Welcome back to another episode of the "Perfect Pitch Show" where Brandon Burns, Head of Community - Runway Virtual, interviews small business founders / entrepreneurs about the secret sauce to their successful start-up journey.

Today we sit down with a seasoned Australian entrepreneur and scale up specialist Paul Jansz. Paul is currently the network development and partner of the C2 Group. He has worked in the accounting industry for close to 25 years, where his coaching and training academies have helped others to grow their business, increase profitability and improve cash flow. He has expanded his expertise throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Over the last 10 years, Paul ran a private equity firm, during which time he grew and managed almost 300 professional service firms who invested in startups. He continues to build upon his experience in the startup and scale-up field with his latest venture with C2 Capital and C2 Angels, a division of C2 Capital.

Community

Despite Paul's adventures overseas, he is thankful to finally be able to return to his hometown, Melbourne, after 17 years away. He currently has the role as Network Development Manager of C2 Capital, and he also leads the leadership team for C2 Angels, a subdivision of C2 Capital, that allows investors to invest in business models and start-ups. Paul is particularly fond of the monthly Breakfast Series that he hosts with C2 Angels. He describes the Breakfast Series as a community for startups trying to build their business and brand. He believes it is a great opportunity for business owners to develop connections with like-minded individuals and gain useful, applicable knowledge. For example, at a recent event on the 29th January 2020, he organised a talk centring on investable companies lead by two outstanding speakers: Nick Stanley and Ron Lesh. During the speech, Nick and Ron provided insight into the desirable aspects of a company that they look for in a startup before they choose to invest. Those who were able to attend gained an invaluable understanding of the business characteristics that tend to attract investors.

Microsoft Accelerator Program

Paul expresses his gratitude for being able to participate in the Microsoft Accelerator program, an experience that few others can understand. The program, which is based out of London, is described as an intensive 5-month educational course. When discussing the experience, Paul speaks with admiration regarding the expertise and knowledge of the mentors. The angles and methods in which they would tackle concepts consistently challenged Paul's preconceived notions of the business models he had developed. His main takeaway from this experience is that the focus should always be on what people want to buy, rather than what the business wants to sell. The tactic that Paul refers to as the Richard- Branson technique, is to first find out the needs of the people, and then to cater to them. Oftentimes, people are more interested in the benefits, or the reasons why they should be making the purchase, rather than the actual product. Unfortunately for most, the emphasis during marketing tends to be on promoting the product's features instead of the problems that it solves.

Greatest Achievement

Without hesitation, Paul describes his greatest achievement in life is becoming the parent of three beautiful young boys, aged 9, 7 and 4. He warns those that might underestimate the difficulty of parenthood for he understands firsthand the emotional triggers and drivers that can come with parenting. He describes that despite having gone through a divorce with his partner, they maintain a healthy relationship for the sake of their children. Paul describes the great lengths he has gone through to provide a safe environmen...