#039: Track Zach Marshall #3: 10x-ing your company in 4 Months

https://kite.link/jsoundbox39t

Third episode in our quarterly-ish “Track Zach” series, where we follow Zach Marshall as he builds the private security marketplace, Conterra.

Today, we explore the pivots and progress Conterra has made in the last few months as well as some predictions for the company’s direction in the future.

Zach refers to the private security industry as a “dirty industry of relationship arbitrage” and his mission is to fix it. Conterra can increase the quality of life of one million workers in the security space, while making security purchasing easier, cheaper, and better.

16 things I learned from the episode:

• “Err on the side of aggression; moderation is for cowards.”
• Conterra has gone from $15K in total revenue to $25K revenue just in May. The target is 250K by the end of the year.
• He hired a badass new partner Kurt, who has a ton of valuable experience.
• Zach is currently focusing on fundraising. He is wrapping up the final pre-seed raise for 200K.
• Conterra’s website is focused on one of the products for high net worth people: risk reduction programs, where the client gets home risk assessment and recommendations for improvement
• Famous people’s stuff gets stolen often. Conterra wants to help people get ahead of the problem, and most don’t realize they can solve it.
• They also offer international security management, offering expert planning and white-glove treatment for medical and diplomatic preparation and solution.
• Zach is working to figure out if they are more like CarMax (which owns the entire client experience) or “B2B Uber” where security managers at companies use Conterra as a booking tool.
• Most of the similar competitors were bought – companies pop up, they offer international, win contracts, then get bought by a large company like Securitas.
• The main value of home threat assessments isn’t necessarily current profit, it is driving more business later.
• During the last quarter, Zach spent too much time pursuing shiny objects. He has learned to be more conscious of his time.
• Zach might not have much work-life balance now, but he thinks of it as a season that won’t last forever.
• Staying healthy is critical, not only for the obvious personal reasons, but also because clients expect it of Zach.
• Successful companies are willed into existence.
• Zach has learned to hear advice but not necessarily to take a quick reaction to it.
• Mental Models Zach learned in the military that carry over to entrepreneurship like “After-Action Reviews” and “Attention to Detail”

(Since we recorded, I hung with Zach at Capital Camp and he told me there’s been a ton more progress with large B2B clients, especially in the tech space.)

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Find show notes for each episode at https://www.ejorgenson.com/podcast