
Sharkey runs a marketing automation firm called Autopilot alongside his two brothers, which is by no means their first venture together. The brothers created Stayz, a home-rental sharing company, while still in their teens ? eventually selling it to Fairfax in 2006.
They then went on to create Driven by Limo, which Sharkey likened to an Uber call-a-limo service. The company still exists and “is a very good business for us,” he said. He suggested that the two companies gained them so much traction that technology entrepreneurs had started approaching the brothers for advice. This led them to start digital marketing consultancy firm Sharkey Media. However, Sharkey said: “Technology from 90?s, email, is still really ruling the digital marketing world.” He wanted to, for example, send customers hand-written thank you cards triggered when they accepted an email deal. Bisir was developed with that concept in mind, but despite having bootstrapped the platform they wanted outside investment as well. So, Sharkey applied for an Australian grant programme. There was a catch: it would only fund companies that had been turned down by venture capitalists (VCs). Read more about venture capital:- The best of both worlds? Financing a ?30m venture capital firm with crowdfunding
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