They might not be starting the next Microsoft, but two graduates from Seattle’s Lakeside School — the alma mater of Bill Gates — want to bring about some big changes to the way we review products online.
Zach Stiggelbout and Henry Augustine, two recent college grads who met at Lakeside, are the founders of Taggle, a young startup founded this year that aims to be a universal review system with social features that can be used to rate people, products, and brands in the same format.
“We are trying to empower the people in a new way so that consumers can save time and money on what they’re seeking,” said Stiggelbout.
We caught up with Stiggelbout, Taggle’s CEO, to find out more about the company for the latest edition of Startup Spotlight.
Explain what you do so our parents can understand it: Taggle lets you give and receive feedback from your social connections on people, products, and brands you may be interested in buying.
Inspiration hit us when … We realized that the adopted five-star online review system is archaic and is in need of serious disruption and innovation.
VC, Angel or Bootstrap: Angel — to save time.
Our ‘secret sauce’ is: Our “discovery algorithm,” which aims to understand each user’s preferences based on their negative and positive people, product, and brand reviews.
The smartest move we’ve made so far: Partnering with Todd Kimball, CEO of Lolly Clothing.
The biggest mistake we’ve made so far: Raising startup capital when we didn’t actually need it yet.
Would you rather have Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: We would rather have Gates in our corner. We went to the same high school as him and we feel a very strong connection with his path. Moreover, Microsoft doesn’t yet have a review system in place, whereas Facebook and Amazon do.
Our world domination strategy starts when: We aren’t trying to dominate the world. We are trying to empower the people in a new way so that consumers can save time and money on what they’re seeking.
Rivals should fear us because: Taggle is the most unique and intuitive review system available and is gaining momentum fast. Even if rivals emulate Taggle’s unique features and functions, we will always be two steps ahead.
We are truly unique because: Taggle is the first universal review system, meaning it can be used to review people, products, and brands alike.
The biggest hurdle we’ve overcome is: Deciding to keep going with Taggle even when we were low on cash and were having trouble finding investors to keep the opportunity alive.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: Have a healthy sense of conviction. Know that you are amazing, powerful, and unique, and that you will change the world in a profound way if you put in the time and energy. Nothing is holding you back except for your own fear.
