"The first hard part is starting, so just start" with Juliet Edjere
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Photo credit: Litt Photography
Juliet Edjere founded Maze alongside Sarah Nantume and Winner Adebayo with a focus to connect people relocating with service providers, reduce moving costs and enable the optimization of customer journeys. Alongside her role as the CEO, Juliet leads product and business strategy at Maze.
She is obsessed with building things that solve problems and delight others, particularly with software and operations. The core of what she does is intrinsically motivated by understanding people, their processes, behaviours and what they’re trying to achieve.
Outside her day-to-day managing of her company, Juliet is a Legal Practitioner with an educational background in Law and Business. She has a BSc in International Law and Diplomacy, LLB from the University of Birmingham, a PgDip in Legal Practice Course and LLM in Commercial Legal Practice.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
I’m originally from Nigeria but currently residing in the UK. I work as a Content Marketing Lead and Technical Advisor where I manage all things API and no-code integration. On a day to day basis, I develop prototypes and products using low and no-code tools like Airtable and Zapier to effectively capture, understand and analyse data.
I am also the CEO and co-founder of a University of Birmingham-backed startup called Maze. Instead of the expensive, tedious and slow process of vetting services across the country, users can simply register with Maze and we do all the settlement interactions.
We launched the startup out of a personal relocation story, and a desire to help others get a positive relocation experience. As the CEO and product lead, I manage the business direction, vision and culture. On the product side, I strategise the roadmap and prioritize what needs to be done to achieve the initiatives and strategic goals behind the product.
What inspired you to start your business?
I grew up with an entrepreneurial mindset. I identify as a self-starter that understands that deciding to run your own business is a big decision. I always felt disconnected from the typical corporate dynamic so it was easy to find my footing within the startup industry.
As a product owner, I build micro tools to solve my own problems. My entrepreneurial nature rests on the realization that building is one thing and understanding the legalities to ensure products/services are policy compliant is another thing. Thus, my knowledge of law, tech and business management fused together made the journey easier.
Sarah Nantume [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-nantume/] is a legal professional with experience leading tech-driven initiatives. As the COO, she ensures the company's operations and services align with strategic goals and business needs.
Winner Adebayo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/winner-adebayo/] is a Business Development Manager. She has varied experience in marketing and sales, project management, and research.
Where is your business based?
Maze is based in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The team is however based in various parts of the UK so we operate remotely.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
The first step I took was deciding which area I wanted to venture into. I was inspired to create a solution I wish existed - providing an end-to-end solution for people relocating.
Then came getting the team together. I was keen on not being a solo founder because the value of a team with a more specialised focus in certain business areas was very important to me. I put together an extensive 21-page business plan and presented it to my two partners to get them on board with the idea.
After we got on the same page, I came up with a name that mirrors what we do and Maze seemed a very good fit. I created a landing page for signups, got endorsed by the University of Birmingham to operate in the UK under the Startup Visa and business operations began from there.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
Our awareness strategy is primarily through inbound channels - leveraging personal networks, SEO, repeat clients & client referrals. The core of our customer acquisition strategy is using personal networks and leading a manual effort on social platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter.
Maze also has a community of ‘relocators’ that’s growing rapidly. Through this medium, we help people connect to others relocating, answer questions, make friends and extend their network in their new city. Never underestimate the power of a community.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
The startup environment is a very fast-paced and dynamic one.
I had to learn to trust the abilities of my team to grow the business.
Before the business started, I had some prior startup experience and gained robust entrepreneurial experience as a YCombinator Startup School graduate and an early participant at the Founder Institute 2020, the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerator, amongst other accelerator programs. Thus, getting the team together to work on Maze was great for scalability.
How do you stay focused?
I plan my time effectively by automating my calendar and spreading time between tasks. I also ensure to take time off work and maintain a good work-life balance so my productivity level stays at its peak.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
A major advantage over other relocation platforms is our end-to-end support from pre-arrival to settlement. With automated data processing, we place a high priority on data security. This saves time in comparison to traditionally manual processes.
People need community and inclusion. We understand that by capturing peoples’ desires, we’re one-third of the way there. People always consider others opinions and look for a community to share offers with. We facilitate this through our social well-being support.
We cater to the unique needs of our users, taking care of the time-consuming research from help finding a new home abroad, staying abreast of immigration laws, travel restrictions to help in understanding new cultures better.
Our services do not end on getting into the country, unlike immigration consultants. We help newcomers get set up for their new lives, find products and resources to hit the ground running. Once they are settled, we continue to provide them with tailored content and services so they do not feel isolated from the larger society. This allows for making decisions quickly and focusing on building a new life.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
Content Marketing - We provide value by creating high-quality content that resonates with the target audience. This includes a series of newsletters and articles to engage users & make them come back, build the website’s authority, create organic traffic and brand presence on issues faced by relocators. The marketing message relies on the storytelling of typical users. From navigating accommodation hassle, learning to set up a bank account, conquering loneliness and depression, to dealing with the policy implications.
Additionally, we leverage launch platforms like Show HackerNews, RemoteTools, BetaList and Betafy to get the word on new updates out there.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
The first hard part is starting, so just start. As you start out your entrepreneurial journey, position yourself to be portrayed in a positive light by building a startup that solves problems.
Take advantage of the learning process and work hard on getting your product or service out there. Don’t attempt to do it alone and don’t fall into the phase of planning for months without actually speaking to your (potential) users.
Another piece of advice I’ll give is to monetise as soon as possible. The goal is to not pay attention to vanity metrics that don’t grow the business but identify how many users are willing to pay to use your product or service.
What's your favourite app, blog, and book? Why?
My favourite app is Notion. Maze works entirely on Notion, we use it to manage everything from tasks to OKRs, notes, finance tracking, pitch deck, CMS, roadmaps, library etc with in-app reminders. We also set up automation to get notified of any changes on Slack and via emails.
What's your favourite business tool or resource? Why?
YCombinator startup resources have helped in defining our activities at Maze. There are a lot of useful video and audio resources that cover product-market fit, lean startup model, traction generation, technology, and setting up the startup for scalability.
Who is your business role model? Why?
As a person of colour in entrepreneurship, I highlight the strengths of black people in leadership. This is a wider net than just having one business role model. More representation means that gender and racial bias are being dispelled.
It is important to see other people and realize that they can go after their dreams and really make a change in our world. Leading a black-owned business means amplifying representation as being a pivotal part of my input in my society. Your age, race, and personal circumstances should not be a disqualifying factor.
How do you balance work and life?
As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to forget to have a good work-life balance. I wake up as early as 3 AM and get on my laptop because I remember to update a task or I’m brainstorming a new idea. Notwithstanding, I try not to get burnt out so I know when to shut down.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
I love to travel. I previously started a service-based travel platform to help tourists plan, book, and manage their trips. However, when the pandemic hit in, I reviewed the strategy in early 2021 and pivoted to provide an end-to-end solution for people relocating.
I also love listening to music during my downtime.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
We recently launched our website in the first week of February 2022. Over the next six months, operations will be focused on seamless integration of services which pose the biggest hurdles to newcomers. We are in the process of securing partnerships with reliable third-party service providers - institutions, movers, recruitment agencies, relocation management companies, travel agencies, housing agencies and ride-sharing services.
We intend to expand from a B2C model into an enterprise B2B model to facilitate global mobility, providing one-stop shop relocation services for corporations, government entities and consumers.
How can our readers connect with you?
To learn more about Maze you can visit https://trymaze.com.
My Personal Website: https://juliethiri.com.
Social Media Handles:
Instagram: @juliethiri and https://instagram.com/trymazeapp/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/trymazeapp and @juliethiri
Facebook: www.facebook.com/trymazeapp
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trymazeapp
Blog: https://trymaze.swish.ink
Feel free to ask questions & hit us up anytime!