From Pilot to CEO: 9 Lessons from Building a Fast-Growing Startup

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From Pilot to CEO: 9 Lessons from Building a Fast-Growing Startup

Derek shared valuable insights into leadership, startup culture, and upholding company values:

1. Embrace getting out of your comfort zone

Derek Feebrey, along with Fiona and Mitch, is a co-founder of a company called Trendspek. He shared that they started as bush pilots and eventually became airline pilots. Derek spent 10 years flying internationally and domestically, eventually leaving before COVID. He left in 2020, despite the potential benefits of a better career. The experience provided him with a global perspective.

Switch actionable tips

1. Embrace Diverse Experience. Derek Feebrey's journey from a bush pilot to a co-founder of an airline company showcases the value of diverse experience. By exploring different roles within the aviation industry, he gained insights and skills that contributed to his success. So, if you’re looking to advance your career, seek opportunities outside your comfort zones.
2. Seize Timing and Opportunities. His decision to leave his flying career in 2020, despite potential benefits, highlights how Derek sees the importance of seizing opportunities at the right time. Similarly, you should carefully evaluate situations and check whether the timing is conducive to your goals.
3. Cultivate Global Perspective. Derek's decade of international and domestic flying gave him a global perspective, which helped him make informed decisions and contribute effectively to his startup. To cultivate a similar perspective, you can actively engage with international colleagues, attend cross-cultural workshops, or even take on short-term assignments in different countries.

2. Turn your strengths into productised solutions

Derek, Mitch, and Fiona founded the drone service-based company, HoverScape, aiming to revolutionise asset inspections with technology. However, they discovered that the data from drones was unmanageable. Specifically, the data was handed over to their clients in USB sticks with thousands of images or videos.

As problem solvers, they sought a better solution to make the data more actionable. This led to the birth of Trendspek in 2018, which has since grown significantly. They didn’t intend to become a software company, but wanting to focus on better solutions made them become one.

Now, the company's focus is on making asset inspections more efficient with Precision Asset Intelligence (PAI) technology. Trendspek’s unique solution proved to be impactful to their clients in property, energy, telco, and water infrastructures.

Switch actionable tips:

1. Focus on Offering Solutions. HoverScape's journey highlights the importance of addressing pain points for potential clients. In this case, the challenge was managing overwhelming drone data for asset inspections. As a sales leader or professional, you can focus on understanding your client's pain points and offering tailored solutions. For example, if you're selling CRM software, highlight how your solution streamlines customer data management, making it easier for businesses to track leads and conversions.
2. Showcase Tangible Value and ROI. Trendspek’s success was driven by its ability to turn drone data into actionable insights, ultimately improving efficiency in asset inspections. Similarly, when selling a product or service, emphasise the tangible value and return on investment (ROI) your offering brings to clients.
3. Adapt and Evolve to Stay Relevant. HoverScape's shift from a drone service-based company to a software-focused entity highlights the importance of adaptation. As a sales leader or professional, it's crucial to stay attuned to market trends and be ready to adapt your approach as needed.

3. Get ready to wear all hats as a founder

As a founder, Derek has worn various hats, including sales, marketing, operations, legal, tax, finance, and technical components. Despite not having a technology background, Derek and his co-founders have learned from each other and have incorporated expertise from others. They have also brought in contractors and consultants to support different areas. This approach may have been challenging, but it has also been essential in their efforts to continuously improve.

Switch actionable tips:

1. Embrace Multifaceted Expertise. Derek's diverse experience across various roles demonstrates the value of embracing multifaceted expertise. Similarly, as a sales leader, you can benefit from understanding different aspects of your business, such as marketing, operations, and finance. This holistic knowledge allows you to make informed decisions and collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
2. Collaborate and Leverage External Resources. Derek's practise of bringing in contractors and consultants to support different areas underscores the importance of collaboration and leveraging external expertise. In your sales role, you can collaborate with marketing professionals to create compelling sales collateral, work with legal experts to ensure contract compliance or engage finance specialists to navigate complex pricing structures.
3. Embrace a Growth Mindset. Derek's commitment to learning highlights the significance of adopting a growth mindset. As a sales leader, staying open to learning and embracing continuous improvement can elevate your performance. This dedication to improvement not only boosts your sales outcomes but also adds a sense of fulfilment to your career journey.

4. Eliminate ego in your culture

Trendspek is known for its culture, which is built on the values of its team members. The company values non-egotistical individuals who are willing to learn and support each other, and who are not just there to fill vacant roles. They hire people for specific reasons not just to fill gaps, but to use their experience and creativity to help the company achieve its goals.

Their culture also encourages open communication. For example, Trendspek’s development team is also involved in discussing the sales process. This shows that their members feel comfortable voicing their opinions. Because of this approach, they were able to attract and retain talented individuals from software companies.

Switch actionable tips

1. Foster a Collaborative and Value-Driven Culture. Trendspek’s success is rooted in its culture of collaboration and values. Similarly, as a sales leader, you can encourage your team to share different ideas and perspectives during team meetings by doing a regular "Innovation Hour". This is where team members can openly propose new sales strategies or techniques, without fear or judgment.
2. Hire for Purpose and Expertise, Not Just Roles. Trendspek’s emphasis on hiring individuals for specific reasons and leveraging their experience and creativity aligns with the idea of hiring for purpose and expertise. When building your sales team, focus on hiring individuals who bring unique skills and perspectives that complement the team's goals.
3. Empower Development and Growth. Trendspek’s involvement of the development team in the decision-making process highlights the importance of cross-functional collaboration. As a sales leader, empower your team members by involving them in decisions that impact their roles.

5. Involve team members in integrating the company values

Derek shared that they developed their company's values through a group exercise, where they made sure everyone had a say.

Key values included humility, learning from mistakes, being hungry for growth, empathy, integrity, and unity.

Humility involves putting egos aside and listening to everyone's perspectives equally. No one is blamed for mistakes, as they are learning opportunities.

Their hunger to learn is also crucial, as this motivates the team to grow. Empathy involves listening without assumptions and providing accessible solutions for both the team and clients. Integrity involves doing the right thing at the right time and taking responsibility. Finally, having unity means that teams should be able to have fun together and not just work all the time.

Derek emphasised that as a company grows bigger, it is crucial to identify and protect these values as early as possible.

Switch actionable tips

1. Align Sales Approach with Core Values. Integrate the company's core values into your sales approach to build stronger client relationships and foster a positive workplace culture. For example, if "empathy" is a core value, take the time to truly understand your clients' needs and challenges. Listen actively during sales meetings, ask probing questions, and tailor your solutions to address their specific pain points.
2. Embrace a Growth Mindset and Learning Culture. Embody the value of "learning from mistakes" and "being hungry for growth" within your sales team. Encourage a growth mindset by promoting a culture where team members feel comfortable discussing their challenges and failures. Share your own experiences of learning from setbacks and how they contributed to personal and professional growth.
3. Prioritise Integrity and Unity in Team Dynamics. Champion the values of "integrity" and "unity" within your sales team to enhance teamwork and trust. Practice transparent communication and uphold your commitments to clients. For instance, if you promise a follow-up call, make sure it happens as scheduled.

6. Use humility and openness in dealing with internal conflicts

Derek emphasises the importance of humility and openness to different perspectives in dealing with internal conflicts. It’s typical for growing companies to solve bottlenecks; that’s why Derek believes that leaders must review company processes and make sure they still exist to solve the problems at hand.

He also shared that leaders must be open to change. It’s crucial for founders to step out of the way and trust experienced individuals to lead marketing, sales, and success areas.

For instance, in Trendspek, he shared that they trusted the Development team to re-architect the company for the future, ensuring it can scale without problems. However, he also added that this approach may cause friction between different departments. That’s why leaders must make sure that everyone understands the goal is for the greater good.

Additionally, having a strong underlying culture prevents big boiling points from arising, ensuring a smooth and efficient process.

Switch actionable tips:

1. Embrace Humility and Openness in Conflict Resolution. In dealing with conflicts within internal teams, adopt a mindset of humility and openness. When conflicts arise between sales and development teams, for example, approach the situation with a willingness to listen and understand different perspectives. Encourage open dialogue where team members can express their concerns and ideas.
2. Empower Cross-Functional Collaboration. Follow the company's approach of empowering everyone to solve bottlenecks and work together to find the best options. In your sales role, collaborate closely with other departments like marketing and development to ensure alignment on goals and strategies. For instance, if there's a new product launch, involve sales, marketing, and development teams in joint planning sessions to ensure seamless communication and execution.
3. Cultivate a Strong Underlying Culture. As a sales leader, focus on cultivating a strong underlying culture that emphasises unity, shared goals, and problem-solving. Develop a culture where teams understand that working together serves the greater good of the company. Implement regular team-building activities that encourage bonding and understanding among departments.

7. Create a safe environment for making mistakes

Pree emphasises the importance of creating a safe environment for making mistakes, as not having one can lead to deeper rifts between different departments. Derek also commends their teams at Trendspek for recognising mistakes as learnings and not dwelling on them.

Derek also shared that while long-term goals are important, he still sees the small milestones, such as their daily and weekly progress, as significant.

By recognising and addressing mistakes, growing startups can become focused on continuous improvement.

Switch actionable tips:

1. Foster a Culture of Psychological Safety. Create an environment where your sales team feels safe to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them. Encourage open communication by sharing your own experiences of overcoming challenges or setbacks. For instance, during team meetings, you could share a personal story of a sales pitch that didn't go as planned, highlighting the lessons learned and how they helped you grow.
2. Encourage a Growth Mindset. Embrace the concept of mistakes as valuable learning opportunities. Just as the aviation industry acknowledges and learns from errors to enhance safety, your sales team can adopt a similar approach. After a lost deal or unsuccessful campaign, hold a debrief session where team members discuss what went wrong and how to improve next time.
3. Focus on Daily Improvement and Long-Term Goals. Follow Derek’s practice of assessing whether the company is getting better each day. In your sales role, set short-term targets that contribute to your long-term goals. For instance, if your long-term goal is to increase market share, break it down into daily or weekly targets, such as the number of new leads generated or successful prospecting calls made.

8. Change your perspective when tracking progress

Pree and Derek both emphasised the importance of perspective in measuring your company’s progress.

Derek shared his team's retrospective in the last 12 months, which revealed numerous learnings and actionable steps. Despite the daunting number of items on the list, Derek and his team remained determined to improve. They plan to tackle each step one by one, gradually improving their performance.

Just like Derek’s team, you can change your perspective if you feel like you’re not making any progress. Try looking at what you’ve already achieved in the past year, and you’ll appreciate your efforts, no matter how insignificant you feel they might be.

As a leader, you can help teams track their progress, so they can be inspired to continue achieving their goals.

Switch actionable tips:

1. Conduct Regular Retrospectives for Continuous Improvement. Similar to Derek's retrospective on the past 12 months, hold regular retrospectives with your sales team to reflect on successes, challenges, and learnings. For instance, at the end of each quarter, gather your team to discuss key wins, missed opportunities, and areas for improvement.
2. Prioritise and Tackle Actionable Steps Gradually. Take inspiration from Trendspek’s determination to address each actionable step gradually. In your sales approach, identify the most pressing issues or areas for enhancement and focus on tackling them one by one. For example, if your team struggles with lead conversion rates, dedicate a specific time frame to improving your follow-up process.
3. Inspire the Team Through Visible Progress. Adopt a progress-oriented mindset to inspire and motivate your sales team. Display visual representations of your team's achievements, whether it's a leaderboard showcasing top performers or a chart tracking key performance metrics.

9. Focus on building a ‘people company’ first before a ‘tech company’

Derek emphasised the importance of being a people company, focusing on open communication, information-sharing, and letting leaders lead.

In Trendspek, Derek believes that their people-centric approach is reflected in their client feedback, where they are known as a people company rather than a software company. This is because they provide clients with access to resources and support, allowing them to improve their processes and ideas instantaneously.

Practising open communication reassures their clients that Trendspek genuinely wants to help improve their lives.

Switch actionable tips:

1. Prioritise a People-Centric Approach. Follow Derek's lead by prioritising a people-centric approach in your sales efforts. Place a strong emphasis on building relationships, understanding client needs, and providing exceptional customer service. For example, when engaging with potential clients, focus on active listening and asking probing questions to uncover their pain points.
2. Foster Open Communication. Emphasise the importance of open communication within your sales team and across departments. Encourage regular knowledge-sharing sessions where team members can discuss successful sales strategies, customer feedback, and best practices. For instance, organise weekly "Winning Deal Insights" meetings where team members share the strategies that led to recent successful sales.
3. Provide Value-Added Support for Clients. Extend the concept of providing resources and support to your clients, similar to how Derek's company offers resources to improve processes and ideas. As a sales professional, go beyond simply selling a product or service. Offer additional value by sharing industry insights, best practices, and educational content that helps your clients enhance their operations.

Final thoughts

Derek has shared some wonderful insights; but among them, my favourite is how culture and values are inherently transformational. Not only they do fulfil people and glue teams together, but they also directly affect conflicts and client satisfaction. If you’re a new leader at a startup, you can help turn it into a scaleup by integrating your culture and values into your processes and workflows.

About Derek Feebrey

Derek Feebrey is the CEO and co-founder of Trendspek along with Fiona Church and Mitch Deam, a rapidly growing company that provides Precision Reality Twin technology that helps Property and Infrastructure companies manage their high-value assets. Last November, Trendspek raised $6.3m in its Series A round, which was led by Taronga Ventures.

About Pree Sarkar

Pree Sarkar is an Executive Recruiter and Talent Advisor to leaders at start-up and global technology companies. He is the Founder and Chief Advisor at?Switch Recruitment , a leading firm in the Asia Pacific Region.

LinkedIn rated him as a Top 1% Recruiter and he is also the #1 Best Selling Author for his book –?Switch , Stand Out, Get Noticed and Accelerate your career.

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