On the TechTO stage ×2
The Power of Networking
Watch on YouTube ↗How I Turned My Marketplace Into a SaaS Product
Watch on YouTube ↗First seen on the TechTO stage in 2017. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Diana ↗
In their words
Be helpful. Remember that networking is not all about you — pay it forward. If there's some way that you can give somebody advice or help someone out, open up and tell them that, and I guarantee you they will spend the rest of their time trying to find a way — whether it's then or three years from now — to be helpful to you.
Don't feel that you have to have a big ask right now when you first reach out to somebody. Don't waste your ask on something broad, just saying, 'I'd love to meet up for a coffee.' If you don't have that ask, wait until you really need that person's advice.
I made the decision early on to bootstrap the company for a number of reasons. I wanted to grow at a pace that I was comfortable with, where I could maintain control, and also where I could maintain profitability from the get-go.
Around the web ×4
Quick answers
What is Diana Goodwin known for?
Founding AquaMobile, a marketplace that sends swim instructors to clients' home and condo pools, and bootstrapping it past seven figures of annual revenue without raising outside funding. In 2019 she spun its internal booking platform out as MarketBox, where she is founder and CEO.
What is MarketBox?
Scheduling software for field service businesses and service-based communities, founded in 2019. It began as AquaMobile's internal platform: other mobile-service companies kept asking to license it, so Goodwin spun it out as a separate product, which she announced from the TechTO stage in March 2019.
Did Diana Goodwin take a deal on Dragons' Den?
No. She asked for $200,000 for 10% of AquaMobile and got three offers at 15%, from Joe Mimran, Michele Romanow and Jim Treliving. She declined all of them and took the $100,000 TELUS Small Business Challenge prize instead, The Globe and Mail reported in March 2016.
How many times has Diana Goodwin spoken at TechTO?
Twice: 'The Power of Networking' in March 2017 and 'How I Turned My Marketplace Into a SaaS Product' in March 2019, both speaking for AquaMobile.