Bootstrapping to $7M with DIY Business Apps: Andrew Gazdecki, CEO of Bizness Apps (Part 6)

Sramana: What do you expect in revenues this year, around $5 million?

Andrew Gazdecki: I am hoping for more. I am personally shooting for $7 million, but anywhere between $5 million and $7 million is where we will land.

Sramana: You have put in less than $100,000 into the company and you are close to $7 million this year. Is that the summary?

Andrew Gazdecki: That is close to it, yes.

Sramana: That is fabulous. Where do you want to go from here?

Andrew Gazdecki: I think $10 million or $20 million would be nice!

Sramana: Of course! Are you tempted to sell the company? Do you have product line ambitions?

Andrew Gazdecki: Selling the company is definitely off the board. I am emotionally attached to this company. I would like to turn this into a 20- or 30-year software company with products that drive value to small businesses. We have a big opportunity to help in all aspects of a small business marketing campaign, especially when you consider our reseller network. We have looked at a few other products that would drive additional customers to a small business. We are all about finding new customers and customer loyalty.

The next product we are releasing is coming very soon. Because we sell so many applications through our reseller network, we have a huge initiative to make our resellers more efficient. After speaking with them, we have come to the idea of building a CRM specifically for people who sell to small businesses. They might not have a lot of sales experience or know what small businesses to contact. Our tool is going to help make tracking sales very easy for them and it will help them discover new small business leads.

The idea behind this product is to help our developer network boost its small business sales through business insights. We are going to give them powerful metrics and give them powerful small business leads in their local areas.

Sramana: How many resellers do you have now?

Andrew Gazdecki: At this time we have around 1,100. We have quite a few.

Sramana: How do your investors look at the business? When you brainstorm for the future, what comes to their minds? One of the issues with having external investors is that they want an exit.

Andrew Gazdecki: My current investors are already very wealthy. There is no pressure. They are very easygoing, and they understand what I am trying to accomplish here. They are letting me go the direction I want to go. They definitely have a vested interest in the company, but they understand that this might be a company that has a very long run.

Sramana: You could always buy them out.

Andrew Gazdecki: We have not had any talks like that, but if that is something that they specifically wanted to do, I am sure we could work something out. My investors and I have a great relationship. They are some of the best people I have ever worked with or could ever hope to work with. At this point, they are having just as much fun as I am.

This segment is part 6 in the series : Bootstrapping to $7M with DIY Business Apps: Andrew Gazdecki, CEO of Bizness Apps
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