal position and eat donuts for a week. By all means, let yourself be vulnerable (because that’s important too), but grow some balls in the sense that you know who you are, what you want and you’re confident in that. Fight the bad times with positivity and the above two points to help you grow even more.
Where do you see yourself and Collabosaurus in 10 years?
By ten years? Yikes that is a while away – might even have collabobabies at that point! I’ll say world domination to be safe (hihi) – but honestly, expanding into international markets are the next priorities for the business. Because, imagine! Australian brands could easily source exposure opportunities in the U.S or U.K markets for example – things are going to get VERY exciting.
To view what Jess has created and to find out how your business can benefit from getting involved with Collabosaurus
Jess looks forward to helping you make some amazing strategic partnerships!
Interested in Collabosaurus? To get in contact with Jess – follow the links at the website above.
In a nutshell, Collabosaurus simplifies the process for sourcing and negotiating effective strategic partnerships. We offer opportunities to gain exposure with huge audiences within specific target markets, particularly for businesses working with a tight budget.
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