What idea are you working on at the moment?
ForceManager is currently focused on accelerating the growth process, so that we can expand the business exponentially internationally. In the past 12 months we have opened offices in London and we’re rapidly expanding through a partner network in Latin America. In order to do this we have had to review all the processes within the company so that we can effectively scale up to match the growing interest in our solution and continue to serve existing customers.
What are your fears (i.e. what constantly concerns you)?
One of my main concerns is making sure that ForceManager’s clients are well looked after and that they receive a positive experience of the solution and that it matches their expectations. I dedicate most of my time to developing and maintaining clients’ loyalty to the company. You can’t let your guard down and you have to constantly seek excellence in customer service, guaranteeing the best possible added value. At the end of the day, your clients are the ones who allow you to exist and to be what you are so they have to be well looked after.
What has been the best part of your journey so far?
The best part of running a start-up is seeing it grow and directly witnessing the positive impact that you deliver to clients. You are creating something and you are part of that entire process right from the development of ideas and a business strategy right down to the execution, delivering it to customers and receiving their feedback. It is something that is really fulfilling and, for me, it is the main reason why having a start-up is so rewarding. Despite being highly demanding and exhausting, I gain great satisfaction from striving to create something, that didn’t exist before, that is new, that is ground-breaking and something where you are the master of your own destiny.
What has been the lowest ebb of your journey so far, which nearly broke you down?
Above all, when you start out and have limited resources, you cannot do things the way you would like to. You have this great idea but the path to its fruition is full of challenges and obstacles that make the journey a difficult one. You want things to go one way or in one particular direction, but the resources at your disposal don’t allow you to do so. That’s a very difficult feeling, something that is hard to handle and that generates a great deal of frustration. It’s really tough sometimes but the flipside is that you have far more flexibility and more options open to you in how you overcome the challenges than you would in a large company as you are not hampered by old ways of doing things.
What drives you crazy? (people, habits, funding, etc.)
What I love about ForceManager, what fills me with passion and drives me crazy in a positive way is to be able to still talk to the clients directly. Identifying their needs, managing the sales strategy and seeing first hand that we are solving real problems and that, thanks to our product, we can help them to improve, optimise their sales processes and achieve better results. That makes me crazy happy and fills me with pride, both personally and as far as the entire ForceManager team are concerned.
What are your plans ahead?
ForceManager’s team now comprises 50 people from over 15 different countries, with most of our activity concentrated in Europe and Latin America. Our future plans are obviously focused on expanding to the US in the near future, which is something that is definitely on the cards as we have already seen some interest from the American market. As a result of this our focus is on making the company expand even further and continuing to deliver growth at a pace that matches or exceeds what we have already achieved.
