Nice lean start up example of “faking it until you make it”, or, in other words, using the people-power before you code it with software:

Anderson’s growth strategy is pretty clever. He has three overseas workers (in India) who will take any bookings made on the app and physically call the salon or restaurant on the user’s behalf, then email the user back to say if their appointment has been successful. This can be a little time consuming – I tried booking a hair appointment on the MyTime website and had to go back and forth to find a good time.

The overseas worker essentially plays two roles: a one-time personal assistant for me, and a sales person for MyTime. Once they have the salon on the phone to book an appointment, they mention that it came through MyTime, before adding, “Would you like us to create a free profile for our app, so we can connect to you calendar?”

It’s not only a good growth strategy, but it’s also a great way to understand the mindset of the businesses you’re working with, the eventual buyers of your software.