As of this year I’ve spent 20 years working in technology across South Africa, Europe and the United Kingdom. The bulk of this time has been spent consulting in one form or another, so why choose a product startup, and why SalesTrip?
When I arrived in London (nearly 10 years ago exactly) I hadn’t been following the news and had no idea that I’d arrive during one of the worst financial crises in history. Add that to the fact that it was Christmas time and you can easily understand why I was broke within 3 months.
Fortune is a strange lady, and out of desperation I took a job working with Salesforce technology — I immediately fell in love and the rest is history. Since then I’ve had the luck and honour of writing a book on the technology, travelled the world to spread the good word, met thousands of incredible people, and built and sold the incredible consulting business Tquila over a 5-year period — and all these experiences have taught me more about what I really want out of a career.
Why a Startup?
Startups are intense, magical places when they work out. Not everyone is suited to startup life, but I find the experience suits me very well. Here are some of the reasons startups are my preference:
- Career & Personal Growth — working in a great startup is the fastest way to boost your career and personal development
- Autonomy — you get to do whatever is needed to solve a problem, be as creative as you like
- Culture — we all know this already, but it has been scientifically shown that small companies have better culture than large companies. You can be as whacky as you like, you can be yourself
Why a Product Startup?
These reasons are a little more selfish, I’ve worked on products for only a few years in my career and always preferred the experience to consulting. My reasons include:
- Focus — I will spend several years working on one thing instead of jumping from project to project. I will also truly own what we build.
- Innovation — Product startups often need to use or create brand new technology, working at the bleeding edge of what’s possible. This is where I want to be.
Why SalesTrip?
Even whilst building my last startup I wondered what my next gig might be. I knew that I wanted to build a product but it took me several years to find the right opportunity — SalesTrip. What’s so special about this company? Let me tell you:
- The Team — no matter how good your idea, or the amount of investment you’ve secured, your startup will not be successful unless you have the right team. At SalesTrip we have a product team and head of sales with deep industry roots and connections, directors that’ve built several companies before, and some of the smartest engineers I’ve worked with.
- We will change the world — The Travel & Expense industry has been owned by the same Goliaths for several decades, and customers are ready for change. Not only are we improving on what these giants already do, but we are going to flip the industry on its head. Commercially, technically, and functionally — they will not know what hit them, and that really gets me fired up🔥
