Over the last 8 years working in the startup space I have observed the tenacity and grit required to be a successful founder. This narrative is well documented. But seeing first hand the daily challenges, the never ending stress and the volatility of any early stage, high growth company has been something of a baptism of fire. The commitment required to push through often extreme adversity and rapid shifts in business trajectory is beyond the norm for the average member of the workforce. As an investor, we have long been refining the profile and personality types we look to partner with, with much of the refinement targeted at: commitment.
Over the years my good friends at TDM, whom I have great respect for, have influenced my investment thinking - drawing outsized attention to impact of culture in creating great companies. As they say: ‘Culture’ is the determining factor of long term success. Products, innovations and competitive advantages come and go, and so do people. But the binding force that will enable great people to be continually attracted to a business, to stay at a business and give their all to a business, which in turn ensures that these innovations and competitive advantages keep enduring are solely a function of the culture of the business.”.
When we first met the company (it was called Fresh in those days) the team was strongly considering a hard pivot which involved deprecating an existing, growing business unit in favour of a new subscription business model. This would involve losing > $4m in revenue (i.e. 100% of it), convincing new investors to back an unproven idea (that’s us), disappointing existing supporters in staff, friends, family and early stage investors, and putting it “all on the line” to go through the turmoil and treacherous path of re-launching a new idea.
To undergo such a change takes complete intellectual honesty and commitment. To come out of it with a more tightly knit team and stronger business is indicative of a world-class culture in action. I have met few individuals with the fortitude that could make this decision without bias and with such courage. Ultimately this was a big reason why we were eager to partner with Ben, Rhys and the InvestorHub team.
These days InvestorHub is a software platform helping listed companies to better engage and communicate with their shareholder base. Any company with a basic “Investor Centre” link hidden in their website’s footer or menu navigation is being left behind by forward thinking businesses that see their shareholders (particularly retail shareholders) as core stakeholders. Since starting to work with the IH team they have grown to service well over 80 ASX listed businesses (up 176% p.a.) and help to drive share price outperformance for their clients. We are excited to watch the business grow into the UK market with a group of early adopters in that region also emerging.
Since working with the team I continue to see considered decisions around people and culture and a general prioritisation of all matters related to culture. Board meetings are spent acknowledging achievements of staff members, career pathways, remuneration structures and (sometimes) tough people decisions. I have learnt from Rhys and Ben how these foundational pillars (obvious to most but rarely obsessed over in this way) create the right environment to attract the very best and ultimately results in world-class execution across the entire organisation.
Having a strong focus on culture, and over-investing in internal staff as a deliberate strategy manifests itself in real ROI:
- Your sales team (Rhori, Nic, Kev) sends thoughtful gifts to a potential client when they heard they are traveling last minute to Japan
- Your product leadership (Maxy) welcomes all new joiners with a personalised, bespoke welcome pack before their day 1 at IH (amongst many others)
These were simply three examples I heard during a 2 hour visit to the Melbourne office recently. Setting the standard for culture and commitment permeates throughout a business and leads to broad downstream impact.
There are many reasons relating to market tailwinds, customer usage/love and growth that one might choose to invest with Ben and Rhys. (During a customer reference call as part of due diligence, one customer asked to participate in the financing round). But all of these pale compared to the team’s strong focus on culture, and the extreme commitment to win that we are privileged to watch in action. That’s why we invested in InvestorHub.
Over the last 8 years working in the startup space I have observed the tenacity and grit required to be a successful founder. This narrative is well documented. But seeing first hand the daily challenges, the never ending stress and the volatility of any early stage, high growth company has been something of a baptism of fire. The commitment required to push through often extreme adversity and rapid shifts in business trajectory is beyond the norm for the average member of the workforce. As an investor, we have long been refining the profile and personality types we look to partner with, with much of the refinement targeted at: commitment.
Over the years my good friends at TDM, whom I have great respect for, have influenced my investment thinking - drawing outsized attention to impact of culture in creating great companies. As they say: ‘Culture’ is the determining factor of long term success. Products, innovations and competitive advantages come and go, and so do people. But the binding force that will enable great people to be continually attracted to a business, to stay at a business and give their all to a business, which in turn ensures that these innovations and competitive advantages keep enduring are solely a function of the culture of the business.”.
When we first met the company (it was called Fresh in those days) the team was strongly considering a hard pivot which involved deprecating an existing, growing business unit in favour of a new subscription business model. This would involve losing > $4m in revenue (i.e. 100% of it), convincing new investors to back an unproven idea (that’s us), disappointing existing supporters in staff, friends, family and early stage investors, and putting it “all on the line” to go through the turmoil and treacherous path of re-launching a new idea.
To undergo such a change takes complete intellectual honesty and commitment. To come out of it with a more tightly knit team and stronger business is indicative of a world-class culture in action. I have met few individuals with the fortitude that could make this decision without bias and with such courage. Ultimately this was a big reason why we were eager to partner with Ben, Rhys and the InvestorHub team.
These days InvestorHub is a software platform helping listed companies to better engage and communicate with their shareholder base. Any company with a basic “Investor Centre” link hidden in their website’s footer or menu navigation is being left behind by forward thinking businesses that see their shareholders (particularly retail shareholders) as core stakeholders. Since starting to work with the IH team they have grown to service well over 80 ASX listed businesses (up 176% p.a.) and help to drive share price outperformance for their clients. We are excited to watch the business grow into the UK market with a group of early adopters in that region also emerging.
Since working with the team I continue to see considered decisions around people and culture and a general prioritisation of all matters related to culture. Board meetings are spent acknowledging achievements of staff members, career pathways, remuneration structures and (sometimes) tough people decisions. I have learnt from Rhys and Ben how these foundational pillars (obvious to most but rarely obsessed over in this way) create the right environment to attract the very best and ultimately results in world-class execution across the entire organisation.
Having a strong focus on culture, and over-investing in internal staff as a deliberate strategy manifests itself in real ROI:
- Your sales team (Rhori, Nic, Kev) sends thoughtful gifts to a potential client when they heard they are traveling last minute to Japan
- Your product leadership (Maxy) welcomes all new joiners with a personalised, bespoke welcome pack before their day 1 at IH (amongst many others)
These were simply three examples I heard during a 2 hour visit to the Melbourne office recently. Setting the standard for culture and commitment permeates throughout a business and leads to broad downstream impact.
There are many reasons relating to market tailwinds, customer usage/love and growth that one might choose to invest with Ben and Rhys. (During a customer reference call as part of due diligence, one customer asked to participate in the financing round). But all of these pale compared to the team’s strong focus on culture, and the extreme commitment to win that we are privileged to watch in action. That’s why we invested in InvestorHub.