Earn Money Sharing Your Favorite Businesses with Troy Deus, Co-Founder of Drum

When it comes to growing a business, word of mouth is an incredibly powerful tool. Troy Deus, co-founder of Drum, built his company on that very concept. Drum allows individuals and businesses alike to refer their favorite brands, earning extra money in the process.

Good People, Cool Things chatted with Troy about how the rise of the gig economy played a big role in Drum’s creation, some of the best recommendations he’s heard, his most surprising lesson as a business owner, and a whole lot more.

Why did you start Drum?

We observed that our most loyal customers came from word of mouth referrals. However, it was difficult to control the destiny of those sales. Our options are to hire a sales team to spread the word or create a referral program webpage on our site and hope customers come, sign up and refer their friends. A sales team is expensive and results are not guaranteed. A referral program is great, but is only exposed to your existing customers. We were also observing the rise of the gig economy where anyone can earn money on their terms. 

Drum was born out of this idea. What if we could create a referral program for any business that not only exposes their referral opportunity to their loyal customers but also expands their reach outside the confines of their website? To accomplish this goal, we built Drum.io/business where a business can sign up and publish a referral opportunity in minutes. They could invite their existing customers to earn rewards referring friends, as well as publish the opportunity to our Drum mobile app, which is a marketplace of referral opportunities exposing their offer to a large network of referrers. The Drum mobile app can be found on the iOS and Android app stores.

What's something that has surprised you about running a business?

Just how emotional and personal a recommendation is. We don’t think about it, but when someone refers something to someone else, they are putting their own reputation on the line. They want to help their friends by passing along something they truly believe in and care about. Making recommendations is something we do everyday. We want to make it easy, fun, and rewarding for the customer, business, and referrer.

What's been one of the worst moments in your professional career?

Early on in my career, I worked at a company called ZapMedia. I helped the founder, Ken Lipscomb, design and conceive of the next generation of entertainment devices, where anyone could browse and play music and movies from their television set top box. We raised $20 million dollars and hired a large staff to execute on the concept. I had a great time and made lifelong friends. Unfortunately, it was an idea well before its time. The cost of the device and internet speeds at the time didn’t make for a viable product. When ZapMedia closed its doors, it was sad to say goodbye.

How has the gig economy navigated the pandemic?

Some gig economy sectors have struggled a good bit, such as rideshare apps. However, I see those bouncing back in a big way once the pandemic subsides. Other gig sectors have done amazing, such as food and grocery delivery. Drum has also seen significant interest and growth during this pandemic. Many gig jobs require the individual to be in close contact with others. With Drum, our users can make money from the comfort of their own living room sharing referral offers from businesses they care about. Their friends get great savings and they earn some extra money. Everyone wins. 

For many gig economy businesses, there may be a silver lining. COVID-19 has made people rethink everyday tasks. Where someone may have been hesitant to try a new gig service, they are more willing to try one during these crazy times. They get used to the service, and in many cases will likely continue to use them in the future. 

What's one of the best/most memorable recommendations you've ever seen or heard someone give?

Great question. One that I LOVE right now is a recommendation I’ve been giving out for a unique service on Drum called Yappy Fox. They deliver all kinds of beautiful indoor plants right to your door. I used to pick up plants from my local hardware store. The selection was meh and I always messed up my car getting them home. The Yappy Fox service was easy and the products are amazing.  You can find Yappy Fox on Drum — learn more and download Drum at www.drum.io.

The other memorable recommendation I received was given to me through our sister application Scout from one of our co-founders, Kathryn Petralia. It was for a Netflix show called The Queen’s Gambit, the story of a young female Chess prodigy who struggles with addiction. The wife and I binge watched that show over one weekend. So incredible! Highly recommend it. If you are looking for a great app for saving, sharing, and recommending your favorite stuff, try www.goscout.it.

What does the future look like for Drum?

Drum is dedicated to making recommending businesses people love easy, fun, and rewarding. Our goal is to make referral programs accessible to every business. Businesses want to put their marketing dollars back into the hands of their loyal customers and advocates. We aim to help them do that. We expect to see explosive growth over the next 6-12 months as we expand our referral opportunities and continue to attract referrers to the platform. We have an exciting roadmap of new product features coming out soon. Stay tuned.