Entrepreneur Workshop Episode #1: Starting a Business

“What can we do as a team together and enjoy doing it, that at the end of the day we feel good about how we satisfied the client and at the same time took care of each other?”

In the first episode of our Entrepreneur Workshop series, Ken Auer of RoleModel Software and Reed Philips of Knowledge Systems discuss starting a business. Watch below:

Why Did You Start Your Business?

Reed saw issues he thought people would be interested in and tried to fill that space—Knowledge Systems was created because there were people interested in new technology but no place to learn about it. So Reed saw an opportunity and recruited some “really smart people” to help him and others navigate this new space. 

How Did You Get Going?

Knowledge Systems started with government contracts and projects that would generate some cash flow. Then Reed focused on getting people to join his team. 

Ken and Reed both spoke about having a service mindset. Reed says he loved it when customers came to them with an issue, and they would gather the team to solve the problem—bringing joy to the customer and a sense of satisfaction for themselves.

Focusing on People

“People are at the core of any enterprise from my perspective.” 

Ken summed up Reed’s hiring philosophy as:

1. Find good people

2. Take good care of them

3. They’ll do great things for you

Find a group of people that you enjoy being around, people whose judgment you trust. Then let your team move with the customer’s needs, finding a way to fill the need in the market. 

“I think I began enjoying more of watching the people grow more than the business.”

Once you’ve assembled your people, you can focus on what you want to accomplish as a company—something the team enjoys and excels at, where they can serve their customers and take care of each other.

Check out Ken and Reed’s conversation about scaling a business in episode 2 of Entrepreneur Workshop.