Finding the correct algorithms for entrepreneurial success
As a real-world illustration of how an entrepreneurial mindset and pioneer software developers combine to form a sustainable business, we couldn’t imagine a better example than Gareth Hosking and CB4’s journey with KRS and ours with him.
Gareth is an eternal entrepreneur. From his time in retail – a few years back – via marketing and advertising (which he still loves), Hosking has finally found a home in providing resources for organisations such as customer service management, incorporating his passion for marketing and love of software.
His first foray into software development came at the behest of an existing marketing client. Without any actual experience, or knowing what he was getting into, he said he could do it. Only then did he go shopping for the developers.
This proved to be a turning point in his business career, as integrating software programmes and applications into various marketing campaigns have become as much a passion as a business in its own right.
Along this evolution, he began working with an insurance brokerage, providing software solutions to assist them to deal with their sales force, administer commissions from multiple sources on multiple payment structures, splits and products and the like. Encountering the obvious stress of the administration team, he set to thinking that there had to be a better way to manage and streamline all processes associated with the insurance and assurance world.
From developing in basic code to where he is today, has not been as simple as we write here. But there again, challenges are merely obstacles that need to be overcome in the mind of any successful entrepreneur. Matching this outlook with a software development company became the biggest challenge he had experienced after the product had grown to a point that required outside assistance.
From India, the Philippines, to the United Kingdom and the United States, the hunt was on to find the right partners. “It’s about a relationship and whether you can get on with people,” commented Gareth, while being interviewed for this article. “There isn’t an algorithm for relationships and I could never click with any of the other people I contacted. They didn’t seem to get me or what I want to achieve either and it just seemed to be all about the money – for them.”
Left with a wonderful product and loads of brokers, having exhausted all other alternatives and about to throw in the towel, he took one more last ditch attempt to find the right match. Hey Presto, Steve Randles and KRS and 2011.
Fast track to 2015 and the project – S3B (Service Support Solutions for Brokerages) – has grown to include additional functionality such as a sophisticated compliance process. One of the other key benefits, is that S3B allows for the import of commission statements, does splits, retentions and ultimately goes to payslip in a matter of a few clicks, as opposed to days of stress and administration nightmares.
It has also caught the eye of a number of large national firms and is ready for its next iteration. “This is also thanks to KRS, who saw the opportunity and were prepared to take a risk with us” stated Gareth. “It has proved to be an excellent partnership and I like being part of an almost ‘family’ approach to ‘our’ business. In fact, when I am in Cape Town, I make sure I am at KRS around 12H00 – that’s when lunch is served (everyday) and the ‘family’ come together”.
The world is changing. More and more we are reliant on computers and the programmes that drive them, to source information, store information, analyse it and present us with solutions. More and more people and corporations are adopting an entrepreneurial mindset in order to stay ahead of the game. When both meet and converge, the winning algorithm is self-explanatory.
KRS is currently working with a number of entrepreneurial ventures, and if you would like to have a winning formula for your own business, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at enquiries@krs.co.dev