DC Startup SlyReply Makes Sign Up Sheets As Easy As They Should Be

SlyReply,DC startup,startup,startup interviewRemember the good ole days? They weren’t so long ago,but you could put a sign up sheet on your dorm room door, classroom door, office refrigerator, home refrigerator etc. You’d write what the sign up sheet was for, draw a bunch of lines and voila, done and done.

Well DC entrepreneur Tom Hessen realized how complicated people were making signups, and decided to do something about it.

With his DC startup, SlyReply, the sign up sheet is again just as easy as it was when you created it on the back of a piece of scrap paper.

Set up a sign up sheet, dictate how many people can sign up, and when it’s full it’s done. Sign up for a class, sign up for tutoring, sign up for burgers and beers, whatever you need a sign up sheet for SlyReply makes it as easy as a couple clickity clicks.

We got a chance to interview Hessen. Check out the interview below.

What is your startup, what does it do?
Our startup is SlyReply.com, an online web application that allows users to create sign up sheets for any scenario or occasion and then share with a group. Sign up sheets can be shared by email, posted to Facebook, or linked to from any website, blog, or social media site. People view the sign up sheet and then sign up for one or more items such as a date, time, or an item the author created (ex. hamburgers for the upcoming tailgate). When an item reaches its maximum number of sign ups as defined by the author, the item can no longer be signed up for.
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds
Tom Hessen founded SlyReply and now leads the company as CEO. Tom Hessen launched SlyReply.com while enrolled as a full time MBA student at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.  Tom previously developed 2 other web applications prior to SlyReply that provided many lessons learned.
Tom has worked at 2 venture backed software companies, interned with a VC firm, and worked at Accenture doing IT implementations.
Where are you based?
Washington D.C.
What is the startup culture like where you are based?
Washington D.C. has a vibrant start up culture that has really grown in the past few years. Historically the Federal Government and government contractors have dominated this town but there is now a huge tech presence here. Large tech companies like AOL have lead the way but now there is a tremendous amount of start up activity. There are people working with tech companies and entrepreneurs at every stage and a growing number of seed and angel investors to go along with the VC firms.
What problem does your startup solve?
If you need to meet with 10 people individually, how would you get them scheduled into 10 different meeting times? A teacher needing to meet with parents for parent/teacher conferences is a perfect real world example of this scenario. Or how would you get your volunteer team to sign up for various tasks that need to be completed for an upcoming event?
Historically the paper sign up sheet has handled this job. However the paper sign up sheet rarely applies today in our digitally connected world. Instead email, spreadsheets, Google Docs, and other tools have been shoehorned into solving the problem of the digital sign up sheet. These tools are inefficient, cumbersome, and not designed for this problem. SlyReply directly tackles the problem of group sign ups in our online world.
What has been surprising is just how many situations need a sign up sheet. Here are a few of our favorite sign up sheets that have been created.
  • Schedule staff member interviews for President Obama’s reelection campaign
  • Schedule employees that want to sign up for Ann Inc.’s (parent company of Ann Taylor and The Loft) corporate training
  • Coordinate the volunteer shifts of riding the bicycle powered generator at the Occupy Wall Street camp in New York City
  • Schedule employees to receive free massages.
  • Schedule college students to conduct new food testing at Wendy’s restaurants
What is one challenge that you’ve overcome in the startup process?
Tom developed the initial MVP with just enough development skills to complete the project. After SlyReply started to grow despite not being easy to use or much to look at Tom realized the app needed to be designed and developed by professionals. Finding talented people that fit his bootstrapped budget was very difficult. Weeding through the countless number of designers and developers took a lot of time. Tom finally found a tremendous design talent in Jonathan Patterson and development team in Bolster Labs. This team designed and developed the current version of SlyReply.com, which is fun, inviting, and capable of scaling to address the large need.
What are some of the milestones your startup has achieved?
Some of the milestones that we have achieved include:
  • Successfully vetted concept and business model with MVP
  • Rebuilt app from the ground up with modern design and software platform
  • Implemented premium (paid) accounts
  • Had paying customers in the first month premium accounts were offered
  • All 5,000 users have learned about SlyReply via word of mouth
What are your next milestones?
The next milestones are all growth related. We are working to accelerate the growth of new user registrations and sign up sheets that are created. Another milestone includes being featured in 2-3 tech publications!
Who are your mentors and role models?
One role model that has had an impact on the company is Edwin Miller, CEO of 9Lenses. Tom worked for Edwin while he was the CEO of Everest Software. Edwin has been a successful CEO of both public and private tech companies and has demonstrated what it takes to build a great team that wants to excel every day.
What are some of the advantages/disadvantages growing your startup outside of Silicon Valley?
One disadvantage of growing a startup outside of Silicon Valley is that raising money is more challenging and conservative. We haven’t tried raising money yet but know the environment is more difficult.  One advantage is that it is easier to stand out because there aren’t thousands of startups competing for money, talent, press, etc.

What’s next for your startup?
We are continuing to execute and improve our software to get it in the hands of more people. Each person that creates a sign up sheet shares it with a group of people, which then become aware of SlyReply. We are improving the user experience and continuing to drive awareness through various channels.
Where can people find out more, and what is your Twitter username? 
People can learn more at www.slyreply.com or follow us on twitter @SlyReplyApp

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