Startle [Episode 1 of 3]

This week, ​​in a world where most businesses blend together like a briefcase filled with slightly smaller briefcases, we’re seeking out the business leaders who are standing out in their sector, and doing things very much their own way.

Mind Your Business is the sponsored spin-off of Call to Action® that gives inspiring, unusual or simply very likeable businesses a chance to share their story. It’s like reading a business book with the word ‘guru’ in the title, with the single but vital exception that it won’t make you do a little sick in your mouth.

This is the first episode of a three part series with Startle. A talented tech company curating music for brands looking to deliver customer experiences within spaces spanning retail, hospitality and beyond.

Whether you’re a food operator looking to get customers chewing faster, a retailer wanting to get shoppers shopping longer, or simply a fan of behavioural science and its application across a range of industries, press play to find out why the music sounds better with Startle.

For this first episode, we’ve caught Adam Castleton, Startle’s CEO and self-confessed lead singer who can’t sing, to riff on his first job in charge of a rollercoaster, being an anti-tech tech founder, the magic of subtlety in tech, how Startle designs the perfect atmosphere, Startle’s book to help harness heuristics and biases in retail and hospitality, handing out free air guitars, why you shouldn’t play music people like, and loads more.

Check out Startle and Adam on LinkedIn.

Here’s Startle’s first-of-its-kind book, Atmospheres That Sell.

And find out what happened when Startle handed out free air guitars at Nudgestock.

Timestamps:

(01:12) - An introduction to Startle and Adam

(02:43) - His first job in charge of a rollercoaster and his passion for the intersection of leisure, humans and tech

(04:38) - An idea in the pub 5 years ago and how Startle came to be

(10:44) - Startle in a nutshell

(12:47) - Startle’s behavioural science book for retail and hospitality

(15:26) - Where background music providers have go wrong and the importance of intent

(21:50) - Thinking about your customers’ mood

(29:10) - Handing out free air guitars at Nudgestock

(30:30) - A teaser for Part 2

This episode of Call to Action® is sponsored. Got a business we could stick our sponsored spinoff shaped nose into next? Email [email protected].