Founder stories: Domini Hogg, Tried & Supplied
December 11, 2023
Domini Hogg is the founder and CEO of Tried & Supplied, a company providing supply chain intelligence for people, planet, and profit.
Tried & Supplied enable businesses to access primary product-level data from suppliers and instantly calculate the ESG impact of their purchases, comply with legislation, prepare for audits and eco-accreditations, set ESG targets and drive progress across the supply chain.
Prior to Tried & Supplied, Domini has worked in customer success management and her latest role was as Director of Success for an influencer marketing software company, which was centred heavily on data analysis.
Away from work, Domini’s biggest passion is her harp, which she has played since she was 11, but she also enjoys cooking, reading, skiing, climbing, and sailing.
How has progress been at Tried & Supplied?
Since the start of this year we’ve grown our MRR by 518% across 9 enterprise customers. Some of our existing customers have already expanded with us. Our deal sizes have also been getting bigger. We have a few individual proposals out at the moment that would more than double our current MRR. Progress has been good.
What ignited your passion for sustainability?
I’ve always wanted to do something to protect and preserve the fabulous world we live in. I’ve been skiing for as long as I can remember and climbing in the Alps every year since I was 13. Every year I have seen how far the glaciers have retreated. This has only accelerated in recent years. My passion for a sustainable world keeps me motivated.
How have you overcome challenges faced whilst building Tried & Supplied?
I have mostly consulted experts on areas I was struggling with or knew little about. If Google didn’t have the answer for me, LinkedIn usually did. There was normally someone I could find who could help either in the short-term or as a longer-term partner. It makes such a big difference to know you can turn to someone with experience, such as MTP’s technical expertise.
What are the most valuable lessons you've learned as a founder?
Done is better than perfect. Go with the flow and explore every opportunity that comes your way. It’s like sailing a ship. You’ll get to your ultimate destination more quickly if you work with the wind and wave direction you’re given. There is a lot in business that you can’t control. You can only try to steer your ship as close to the wind as possible and make the most of the downwind runs when you get them.
Building a company can be demanding. How have you navigated work-life balance and maintained your well-being whilst growing Tried & Supplied?
I think recognising that not everything was in my control helped. Working harder doesn’t necessarily equate to better results more quickly and it can even slow you down if it starts to affect your ability to focus. If you’re working hard and you get to the end of the day, it’s time to reward yourself for doing your best that day. I always look forward to playing my harp at the end of the day, so it’s easy to say it’s time to switch off. Sometimes the best ideas and solutions come when you’re taking a break.
What are your plans and aspirations for Tried & Supplied's future?
I’m particularly excited about 2024. We’ve made excellent progress this year and designed a viral growth mechanism we can embed in our product, which we’re already working on for next year. The combination of automating a lot of the data gathering and validation we’ve been doing this year for clients, and enabling a multi-tier supplier structure, will enable us to set off a cascade of ESG data requests down the supply chain, turning each business along the chain into a new lead for us. Not only that, but the EU has just introduced new legislation that will mean from 2025 our solution will be required to trace products from farm to fork.