I was interviewed by Steve Fisher on his blog about entrepreneurship. Here is the transcript of the interview:
Andy is no stranger to software development. For the past 15 years he has worked for companies like Ernst & Young and founded the software consultancy, Avollution. Most recently, he partnered up with Otis Lee and formed Exalt Consulting. Exalt is a fast growing software solutions firm based in the DC metro area with a focus on Enterprise, Integration Solution and Infrastructure Architecture. They recently were awarded the prime contract from the Business Transformation Agency (BTA) within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) valued at $17.5 million for Independent Validation and Verification (IV&V) of products and deliverables. The effort is intended to assess conformance with established guidelines for transition planning, enterprise architecture, and solution development. I recently had the chance to sit down with him to discuss his experiences as an entrepreneur and the future of software solution development. Here is the transcript of that interview:
Steve: You recently formed Exalt Consulting with Otis Lee, a veteran in the government contracting space. Could you tell us a little bit about what Exalt is doing now and its long-term vision?
Andy: Exalt Consulting Group is focused almost exclusively on architecture. Architecture is broad term in the IT industry. We categorize architecture into four areas or levels: enterprise, integration, solution, and data center. We’re building practice areas in each of these four areas and expanding both in commercial and federal industries.
Steve: Since you are both serial entrepreneurs and have been through many business cycles, with the economy in a tough spot these days, do you feel it is a good time to start a business?
Andy: Entrepreneurial ventures are not as dependant on the macro economy as other businesses. Entrepreneurship is about seizing new opportunities – discovering a new niche or finding an innovative way to solve of problem. A bad economy can actually create these conditions as customers are ready to challenge the status quo. With every problem there is an opportunity.
Steve: One question I get from people thinking about starting a business is “do I need a business plan”? I tell them that if they are a freelancer and selling their skills, they don’t, but… if they are planning to grow a business that they can’t run without one. What is your philosophy on this type of thing?
Andy: I whole heartily believe everyone should have a business plan. I know it’s a cliché, but the thought process of planning is critical for a new venture - even if you’re not planning on raising money.
However, I’m not saying everyone needs a 40 page MBA style business plan (which is how I started out). I really like Guy Kawasaki’s advice from the book The Art of Start – begin with a 10 slide power point deck. We have one for internal use only that gets update every quarter.
Steve: Your firm has been focused on providing IT architecture solutions. How has this type of consulting model evolved in the last few years? How do you feel it is used most effectively in a business environment?
Andy: On the commercial side, US companies are asking us to provide oversight, or independent validation, of their off shore development. The off shore companies in India and China are good and getting very sophisticated at development. However, they often have a very hard time seeing the big picture, understanding dependencies across silos and aligning to the business goals – the classic areas enterprise architecture addresses.
Steve: As a follow up question, are you focused on any particular technology as your central technology solution, what are the benefits and possible pitfalls to being focused on one technology?
Andy: This is an important question and one that is based on the kind of company you want to be. The type of architecture work we do requires us to be technology agnostic – it’s hard to be a “trusted advisor” if your pitching a specific vendor or technology.
I’ve seen a lot of very successful companies focus on a single technology – take Salesforce.com implementations for example. Hitching yourself to a shooting star can be great. If you focus, it’s paramount to understand the business model and channel programs of the vendor (or technology) you are supporting.
Steve: Do you find any big differences in the commercial and federal clients you work with?
Andy: Not much - just the difference between night and day. Seriously, the differences between the two cannot be understated.
Federal contracting has a very long sales cycle, 1-2 years with a 30 day proposal window. Federal procurement or acquisition has its own unique rules and regulations. One the positive side, working with federal government gives you a chance the work on really important projects that impact people’s lives and on a scale that is unprecedented. For example, the Defense Department’s Supply Chain dwarfs Wal-mart’s – and there is a lot more at stake.
We’re unique in that we’re about 50% commercial and 50% federal. One of our differentiators is that we can cross pollinate architecture best practices across the divide.
Steve: We know you are focused on providing architecture solutions, do you have any plans to develop products of your own?
Andy: Ah . . . the holy grail of consulting! Every consulting company I ever met wants to productize a solution to sell as a full blown product. Unfortunately, this is extremely difficult. Professional service organizations have a fundamentally different business model that doesn’t lend its self to product development. Client or service delivery always trumps internal projects.
I spent several years at a leading Global consulting company trying to develop a product. Even an organization of this scale with enormous resources found it very challenging.
But, it doesn’t mean Exalt won’t try to spin off a product at some point – the allure is just that strong.
Steve: According to Gartner, “Web 2.0” is in the “Trough of Disillusionment” and projects that over the next 12-18 months, since the hype has worn off, that these technologies will be folded into mainstream software development and adoption. Do you agree or disagree and why?
Andy: I agree up to a point. Certain web 2.0 technologies are already part of mainstream software development. After all AJAX was developed to mimic the rich UI of traditional desktop software.
However, I think we are just at the tip of the iceberg on using web 2.0 concepts for businesses. Corporations are just starting to apply web 2.0 practices to “business to business” activities. Just think about all the time spent collaborating within an organization – meetings, proposals, planning, operations. For example, we’re working with an engineering firm that is using web 2.0 ideas to improve their level 3 support processes. The key isn’t the technology, it’s how it s applied in new ways to solve business problems.
Steve: To close our interview I would like to get a “Top 5” from both of you. Since we are facing some tough economic times ahead for possibly the next 12-18 months, what are the Top 5 things you would recommend to consulting firms like yours running a business should do to weather the storm?
Andy: The crisis is unprecedented. It is still a cliché but, Cash is King. Its lets you make some mistakes without losing the company. That is what I would focus on for the next 12 months.
