Zeynep ‘Z’ Ekemen of Silver Defender: Five Strategies I Used To Grow My Business To Reach Seven Figures In Revenue

An Interview With Doug Brown

Have a great network. It is a lot easier to open doors for opportunities when you already have connections to that person or company. Never burn any bridges because you don’t know when you might cross paths again.

As a part of my series called “Five Strategies I Used To Grow My Business To Reach Seven Figures In Revenue”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Zeynep “Z” Ekemen.

Zeynep “Z” Ekemen is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Silver Defender, a woman-led business, which provides self-cleaning adhesive films with built-in antimicrobial protection that help businesses keep their commonly touched surfaces clean. An entrepreneur at heart with a background in commercial real estate, her vision of empowering individuals and businesses in promoting cleanliness led her to the arduous task of meeting with scientists, testing products and establishing the Silver Defender business and its supply chain.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I am always watching Shark Tank and love Lori Greiner specifically. She has always been an inspiration to me — someone that I am always trying to emulate in my everyday life. When the opportunity came for me to create an invention of my own, I had to jump on it. Going out and seeing all of the surfaces we touch every day, one day I was thinking, there has to be an easier way to keep these surfaces clean other than spraying chemicals constantly. That is what really inspired me to transform my career from real estate and nanotechnology and how I dreamt up Silver Defender.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?

When we created Silver Defender, it was two years before the global pandemic. We had no idea what would actually be in store or the great demand that this product would generate in time. We really created the right product for the pandemic and we were able to get it out right when the world needed it the most.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. We’d love to learn a bit about your company. What is the pain point that your company is helping to address?

Silver Defender is simply aimed to help people. We want to get our product out to as many businesses as possible so that they can protect their patrons and employees from germs that we meet every day on high touch point surfaces.

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

When we first entered the game, there was no product like this. Silver ions in nanotechnology as a cleaning agent was very new at the time. We ended up creating something that was extremely necessary — a product that can protect any surface and is easy to apply without a lot of waste and no liquid chemicals.

When you first started the business, what drove you, what was your primary motivation?

Although not my initial motivation, the pandemic has really helped motivate me to keep creating and growing the business. I knew this was the kind of product that could make the world a better, cleaner place and as our product distribution spread it inspired me to keep pushing forward. We now have our products used on every habitable continent in the world.

What drives you now? Is it the same? Did it change? Can you explain what you mean?

We all want the world to get back to some sense of normalcy and people can feel safe where Silver Defender’s products are used. Our main clients include schools, airports, public transportation hubs, stores, offices, and some of the most iconic buildings in New York City. We are helping them open back up to the public and continue to keep cleanliness top of mind.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

There will be number Silver Defender related products coming out in the near future catering to different high-touch point surfaces. The length of the pandemic has allowed the team get super creative and meet the needs of today’s everyday consumers.

The topic of this series is ‘Five Strategies I Used To Grow My Business To Reach Seven Figures In Revenue’. Congratulations! Seven figures is really a huge milestone. In your experience what was the most difficult part of being able to hit your first million-dollars in sales revenue?

What people do not always seem to realize is that before you hit that million dollar mark, there is hours and hours of research and preparation that go into making the product. I was coming into a new industry and really had to take the time to meet with industry professionals and learn the trade. The learning curve is the most time-consuming part of any new business, but once you’ve put the time in, what you’ve learned can pay off over and over again.

Could you share the number one sales strategy that you found helpful to help you reach this milestone?

A huge part of sales strategies include who you know and what connections you have made in the past. For example, a lot of our clients are in the real estate world — connections that I made in my previous career in commercial real estate. Definitely do not limit yourself and your abilities and don’t discount your past experience even if it seems unrelated. There is always a way to use what you know. Starting in a new field was the best thing that ever happened to me and allowed me to grow as a businesswoman and entrepreneur.

Does your company have a sales team? If yes, do you have any advice about how companies can create very high performing sales teams?

Our sales team is super experienced, they know how much of the product is needed and who to go to. A lot of our vendors are in the jan/san business which has been helpful.

Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “Five Strategies I Used To Grow My Business To Reach Seven Figures In Revenue”. Please share a story or an example for each.

• Positioning. We set out at the very beginning to be the best antimicrobial film brand for our customers. We pride ourselves to be the best quality, scientifically proven and easiest to use application film product in the market.
• Connect with other entrepreneurs. Connecting with like-minded business people opens your eyes to different opportunities that you might not have thought of yourself. They don’t even have to be in the same industry as you but you can still learn from their experiences and mistakes that they might have already made in growing their businesses.
• Have a great network. It is a lot easier to open doors for opportunities when you already have connections to that person or company. Never burn any bridges because you don’t know when you might cross paths again.
• Build a company culture. At Silver Defender we strive to help others by not only protecting high touch surfaces but also giving back to causes that we believe in.
• Have a plan. We know exactly where we want to be in 6 months, 1 year and 5 years from now with our products. It is important to take a weekly audit of where your company is to make sure you are staying in line with future growth plans.

What would you advise to another business leader who initially went through years of successive growth, but has now reached a standstill. From your experience do you have any general advice about how to boost growth or sales and “restart their engines”?

You have to look for different avenues for how your business can grow. There might be other verticals that you haven’t tapped into that can boost growth. See this problem of a standstill as an opportunity for innovation rather than a setback. You can’t avoid change, it’s a necessity of life and business, so embrace it when the opportunity comes to switch it up and get better.

In your specific industry what methods have you found to be most effective in order to find and attract the right customers?

Every customer is the right customer, because every customer needs the protection of Silver Defender. Never be afraid to offer your product — you never know who might bite.

Based on your experience, can you share a few strategies to give your customers the best possible user experience and customer service?

In order to give the best customer service possible you need to make sure that whoever is answering the phone or inquiries knows the product well. We make sure all of our team members are well trained on the technology and the use of our products. We also pride ourselves on responding quickly to all requests in a very timely manner. We also try to establish a great online presence so our customers can connect with us on all different types of social platforms.

As you likely know, this HBR article demonstrates that studies have shown that retaining customers can be far more lucrative than finding new ones. Do you use any specific initiatives to limit customer attrition or customer churn? Can you share some of your advice from your experience about how to limit customer churn?

Our products need to be replaced every 90 days. Our clients and customers want to keep replacing the antimicrobial protected films because they make people feel safe. Our products cut down on manpower for cleaning many surfaces and are by nature an asset to long term cleanliness, which solves a problem we know our customers need to solve. Our customer attrition tactics are really solved for on their own.

Wonderful. We are nearly done. Here are the final “meaty” questions of our discussion. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire 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. :-)

Now, more than ever, people are afraid to enter public places. Silver Defender wants to put those fears at ease. Overall, it is a great way to encourage employees and patrons that their general health is a priority, and so many businesses across the country have already utilized Silver Defender’s antimicrobial protective films.

We are very blessed that very prominent leaders 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 with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

Lori Greiner and Barbara Corcoran. Like I said, I love Shark Tank and we could speak about my two passions — invention and real estate.

Thank you so much for this. This was very inspirational, and we wish you only continued success!