Best Startup Texas
Tell us about yourself?
Austin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Outfield, a performance based CRM company that specializes in leveraging game theory and behavioral psychology to drive CRM adoption, motivation, and overall productivity among sales organizations.
With customers in over 50 countries, Outfield’s gaming CRM helps teams work simpler, smarter, and more effectively.
Becoming the world’s most highly adopted CRM is their mission, and their vision is to accomplish this by creating a platform that is aligned with the values of the up and coming generation of sales people.
What lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you?
Focus on maintaining a positive attitude. Accomplish this by carving into your schedule many things throughout the day that help with motivation and a positive perspective.
Purpose over money at all times. Finding your “why” is more important than any financial reward associated with entrepreneurship.
If you focus on money, and not purpose, you’ll likely quit when the times get really hard. Something meaningful like your purpose keeps you rocksteady.
Be efficient. Always try to maximize output per every unit of input.
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
If I could go back in time to when I first started Outfield and created a team, the piece of advice I’d give to myself is to never back down from failure. It’ll put you on the path you’re meant to be on!
A lot of entrepreneurs find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. How have you found that?
It is difficult, especially in the infancy stages of the company. As the company grows, you’re able to hire people and establish operations, it gets a bit easier manage the balance.
Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?
Our desire to make an impact on the CRM space, while offering a platform that establishes the sales person digitally. Outfield is made up of sports fans. We would liken the sales arena to professional sports.
What do you think is your magic sauce? What sets you apart from the competitors?
Our ability to tie in game theory and behavioral psychology principles into a CRM system that increases productivity, user adoption, and overall sales rep satisfaction.
How have you found sales so far? Do you have any lessons you could pass on to other founders in the same market as you just starting out?
Sales is the bloodstream of the company. They also serve as proof that there is a market to what you are offering. The best companies are able to begin selling early on. If the founder is not a business developer by nature, he or she should find someone asap.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far in your business, and how did you overcome it?
Growing with minimal resources. Outfield started out as bootstrapped organization. So we had to be patient, stay the course, and expect slow growth trajectories.
What do you consider are the main strengths of operating your business in Texas over other states in the US?
Low cost of living. This contributes to more affordable labor, allowing us to bring in key employees to help build the business more efficiently.
Are there any disadvantages of operating our business in Texas?
No, there are not very many disadvantages.
Texas has a pretty diverse population. How have you found the quickly changing demographics have impacted your business? Have you got new opportunities? Managed to expand your business into new areas?
More talent is moving to Texas from various parts of the country. This diversity introduces new internal capabilities, differing perspectives, and culture.
It is often reported that, in Texas, politics and business are intertwined. Have you noticed this? Has it impacted your business?
Not so much being that we have customers in 50 different countries around the world. We are often insulated from the fluctuations of local economic and political conditions.
With rising prices across Texas (and the US as a whole) have you been impacted? Do you have a plan for dealing with inflation going forward?
Rising prices is ubiquitous. We’re most sensitive to the impact they are having on wages requirements. Recently, we’ve lost some talent and prospective talent as a result.
What do you want to accomplish in the next 5 years with your business?
To help provide more and more companies and industries with CRM solutions that help teams come together.
And finally, if people want to get involved and learn more about your business, how should they do that?
If people want to get involved and learn more about Outfield and me, they can follow the Outfield newsletter, check out our blog for tips and tricks for the CRM and sales industry, and follow us on social media.
Follow Outfield on Twitter or Linkedin.
