Ep 179 - The Hustle Behind uHoo
EPISODE INTRODUCTION
Dustin Onghanseng of uHoo joins us in this episode to share how they are helping improve air quality of homes and offices around the world. Dustin will share his early hustles that led him to study in Singapore as a scholar and get into consulting that taught him key skills and experiences that will come in handy in his startup life. He will also share how he founded uHoo and the multiple near death experiences they overcame as a startup and how they were able to overcome those challenges. Dustin will also share how they were able to break through during the pandemic and get uHoo to new heights.
GUEST LINKS
Follow Dustin Onghanseng on LinkedIn or reach him through his email dustin@getuhoo.com.
Find more about uHoo on their official website.
EPISODE TOPICS
[1:28] What’s Your Hustle
[3:15] What is uHoo
[5:00] Hustleshare Time Machine
[7:07] Dustin’s Early Years and Family Business
[8:55] Dustin’s Life in Singapore
[11:08] Dustin’s Internships before Graduating and the Singaporean Hustle
[14:59] Dustin’s Experience in a Consulting Firm
[20:34] Dustin’s Day-to-Day life as a Consultant
[25:50] Top Things that Consulting Taught Dustin
[30:39] How uHoo Started
[36:26] The First Investor of uHoo
[38:50] The Time When uHoo Lost Money
[42:20] The Early Stages of uHoo’s Products
[45:55] Not Being Able To Pay their Employees During the Beginning
[49:40] Not Being Able To Deliver Products On Time During the First Order
[53:01] The Growth After the First Few Investors
[56:44] The Scaling of uHoo
[1:00:02] How uHoo Adapted to the Pandemic
[1:02:26] uHoo’s Next Steps
[1:05:08] Advice for Fellow Founders
[1:09:38] Leadership Advice
QUOTES FROM THE EPISODE
“It is important to understand another person’s perspective rather than forcing your perspective unto the other person.”
“As a founder, it is a great skill to have the ability to zoom in and zoom out.”
“As a founder, as long as you always are hellbent to find a way to survive and you refuse to die and you take the mentality of a cockroach startup, then you will plow through.”
“Get to know your employees because you cannot do business if it’s not personal. Always be personal and transparent with your team.”
RESOURCES
JARGON USED
Auditing - An on-site verification activity, such as inspection or examination, of a process or quality system, to ensure compliance to requirements. (source: asq.com)
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) - Business Process Reengineering involves the radical redesign of core business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in productivity, cycle times and quality. (source: bain.com)
Go-to-Market (GTM) Process - The GTM process outlines exactly what happens from the first product idea to the sales of the final product or service to end-customers. It specifies how product, marketing, sales, retail and supply chain interact. (source: nextrday.com)
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) - income that a business can count on receiving every single month. (source: zuora.com)
R&D - Research and Development
Angel Investor - Someone who provides financial backing for small startups or entrepreneurs, typically in exchange for ownership equity in the company. (source: investopedia.com)
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Join the Hustleshare Community Facebook Group
Hustleshare is powered by Podmetrics