How two Telstra workers decided to quit their jobs over beers and steak at the pub after a light bulb moment that sparked a $6M business – and they say you could do it too
- Daniel Li and Daniel Foden, both 31, own ReadiiTel, a $6million ‘disrupter’ telco
- They discussed quitting their jobs at Telstra in a pub over beers and steak
- Six weeks later they were starting their business and taking Telstra customers
Pictured: Daniel Li (left) and Daniel Foden (right)
Two Telstra employees who were unhappy with the customer service decided to quit their jobs and started their own competitor business over a couple of beers at the pub.
Daniel Li and Daniel Foden, both 31, now own ReadiiTel, a $6million ‘disrupter’ telco which hopes to change the Australian industry by luring discontented customers away from the big providers.
Both men felt as though Telstra had lost its personal touch with customers and wanted to make more of an impact on the industry.
They were discussing their grievances over a beer and $20 steak at Squires Loft in Melbourne when they decided they’d open their own business.
Mr Foden told Daily Mail Australia his partner ‘turned to me and said ”we should do this”. Straight away I just knew it would be better for me.’
They wrote their plan down on a napkin. Fast forward six weeks, both men had quit their jobs, were setting up their ABN and trying to create a business plan.
‘Our plan was to do all the things that Telstra was bad at… be personable, be available always, remember the little things,’ Mr Foden said.
Mr Li (left) and Mr Foden (right) discussed starting their own business over beer and steak – and quit their jobs shortly after to go into business together
Mr Li’s parents loaned them some money, but he also sold his inner city apartment to front the immediate expenses.
‘It wasn’t cheap to begin with,’ Mr Foden said, before noting the business fell on hard times early on.
‘It was hard. We burned a lot of money in the beginning trying to set up. We’d spent about $2million before we made a penny.’
‘We’re only now starting to turn a profit.’
The telco is now worth an estimated $6million and services between 50 and 60 customers, primarily small and medium sized businesses.
The men are proud to be operating within a significant profit margin less than two years after signing their first customer, but say their priority is to never lose the ‘small business feel’ that drew customers to them in the first place.
‘We’re selling the internet. There is only so many ways you can do that so the product itself isn’t really new. It’ll never be new. So its our business model that makes us stand out.
Mr Li and Mr Foden pictured at the pub having a few beers with a friend
‘Its the genuine one-to-one care we offer, that you get from a small business that you wouldn’t get from Telstra.
‘They don’t know or care about you, you’re just another customer to them, whereas we know your business inside out. The person that first sold you the contract is with you every step of the way,’ Mr Foden said.
ReadiiTel now has 15 employees, and the company hopes to one day be considered one of the best workplaces in Australia.
They currently allow staff to work from home whenever they choose, and after 12 months of employment, staff are entitled to as much annual leave as they’d like.
‘Its very reasonable. If you need a day off for whatever reason or different hours. People can take however much annual leave they’d like, and so far nobody has wanted more than three weeks off in a year,’ he said.
Mr Foden said while it was tough to get started and required a lot of patience and perseverance, he doesn’t regret for a second becoming his own boss.
‘I never want to work for someone else again. We never thought it would be like this, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.’
The pair were good mates prior to going into business together and believed they shared the same principles and morals at Telstra