He turned a side hustle fixing walls into a quarter-million-dollar student business—and he's now reshaping the food insights industry.
Join us as we explore the entrepreneurial journey of Toby Hilliam (Skilton), a seasoned entrepreneur from New Zealand and founder of Appetise, a cutting-edge platform that provides consumer insights for some of the world’s leading food and beverage brands. 🌱
Starting from humble beginnings fixing holes in student flats, Toby Hilliam (Skilton) grew his entrepreneurial skills through ventures across various industries, ultimately recognizing an opportunity in the underserved market of consumer insights for grocery brands. 📈
Key Topics:
💡 Launching Multiple Startups & Key Lessons
📈 Turning Side Hustles into Serious Businesses
🥘 How Appetise Revolutionizes Food Insights
🧠 Achieving Real Product-Market Fit
🌏 Scaling from New Zealand to Global Markets
🔍 Secrets of Consumer Data & Behavior
🤖 Leveraging AI to Predict Food Trends
💸 How He Bootstrapped & Exited Ventures
🥑 The Future of Food Brands & Fusion Cuisine
🚧 Avoiding Common Startup Pitfalls
🤝 Connect with Toby:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tobyskilton
Appetise: appetiseinsights.io
🔗 Learn more about NZVC:
Website: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction & Background
01:05 - Growing Up in Small Town NZ
02:35 - Early Entrepreneurial Experiences
06:11 - How a Side Hustle Became a $250K Business
09:39 - Selling His First Business: Lessons Learned
13:02 - Traveling and Discovering New Startup Ideas
17:47 - Building MUTU & The Pivot That Changed Everything
23:04 - Knowing When to Exit Your Startup
27:13 - The Inspiration Behind Appetise (formerly MenuAid)
33:00 - Using AI to Revolutionize Recipe Creation
38:40 - Pivoting from Consumer to B2B Insights
42:04 - Solving Food Brands' Biggest Pain Point
45:26 - The 10-Year Vision for Appetise
52:57 - How Appetise Plans Global Expansion
54:30 - The Future of Food Brands
56:38 - Standout Brands Leveraging Consumer Insights
01:01:45 - Advice for Early-Stage Founders
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