Entrostat in the aXia Spotlight!
At aXia Consulting we strongly believe in helping small to medium enterprises. Each month we will interview a business owner to find out more about his/her entrepreneurial journey and their business. It’s always great to get advice and a different perspective from a fellow business owner. This month we are shining the spotlight on Ryan Strange from Entrostat – a product engineering agency that specialises in bespoke product development.
Tell us a little about your business and your background
We offer the full suite of software engineering related services including fractional-CTO, system architecture, development, devOps and product ownership. Myself, Kerren Ortlepp and Yves-Francois Rivard started the business after completing our masters in electrical engineering to provide high-quality software development and auxiliary services.
What/Who inspired you to start your own business, and how has that initial inspiration evolved over time?
The honest answer is that we were in a position to try and do something for ourselves instead of doing the same thing for someone else and worst case if it failed we could go find jobs. The idea started out as a data science focused company but due to the time and a number of chance encounters we realised that the world needed more companies that could focus on delivering great quality software so that their systems and data were geared up for the future.
What is a challenge you’re currently facing and what do you think will help you overcome this challenge?
As with most businesses, growing pains come in different shapes and forms. Over the last 6 months we have had many major ground shifts that have led us to reevaluate a number of previous strategies. We have spent the last few months reestablishing our business focus and goals and been on a drive to enhance our processes to drive growth and efficiency. A major shift that we are making is from an everything to everyone approach which you need when growing a software business to a more refined, defined and focused service offering.
Can you share a significant milestone or accomplishment that you are proud of achieving in your business?
In the last 12 months we have landed client’s in the UK and Australia which has been a big focus of ours.
How do you stay motivated and inspired during challenging times in your industry or market?
Partners in the business that we can all fully trust and rely on is the bed rock and a great team that makes wanting to come to work and persevere through all worth it.
What is your approach to building a strong brand presence, and how do you differentiate yourself from competitors in your industry?
Our approach is to ensure that we deliver excellence in all that we do. We try and ensure that our clients are heard and do not feel like just another number which is the reputation that software development has become known for. We also focus heavily on out of the box thinking and problem solving to ensure that we can deliver the best solution for our clients that take into account not only their current needs but also their medium and long-term goals.
How do you prioritise and manage your time effectively as a small business owner wearing multiple hats?
Ensuring that we spend time on the important tasks and not only the urgent tasks is key to ensuring that you are not reactive and moving from one crisis to the next. Identifying what can and should be delegated out and understanding that “I can do it quicker, faster and cheaper with less mistakes” only limits your growth and ability to scale. Empowering people, educating them and assisting them to do those jobs is key to ensuring that you have time to focus on what is truly important to the business’ growth.
What words of advice would you have for someone wanting to start their own business?
Don’t wait until you identify something absolutely unique, you can always find a myriad of reasons to put off taking the plunge but the key is to just jump in at some point. Grow your business as a side hustle until it can support you. Don’t get stuck in the analysis paralysis of the decision-making process.
Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations for your business?
Creating seamless processes that allow us to scale and to reduce growing pain headaches as we move into this new chapter of a more targeted and refined service offering. Growing our international footprint is high on our agenda and something that we are focusing heavily on at the moment.
Keen to get in touch with Ryan? You can reach out via email at ryan@entrostat.com or LinkedIn.
Are you keen to have your own business featured? Click here to complete the form and we will get back to you soon.
Click here to read about previous business owners in the aXia Spotlight.
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