As we are nearing 10 years in business, it is time to reflect on HOW we do business rather than what our business does. I come from a VERY small agriculturally based community. My roots are seeped deeply in old-fashioned hard work and family-inherited German diligence. And while no one living in my hometown would consider me a ‘farmer’ by any stretch of the word, I like to say I take my ‘farm roots’ into ‘technology fields’. Farm life is my preferred culture, even if my skills are largely technology-based. Lately, as I look back on what it has taken to get here… and how long we have left to go… I am reminded of something my FFA instructor used to say on repeat, “There is no substitute for time and hard work.”
When we started Deep Water, we were coming a few years off the heels of an acquisition of our last company. I was a shareholder and instrumental resource, but not a founder like my parents and uncle and good friends. It was my second company acquisition to be a part of, for both my family and my community. And the second time I have watched jobs leave our rural area as fast as they took to arrive there. Technology jobs are few and far between in southwestern Missouri. However, Missouri has some of the brightest technology minds and schools around. When we merge with other firms our resources reach the top incredibly fast… but it is there we stop. Rural families and communities are tight knit… finding a rural resource willing to live the typical ‘manager’ lifestyle provided by corporations with 2-3 weeks of travel every month is akin to asking them to chop off their right leg. (There are thousands of Hallmark movies about this story.) We are all accustomed to making our kids’ ballgames and birthday parties and special community events… while making a living wage. And we are happy to trade the ‘wealth of nations’ for a good book in a rocking chair with our small children. It is… a clash of culture... not skill. When you think about it, studying corporation history in rural areas is a great pre-cursor to understanding the ‘work-life’ balance our newer workers are practically demanding. I believe COVID gave us all the ability to see what it would be like to be ‘together’ with our families… and many people discovered the life they didn’t know they had traded. The life that rural America fights so hard to keep.
So, when it came time for me to get our first institutional investment, I began following the well-blazed path before me. I secured our funds. However, with four young kids, the knowledge that I would be employing many young workers where I live, and the privilege of having founders all in the heart of their child-rearing years, I paused before accepting our investment to do what every good pragmatic product person does. I listened. I spent hours talking with founders from Springfield, Kansas City, St. Louis and Little Rock, AR. I set-up meetings with founders all over the country. I spoke with dozens of investors. I just wanted to see if my path would look the same as the last two companies I experienced. Every… single… one... ended the same way. At this point, we made the bold and risky decision to do something different… turn the money down.
Now, here we are in uncharted waters. A small but HIGHLY determined (stubborn) SaaS start-up who survived COVID and whatever we’re calling this extreme financial bubble, with no large VC pouring money into our marketing and sales budgets. Slowly, but surely, we are building our customer base one referral at a time - one happy customer at a time - just so that we can keep honoring our commitment to ‘under-promise’ and ‘over-deliver’. So that at the end of the day, I can be sure my home, my culture, and my family are honored in this process. Rather than focus on profit and growth to arrive 'on time' for the next portfolio sale, I am free to make decisions that are best for my employees, my customers and our long term growth. I will hustle and grind to get there at least 5-10 years slower, but “There is no substitute for time and hard work.” In the end, the only thing sweeter than a large glass of iced tea on a hot summer day… is earning it in the hay fields. Today, I am eternally grateful for 10 years of ‘doing things differently’. Fast-paced Start-ups are hard. Building a Business is hard. Choose your hard.
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