He turned a side hustle fixing walls into a quarter-million-dollar student business—and he's now reshaping the food insights industry.

Join us as we explore the entrepreneurial journey of Toby Hilliam (Skilton), a seasoned entrepreneur from New Zealand and founder of Appetise, a cutting-edge platform that provides consumer insights for some of the world’s leading food and beverage brands. 🌱

Starting from humble beginnings fixing holes in student flats, Toby Hilliam (Skilton) grew his entrepreneurial skills through ventures across various industries, ultimately recognizing an opportunity in the underserved market of consumer insights for grocery brands. 📈

Key Topics:

💡 Launching Multiple Startups & Key Lessons

📈 Turning Side Hustles into Serious Businesses

🥘 How Appetise Revolutionizes Food Insights

🧠 Achieving Real Product-Market Fit

🌏 Scaling from New Zealand to Global Markets

🔍 Secrets of Consumer Data & Behavior

🤖 Leveraging AI to Predict Food Trends

💸 How He Bootstrapped & Exited Ventures

🥑 The Future of Food Brands & Fusion Cuisine

🚧 Avoiding Common Startup Pitfalls

🤝 Connect with Toby:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tobyskilton

Appetise: appetiseinsights.io

🔗 Learn more about NZVC:

Website: https://www.nzvc.co.nz

Mark Pavlyukovskyy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/

Hendrik Remigereau - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction & Background

01:05 - Growing Up in Small Town NZ

02:35 - Early Entrepreneurial Experiences

06:11 - How a Side Hustle Became a $250K Business

09:39 - Selling His First Business: Lessons Learned

13:02 - Traveling and Discovering New Startup Ideas

17:47 - Building MUTU & The Pivot That Changed Everything

23:04 - Knowing When to Exit Your Startup

27:13 - The Inspiration Behind Appetise (formerly MenuAid)

33:00 - Using AI to Revolutionize Recipe Creation

38:40 - Pivoting from Consumer to B2B Insights

42:04 - Solving Food Brands' Biggest Pain Point

45:26 - The 10-Year Vision for Appetise

52:57 - How Appetise Plans Global Expansion

54:30 - The Future of Food Brands

56:38 - Standout Brands Leveraging Consumer Insights

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