Scale Up

3.4 Such a weird number

3.3 Tell it like it is

3.2 A bootstrapped war chest

3.1 Who needs Times Square?

Season 3 - Envato

Redbubble's First XI travel to Sydney. It's been a 10 year slog to get here. Chairman and CEO stand in front of the gathered crowd at the Australian Securities Exchange while the brass bell waits patiently on the wall behind the lectern. But Redbubble didn't have to put itself through the scrutiny of the market, even though it chose to.

From about day 1 Redbubble's market was the world while it's base has always, except for a brief moment of consideration, remained Melbourne. It's rare for Australian companies to do this immediately for the global market, and even rarer for them to succeed to the level Redbubble has. But they've pulled it off, with a few lessons along the way.

After a threat in the media, a vote in Federal Parliament and movie partnerships. Redbubble has managed to significantly lessen the chances it will be in court over copyright infringement through a couple of moves and Martin's hard time in the public eye driven by the mission.

Drifting from crisis to crisis in an uncontrolled environment created by yourself, entrepreneurship is hard. And there's a good chance you'll waste a lot of time and hopefully develop some coping mechanisms. Is there a way out if you need it? Martin Hosking, founder and CEO of Redbubble, opens up about disassociation, the hard Mondays, and where he's come from over a decade a go to now.

Behind the website is an immense logistics network that Redbubble initiates, drives yet barely owns. We drive to Horsham and meet the very first supplier still printing stickers and artwork to this day. It's just one of 15 suppliers globally that prints the creative on the products shipped to individual customers.

Martin had drawn a small circle on a bit of paper, then a bigger circle around the small circle. It's the bigger circle that would become and still is the backbone, the mission and the life of Redbubble - the community, both inside the company and on the website. This early strategy, focus and passion for Redbubble remains consistent, nourished and exists far greater that the sum of its parts. For the platform as a marketplace it's invaluable, passionate and fierce.

The concept is mapped out by Peter, Paul and Martin. Then the pivot. Redbubble company raises $2 million from a business plan and an office is rented, but it's not an office. With enthusiasm and a vision they set about getting the company off the ground. Redbubble is chosen as the name. The early days of Redbubble are in full swing and it seems that someone swinging from the rafters of their first 'office' wouldn't have been out of place.

A two year old Redbubble was also reeling from the Global Financial Crisis. Shocked faces of Wall Street traders and the phrase "we don't know where the bottom is" beomes commonplace on the TV news. The GFC sets in and Redbubble's expansion plans are rapidly rolled back. A "Down Round" becomes necessary.

Redbubble was founded in Fitzroy, Victoria in 2006 when Peter, Martin and Paul sat around to talk about an idea. It's since become a global three-sided creative marketplace for artists to upload their work and it reproduced on-demand for customers. In 2018 Redbubble, still based in Melbourne, has been through it all; leadership changes, the Global Financial Crisis, a down-round, legal controversy and Initial Public Offering and more. Scale Up is brought to you by LaunchVic, supporting the startup ecosystem here in Victoria.

Martin Hosking, co-founder of Redbubble, from when we spoke to him on Scale Up. Like Culture Amp, Redbubble has their global head office in Melbourne, does the majority of it's business internationally and has scaled enormously. Don't forget to leave a review where you're listening, and please let a friend know about Scale Up. More information about the series and LaunchVic - www.launchvic.org