Alex is the co-founder of two tech companies. His first company, Onosys – was a comprehensive, enterprise-level digital ordering platform for restaurant chains. Note that Alex started Onosys in 2008, so he was on the bleeding edge of the digital revolution for restaurants. Onosys raised angel capital from Zapis Capital, a family office that is a great partner to early stage founders, before they sold to Living Social in 2012. Alex’s second company was Scout RFP, an innovative e-sourcing solution for companies across all industries, which he started in 2014 With Scout, Alex and his co-founders raised $60M from funds like NEA, Menlo Ventures, and Scale Venture Partners. Scout was acquired by Workday in 2019 for $540M.
In this episode, we get into:
When he knew he wanted to become an entrepreneur
The ambition to drive his own destiny
The biggest piece of advice he would give to an entrepreneur
How your big idea will be rough before you get it right
His unique approach to early market discovery
What founders can learn from an interview vs. a survey
The moment listening to the customer changed his revenue model
Why it is critical to ask customer what they have vs. what they use
The benefit of establishing relationships with investors early
How to effectively build relationships
The importance of being open and honest from the start
What investors are looking for in the early days
Why co-founders need to have the uncomfortable conversations upfront
Why founders shouldn't worry about an exit strategy
How and when to bring in strategic investors
How to decide which city is the best location to build your business