John Dwinell of Siena Analytics: Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup

Know Your Business — When you launch a startup, it is extremely important to have a clear business model. Without one, you have no direction. Be sure that everyone from employees to customers are clear on what value you provide.

Startups have such a glamorous reputation. Companies like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Uber, and Airbnb once started as scrappy startups with huge dreams and huge obstacles. Yet we of course know that most startups don’t end up as success stories. What does a founder or a founding team need to know to create a highly successful startup? In this series, called “Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup” we are talking to experienced and successful founders and business leaders who can share stories from their experiences about what it takes to create a highly successful startup. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing John Dwinell.

John Dwinell is the founder and CEO of Siena Analytics, an AI company born in the distribution center focusing on supply chain visibility and automating quality assurance for logistics operations. Prior to Siena Analytics, John was the Vice President of Emerging Technology at SICK Sensor Intelligence, a leader in the industrial sensor and applications market. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from Boston University.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

Thanks so much for having me! I got my start in analytics when I served as Vice President of Emerging Technology at SICK Sensor Intelligence. This is where my passion for sensor technology and logistics automation flourished.

During my time at SICK, I built a software business focused on the then emerging field of industrial analytics. After 16 years at SICK, I took what I had learned and founded Siena Analytics, a software company focused on supply chain artificial intelligence (AI) and image recognition for high-volume logistics.

Since Siena’s founding in 2013, we have grown rapidly year over year. Most notably, we were acquired by Peak Technologies, a Sole Source Capital Portfolio company, in July 2022.

What was the “Aha Moment” that led to the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?

The longer I spent in the world of logistics automation, the more apparent it became to me that the distribution lifecycle was missing a critical piece. There just was no good way to get a complete and accurate understanding of what inventory was in the warehouse, what condition it was in, or even where it was located. At one point in time, I recall seeing distribution centers relying on employees marching up and down aisles with clipboards to manually record inventory compliance. You don’t need to be a data scientist to know that that is not only inefficient, it’s also highly likely to be impacted by human error!

Then it occurred to me: why couldn’t we have a solution that shows the whole picture? The entire lifecycle from pre-arrival to the last mile? And from there, I knew that a technology solution was needed. It was time for traditional methods to yield to more advanced software that could do the job faster, better, and smarter.

Was there somebody in your life who inspired or helped you to start your journey with your business? Can you share a story with us?

The success of Siena Analytics is really credited to the many people who helped make it possible. That all starts with the most important person in my life, my loving wife, Pam. I named the company as a nod to her. Years ago, we were together on vacation in Tuscany with other family and friends when the idea to quit my job and start a software company began. While in Siena, we made the decision to jump in together and take a chance. That was how Siena Analytics began.

Pam and I never once looked back with even a hint of doubt. From there our employees, consultants, partners, friends, and family were behind us 100%. The list is far too long to share, but the people who have been an impact know who they are. I should add that we always partner closely with our customers, helping them at every turn in any way we can. In return, they have been among our greatest supporters on this journey.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Going back to my previous answer, I truly believe Siena Analytics stands out because of what we’re able to bring to warehouse operations: end-to-end visibility into the complete distribution lifecycle. There’s no more guessing about where inventory is or if it meets quality assurance standards. Siena utilizes sensors that operate at the edge at the tunnel and facility levels. This means we’re able to see in real-time thousands of packages per day and to determine if there is a problem anywhere in the package flow. That’s accomplished through the magic of our no-code AI platform, which scans all images that are captured in the tunnels and reports if a package is missing a label, if a barcode is smudged, where the product is currently located… All of these things bring tremendous value to today’s fast-growing warehouse operations.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Being part of a startup has been the best opportunity of my career. As I mentioned before, the employees are critical to Siena’s success and now all of them are like family to me. I feel there is nothing Pam and I wouldn’t do to help an employee. We have formed an amazing team. In a small way, building an environment where everyone cares about each other beyond just the work that needs to be accomplished is how we can usher some goodness into the world daily.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

For me, the three most important traits are to be authentic, determined, and humble. Personally, being authentic was important and provided a guiding light. My wife and I knew that we had a vision and the knowledge and experience to make our dream work. We were a small company working with very large fortune 50 customers. Being authentic helped us to gain the confidence of our customers that we understood what to deliver and how to make it happen.

There is no doubt that there are bumps along the way on this journey. We were not afraid to stay the course and remain determined despite the challenges. I recall one time when a small software patch impacted a major project. The team came together working closely with the customer, end users, and management. We provided updates around the clock until the problem was resolved.

Being authentic provides that “North Star” and being determined keeps you moving along, focused on the path. The final, and perhaps most critical, trait is to be humble. There is no way to be good at everything you will need to succeed as a startup. Humility lets you realize when and where help is needed. Working in the Boston area, we realized that there is a deep startup community. At every turn, we reached out to many different consultants and advisors to find the best resources to ensure success.

Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. Can you share a story about advice you’ve received that you now wish you never followed?

As Siena Analytics matured, we were very careful about making key decisions for our business and choosing advisors who could help us as we grew. Overall, we were lucky to receive great guidance and advice, even when we didn’t run with it.

One lesson that we did learn was that, even though we were small, there were still ways that we could amplify our brand and our message. In the early years, we didn’t invest heavily in marketing. It was not until much later that we discovered that, despite our size, there were larger partners willing to help elevate our brand because our solution solved a unique problem. This allowed us to “punch above our weight” by having our name published alongside other brands that had powerful name recognition.

Remember that small, innovative companies often have compelling messages and larger partners may be willing to provide support. I wish I’d realized this sooner, as we could have leveraged this earlier on our growth path.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

In the very first weeks of the company, we found a small space inside an old factory from the 1800s. I had one Ikea desk and a laptop. Next, I needed to build a team. My vision was to create a “Big Data” solution for Supply Chain logistics. At that time, big data hadn’t even been coined as a term! Building a team with the right skills was not going to be easy.

I was able to reach out to my network, friends, and family and find a combination of resources to get the company off the ground. It turned out that by the spring of 2014 our two longest running employees both started on the same day. As they say, the rest is history.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard? What strategies or techniques did you use to help overcome those challenges?

In the early years, I never once contemplated giving up. We worked very closely with our customers and got to see the impact that our solution was making. Perhaps the greatest challenge for us came during the emergence of COVID-19. We all know of the many supply chain challenges during that period. Here we were, doing vital work for an essential business, and couldn’t get the special hardware that we needed to provide our complete edge AI solution.

We knew that we couldn’t let the customer down. At our own expense, we went out and procured whatever hardware we could find and built the systems on our own to ensure that the customer’s project could move forward. We needed the trust and commitment of all our suppliers to find a path, despite the vast challenges with deliveries.

The Siena team always had faith that taking care of the customer and ensuring success of every project would pay off in the end. Today, our customers see us as partners and this is key to our success.

The journey of an entrepreneur is never easy and is filled with challenges, failures, setbacks, as well as joys, thrills and celebrations. Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?

This is a great question, because you’re right, entrepreneurship is a journey! The easiest part about this rollercoaster is finding your idea. The thing that makes you go, “Yes! This is it!” On the flip side, the challenge is making that dream a reality, and this is where you’re either going to succeed or fail. You can’t be afraid of hard work if you want to be an entrepreneur. That idea just won’t go anywhere if you spend all your time dreaming about it, but never doing.

So to anyone seeking advice on how to ride the waves of emotion that come with this career path, I recommend:

1. Find Your Rock: Any building will fall without a firm foundation, and despite what we may believe, we can’t do it all alone. Find someone who not only is going to be your cheerleader when things get tough, but will also be the person to pull you back up off the ground when you get knocked down. Maybe that’s a friend, family member, or a spouse. Whoever they are, find your rock.
2. Take a Break: It sounds very basic, I know, but hear me out. The human mind is not designed to constantly work like a machine. It needs down time to mull over problems, to get a bigger picture. This is why sometimes walking away from something for even a day is enormously helpful. No one said you can’t work hard but also find time to rest.
3. Eat the Elephant: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That being said, don’t stress out if you haven’t solved your big problem as quickly as you’d hoped for. I know, easier said than done! But becoming overwhelmed by the task you’ve undertaking isn’t going to help you conquer the issue. Remember, one bite at a time.

Let’s imagine that a young founder comes to you and asks for your advice about whether venture capital or bootstrapping is best for them? What would you advise them? Can you kindly share a few things a founder should look at to determine if fundraising or bootstrapping is the right choice?

I can only speak to one side of this equation. For Siena, we understood that our vision was early and that the technology and market might slowly evolve. Because of that, we chose to bootstrap the company.

While this route meant we had less funds, it enforced a discipline to run each project efficiently and profitably. We were then able to roll that forward and continue to invest in developing our technology. I’m not aware of any magic formula, and every idea faces different market conditions, but in my opinion, if you can bootstrap then this is the way to go.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Many startups are not successful, and some are very successful. From your experience or perspective, what are the main factors that distinguish successful startups from unsuccessful ones? What are your “Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Startup”? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.

This is a great question. My advice is:

1. Know Your Business — When you launch a startup, it is extremely important to have a clear business model. Without one, you have no direction. Be sure that everyone from employees to customers are clear on what value you provide.
2. Keep Your Focus — Focus on what you do well and where you can provide value. Don’t get caught up in what other companies are doing and be sure to support your business by adding key services. One of Siena’s best early decisions was to secure the support contract for our key customer. Later we took on other key services that helped position us down the road to expand our portfolio.
3. Partner Strategically — Look for partnerships that strengthen your product offering. This brings great value to your customers.
4. Continue Learning — Having a student mindset can be a real advantage. Read everything — books and industry news — and listen to podcasts about business development. Reach out to your network to tap the individuals you know who have achieved success themselves and have a conversation with them. If you go the extra mile to never stop learning, you’ll find that you are better off when it comes to problem solving.
5. Show Up — Success does not come overnight. In order to reach your goals and successfully launch your startup, you have to be willing to put in a lot of hard work. That means showing up, consistently, to make sure everything gets done.

What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?

The biggest mistake that I’ve seen is when businesses become overly excited about their technical capabilities before defining their value proposition. Don’t try to “boil the ocean.” Find your niche, provide value to your customers, and expand from there.

Startup founders often work extremely long hours and it’s easy to burn the candle at both ends. What would you recommend to founders about how to best take care of their physical and mental wellness when starting a company?

As I mentioned before, take a break! Sometimes being a founder, you fall into the trap of “I can’t take time off.” That’s just not true, and a break doesn’t necessarily mean a week-long vacation. Sometimes just stepping away to run an errand or take the weekend to mull something over is the best thing that you can do for your mental and physical health.

Another thing to keep in mind is setting boundaries. Be disciplined about your work hours. It doesn’t matter how long you plan to work, what matters is that you stick to a consistent quitting time. The time you select is entirely up to you, but by setting an end to the work day, you give yourself permission to relax and reconnect with life outside of the startup. This means seeing friends and family, enjoying dinner at a favorite restaurant, reading a book, or just watching late night television. You’ll thank yourself later for creating a routine.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I am 100 percent sold on entrepreneurship. Being part of a startup is a fantastic opportunity. Startups are tremendous drivers of innovation and growth in the economy. I’d like to leverage my experience to help others who have an idea and the drive to make it work.

We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

That is a long list, but there is one name that jumps to the top for me. Andrew Ng is someone who has inspired me. I love to read his views about AI and business. Back in college, my best friend at the time, Przemek, and I would meet at a local restaurant to talk about the future of AI. It would be great to do this again with Andrew Ng joining us for that conversation.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Readers can connect with Siena Analytics and my self a number of ways, including:

• www.sienaanalytics.com
• www.linkedin.com/company/siena-analytics/
• www.linkedin.com/in/john-dwinell-0234425/

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!

Thank you! This has been a true pleasure.