We chatted with Peter Sullivan about his work in product partnerships and IoT.
Heather: What’s your role on your team?
Peter: As Director of Partnerships, I like to think of my role as the ears of the company. I am responsible for identifying new client opportunities and growing existing partnerships to implement and accelerate Tumble’s growth objectives. I’ve talked to thousands of people since Tumble’s inception and while I can speak to the tech and how it works and what it will do for our partners and their customers, my focus is always on what are our customers’ needs. Learning about someone’s needs begins and ends with listening. I connect with people to help them to assess how well their laundry rooms are performing.
Heather: What product are you building?
Peter: At Tumble we built the world’s first smart laundry technology platform that offers an all digital experience from cashless payment to cycle tracking and machine security. Tumble’s platform is first of its kind, allowing users to simply download the app, add balance to their wallet, choose their location and connect to Tumble’s laundry machines with a unique code. Using its proprietary technology, Tumble allows users to pay, track and lock their machines, getting notifications until the cycle is complete. Tumble also offers Smart Support for help, to report issues and give feedback in real time, freeing up onsite teams by 90 percent on average.
Heather: If you’re successful in your mission at Tumble, how will the world look different?
Peter: To end laundry day forever. In Tumble’s first days we created our mission to Zero - zero waste, zero time and zero quarters i.e., zero ‘Dumb Laundry’ (traditional laundry models). Tumble’s goals are also our values. We value efficiency, mixed with our passion to create a product in order to maximize efficiency for our users. If successful we will change the way the world does laundry. There will no longer be a need for people to do their own laundry, including in-home washers and dryers. You will push a button on your phone and pickup and delivery will do the rest.
Heather: What core values drive your product development process?
Peter: We are dedicated to positively improving the quality of life for our customers, improving the business performance of our partners and ensuring the best quality of service for our communities - we built tech to match our values and deliver results.
Heather: How did you get into IoT?
Peter: While I was in graduate school I worked as an electrician and attended electrician school at night. As an electrician I became fascinated with electrical engineering and started working on my own projects. Having spent a bit of time researching the laundry space before Tumble CEO/Founder Scott Patterson shared his vision with me and others, I knew once Scott successfully built a great team our potential for growth would be very exciting.
Heather: What’s your greatest product achievement?
Peter: Although my role is not primarily on the product side, I can say we are building on the ideas and concepts that Scott and I discussed very early on. It is so cool to see how in three years we are able to create something that brings value to our partners and their customers and soon the larger society. We are only a few years in and we have more ideas for where we want to take our product development journey in order to achieve Zero for everyone.
Zero will continue to be our North Star so while we continue to work towards driving fundamental value to our customers and their business. Since we are B to B to C, we will continue to evolve and discover how our product can help serve many needs in one product. I love seeing how much we can continue to help improve people’s lives.
Heather: What advice do you have for aspiring product leaders or founders?
Peter: Early on it is important that you become a technology expert in your industry. You will need to learn more and will likely forget more than you will share with others, making company growth reliant on achieving the optimal talent mix. Good attitudes and a willingness to learn from others can help you build your company and make it more well rounded. You can’t teach excitement, if your team is not excited before the first conversation, you can’t expect them to build a successful product. Lack of knowledge is okay as long as they learn from mistakes and learn the first or second time.
