In this episode, Nick once again returns to the ‘Entrepreneur In Focus’, this time talking to Andy Alsop, the President and CEO of US-based tech-company The Receptionist.

Since taking the helm at The Receptionist, Andy has grown their reach considerably. In 2015 the company’s software was being used at around 150 locations. These days, the software is being used in over 3,000 locations globally.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• An important factor in Andy’s decision to purchase a company instead of founding one was that for some time previously, he had not been seeing the success he had hoped to see. The Receptionist was based in Colorado, an area that Andy was interested in targeting, and through networking, found himself face to face with the company’s founder.
• The Receptionist had an installed customer base, albeit small, including market research and initial sales. Andy’s main issue with startups has always been the first giant step from “dead start” to “something”. This issue had been solved by the company already.
• In the US today there are approximately 10,000 people retiring each day. A lot of those people own businesses, and are wishing to divest themselves. There areonly three ways to do this: sell to a person, sell to a private equity firm, or sell to another company. These opportunities can be attractive, because the hard part (founding and marketing) is already done.
• It can be beneficial to immerse yourself in the genesis of your new acquisition, learning the ropes from the inside out, working on marketing and design yourself. This can be a far more effective use of investment capital than hiring early on. The risks of making a bad hire can be costly, especially at the nascent stages.
• One of the most effective methodologies that Andy discovered was Traction by Gino Wickman, upon which he and The Receptionist team built their company strategy, mindset and values.
• Employee concerns are always acted upon either as an individual concern, a departmental concern, or a company-wide concern. By dealing with the concern swiftly and through the proper channels, the company runs more efficiently and happily.
• Focus and structure are essential for any business. Especially when it comes to planning the future trajectory or goals of your business, of paramount importance is the need for structure and planning, but also adherence to those goals.
• Many entrepreneurs who begin at the startup phase become very enamoured with the creative process, and then when growth begins, and people are required, and culture and values become important, that’s when certain types of entrepreneurs struggle.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I wish I’d had a podcast like this to listen to over the past 22 years’

’The hardest part of any startup is taking it from a dead start to “something”'

’Now’s a great time to create that one-plus-one-equals-three’

’That one misfire can taint the whole thing’

‘We know where we want to go. We know our goalposts. How do we align our company to get there?’

‘It’s that efficiency of how to communicate that is so critical in a company’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Andy Alsop on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyalsop/
The Receptionist - https://thereceptionist.com
Traction by Gino Wickman - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837/ref=asc_df_1936661837/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310623486223&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8563956478218085729&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006817&hvtargid=pla-404289645110&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

ABOUT THE HOST 

My name is Nick Bradley. I’m an entrepreneur, author, speaker and investor.

My background is in growing and scaling VC and Private Equity backed businesses.

Having successfully built, bought and sold a number of companies, and removed myself from day-to-day operations, my focus now is on helping entrepreneurs get to where they want to be, in business and in life. As well as investing in growth businesses and backing turnarounds - with the ultimate aim of creating value from significant capital events.

I’m passionate about personal and professional development - showing up and being the best version of myself ... every day.

My bigger vision is to help bring entrepreneurial skills, experience and mindset to people in developing nations - so they can follow their dreams, live life more on their terms - utilising entrepreneurship as a global force for good.

CONTACT METHOD

https://twitter.com/nickcbradley
[email protected]
www.fielding.global

 

 

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