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Inbox Dying From Daily Deals? Unsubscribe Deals App To The Rescue!

Lea Pische and Edwin Hermawan dig daily deals (who doesn’t like to save money, honestly?), but they got sick of the overload of emails from Groupon and other money saving sites that flooded their inbox. After getting a Groupon for a class on starting your own small business, they decided to put those skills to use by launching an app called Unsubscribe Deals, which allows you to filter which emails you want to receive and which ones can go straight to the trash can.   After Edwin’s mom complained about the fact that their app only worked with Gmail, this peacekeeping couple expanded their business to include Yahoo mail.

 

 

This new version also includes a weekly email of deals that fit your interests, if you feel like getting even that.   Lea gave us some snappy answers to our inquiries that include a great story about a homeless dude near the East River in NYC, running to clear your head, and why you should pay by the hour.

 

How’d you come up with the name for your company?

We looked for a domain that no one was squatting on. We came up with a number of names. Most of them had squatters, then we finally found one that we could buy without giving up an arm and a legand went along with that name.

 

What’s the very first thing you do at work everyday?

We go running every morning across the Manhattan or Williamsburg bridge. We used to run along the water too, but then a homeless man shook a stick at us one morning… which led to a cop yelling at the homeless man.. which in turn led to the cop pulling a gun… which is why we don’t run along the water anymore.

 

How many people did you start the company with and how many people work for you now?

We started with just Edwin and me. We are still, just Edwin and me.

 

Remember the early days starting up? Maybe you can share one anecdote that describe the struggle you went through?

When we first started, we tried to get some press/go viral. We weren’t able to go anywhere. But we kept on it. It took us a while to get any attention from press or Twitter, but everyday we set a small goal and just kept on working towards it.

 

 

How do you handle frustration? When/how was the last time you dealt with frustration?

We normally go running or watch some TV.   The last time we had to deal with frustration was during our last relaunch. We were having a lot of trouble figuring out how to monetize the business and eventually figured it out while we were going for a run. We then reaffirmed that it was a good idea while watching some TV before going to sleep.   We were watching Revengeif you must know. It is awesome.

 

What’s your office environment like? Is it the kind of place where everyone is bumpin’ away to house music or is it more traditional?

We work out of our apartment. We have lots of things to make coffee with and we hate house music (it makes us really nervous). There are about five different ways to make coffee in the house. There is also lots of food and funny art. We like plantsto. Especially keeping plants alive.

 

How do you picture your company in 5 years?

I picture us having a kitchen in the officeand eating together with around a big table that Edwin and I built. We always cook and eat lunch together. It is an important time for us. We catch up, eat something, and to relax for a bit.

 

Who or what inspires YOU? Role models? Quotes? Running? Video games? Snack food? Give us the deets, dude!

People that say they want to do something and then actually go out and do it.

 

How’d you fund this venture? VC? Self-funding? Crowd-funded? Where’d you get the money, man?

We wait tables and barter to get things done. We are open to angel or VC money, but we are mainly focused on creating a sustainable and viable business.

 

 

 

Got any great bootstrapping tips for the lean startups out there?

Your schedule of payments is key. Edwin is a recovering attorney and did a lot of work in real estate and construction. Basically, as a result, we never do any of those 50% up front and 50% when you are done arrangements. We pay by the hour and at the end of every week. It keeps the upfront costs down and keeps you flexible.

 

What would you be doing if you had one year off and $500,000 to spend (and you couldn’t spend it on your currently startup / projects)

We’d probably go to Tahiti and make a movie about surfing.

 

Do you consider yourself a successful entrepreneur right now? If not, what’s it gonna take to make you feel successful?

Yes, because we wake up and do what we want to do.

 

Website you couldn’t live without and why?

Gmail because… just because. TMZ.com… also just because… gosh!

 

Mobile App you’re in love with and why?

Spotify because I don’t need to buy music anymore. Nike Fuelbandalso. We do little competitions with our friends. It makes sure that we get away from our desks at least once in a while.

 

 

 

 

Dogs or cats?

Dogs. Cream colored french bulldogs.

 

iOS or Android?

iOS.

 

 

What’s the greatest thing about your company/website/idea?

That Edwin and I haven’t killed each otheryet.

 

Where can our readers get ahold of you? Facebook? Twitter? Google+? Personal blog? Any other projects you’re working on that we should check out?

Readers can get a hold of us through the ‘Contact Us’ page on our website. We get all emails and answer them pretty quickly.

 

Photo Credtis

UnsubscribeDeals.com

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