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Jake Goldman, President and Founder, 10up
Mini Bio
Young entrepreneur Jake Goldman is the president and founder of 10up, a web consulting and engineering service that emphasizes simple content management and the customer experience.
Name: Jake Goldman
Title: President & Founder
Company: 10up, Inc.
Years in business: 5+
Business location: Fully distributed
Number of employees: 125+
Chief product: Web publishing and content management solutions
Website: 10up.com
First of all, how is business these days?
10up is doing well. Most recently, three of our client projects won Webby Awards. It’s rewarding to see my team’s work earning such positive acclaim.
What led you to start your own business?
What led you to start your own business?I always wanted to start my own business since working on website and marketing consulting projects when I was in high school. I also knew there was a great deal I could learn by first working within established businesses. Once I began to feel like my perspective and contributions were being undervalued and under-recognized by my last employer, I knew it was only a matter of time before I needed to start my own business.
What sources did you use for startup capital?
10up started with only my capital—entirely self-funded. As a tech agency, there is a low amount of overhead needed to get going: just one employee (me), a laptop, and some software, much of which was open source. I had enough put away that I knew I could fail for quite some time before it would impact my lifestyle (as it happened, we were in the black from the first month). I think that all agencies should bootstrap their growth and grow organically.
What do you think is your biggest business strength?
I sit at the intersection between hard technical and engineering skills and softer marketing, communications, and business skills. Knowing how to effectively communicate with business stakeholders and customers and backing that up with very deep technical subject matter expertise is a potent combination for business development. It imbues me with ability and confidence when brainstorming strategies and approaches with a customer who may be uneasy about the investment they’re about to make.
What do you enjoy most about owning your own business?
I mostly enjoy the feeling that comes from building something much larger than myself. I find that very rewarding. In a way, 10up is my ultimate project.
What’s your least favorite part of running a business?
It’s an emotional rollercoaster to be responsible for over 120 full-time employees, or, for that matter, even a dozen people. Running an agency is fundamentally a customer service endeavor, one that requires a strong sense of “service to others” to succeed. On top of that, entrepreneurship tends to require a competitive mindset that doesn’t easily accept failure. Those mindsets extend to my team: I feel an immense responsibility for their success and satisfaction.
Rationally, some employees simply don’t rise to the occasion or they're simply not a good fit. But emotionally, even in the infrequent instances where failure falls clearly on the shoulders of the other party, every separation, every termination, every employee failure to deliver good work or win a deal can feel like a very personal failure.
And when you’re giving 110 percent to your team, it can be very disheartening—even depressing—when you feel like the effort isn’t reciprocated. On the lowest days, you find yourself asking why you’re working so hard for others. Of course, there are incredibly bright days when someone you've invested in does an excellent job and you feel on top of the world. Did I mention the emotional rollercoaster?
What do you think are important entrepreneurial skills to have?
An entrepreneur needs a measured, but very real, fear of failing. Not the toxic kind of fear that paralyzes you from acting, but the motivating kind of fear that fuels a desire to win. A successful entrepreneur pairs a strong competitive streak with fundamental business financial skills: at the very least, a strong appreciation for and understanding of the company’s “numbers.”
You also need to have a tolerance for mistakes (they’re inevitable, and how you deal with them is what really counts) and very thick skin to criticism (everyone will have an opinion, some generous and fair, some cynical and ugly about their leader). An entrepreneur needs to be comfortable being direct with clients and employees. A total fear of confrontation is dangerous in a leader.
What are some challenges you’ve faced in business and how did you overcome them?
In my early days as a manager, sometimes due to my age, my perceived inexperience, or partly to some real weaknesses, I struggled to attain the respect of my direct reports. It was frustrating, but by listening closely to feedback, remembering that respect is “earned,” and simply doing my best, I overcame it.
I also had to learn how to balance humility and opinionated leadership. If you go too far in one direction, you become docile and simply aren’t “leading." On the other end, you can cross into arrogance and authoritarianism. Confident leadership is a fine line, and to make matters more difficult, different people draw the line in different places.
What do you wish you’d known before you started out?
Some of my biggest lessons learned revolved around how best to manage people at a larger scale. It is vital to spend one-on-one time listening and cultivating personal relationships with your team. I haven't always prioritized that as I should have and still struggle with that balance to this day.
What is the smartest move you have made with your business so far?
Investing in hiring great people.
How do you find new customers? What do you do to make sure they become return customers?
Most of our new customers find us through industry leadership and contribution or through complementary service partners. Keeping customers is simple, in the abstract. Do great work and honor your commitments. But making sure we’re consistently living up to that standard can sometimes be less simple.
What’s your management style with employees?
Leadership through partnership. I don’t look for employees who are simply order-takers (though I do expect them to understand when a conversation is over). I expect my team to bring a perspective and unique contribution to the table. I give people room to make mistakes, then take the time to provide candid feedback so they grow professionally.
What are some other companies or entrepreneurs you admire, and why?
On a smaller scale, I always had a lot of respect for Lullabot, who were early pioneers of the remote agency model. They use thought leadership marketing to grow their business and open-source software to provide enterprise services.
On a grander scale, I (and many others) look up to Apple’s commitment to the customer experience. They achieve that experience in large measure by marrying engineering with design and customer service, a philosophy I think of as equally innate to 10up.
Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?
“If you want it bad, you get it bad.”
If you rush through a task or a project, the results will be suboptimal. It’s important to balance quality with being in a hurry.
What new initiatives are you working on?
Lately, we’ve been innovating in website search experiences. We’re excited by open-source tools like Elasticsearch, which provides rich and performant relational search capabilities. Our ElasticPress platform and plugin brings Elasticsearch to WordPress sites.
What advice would you give to someone hoping to start a business similar to yours?
Take time to fully understand the mathematics of your business. For example, when selling at premium rates, you may only need to sell a third of an employee's time to cover their cost. Don’t skimp on talent; make the investment to hire great people.
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