Founder Profile: Justin Parfitt, Founder of HeyLets

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Justin Parfitt, Founder of HeyLets

Name:
Justin Parfitt

Member Cohort:
February 2012

Location:
Relocating to San Francisco from Sidney, Australia

Education:
Macquarie
MBA

Prior Experience:
CEO and founder of FastLife International, the world largest speed dating site in 07.

Current Startup:
HeyLets

Mission:
To tie all your social networks back into the real world by connecting you with friends and other people that share your interests through mutually compatible recommendations at local businesses and services.

Milestones:

• Raised $250K seed round
• Beta version is complete
• Public launch in April

Lessons Learned:
“Doing a startup is all about working out a plan to scale. It’s not so much about what you are going to do next month but what you are going to do in a year or two. If I would have know then what I do now, I probably would have worked out a way to scale up the business sooner. What you want to do is think big from the beginning and really be an optimist at heart.”

Staying Motivated:
“I think you need to have a vision statement. You need to know what you are trying to do or make better because it can be really tough on yourself and on your family. I remember when I was starting up FastLife, it was 8 months before I got to pay myself wages. I think getting positive feedback is crucial, that is what can bring you back on track again when you have doubts. If think it is really important to talk about what you do with people around you, people you respect, so you can get good feedback”

Biggest Mentor:
“My biggest mentor is a friend of mine, Dr. Song Li. He is a very successful entrepreneur in China. He built a matchmaking site like monster.com and sold it for 100’s of millions.  What makes him a great mentor is his childlike wonder for the world. Just spending time with him and listening to the way he speaks about technology and startups has been quite inspirational for me.”