Bootstrapping Using Services, Managing a Successful Pivot: Oomnitza CEO Arthur Lozinski (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: How much did you raise this year?

Arthur Lozinski: We raised $12.5 million. 

Sramana Mitra: What metrics did you raise on?

Arthur Lozinski: We believe that we have a massive market. We have tons of customers who agree. We are growing at a nice rate. We think that the market opportunity is growing. There will be only more computers in the world and not less.

We believe that it was time to start scaling the business and fuel the fire. Another thing was that for the size of the company that we were and the amount of money that we raised, we were pretty far along. We were an attractive bid. 

Sramana Mitra: I’m extrapolating what you have told me. Half of your 50 customers flipped from being $25,000 customers to being several million-dollar customers. You were raising this $12 million with a substantial amount of revenue, right? 

Arthur Lozinski: Yes, we think so. 

Sramana Mitra: What else is interesting in how you navigated this journey? 

Arthur Lozinski: Is it what would be helpful to your listeners?

Sramana Mitra: Yes. 

Arthur Lozinski: There’s a lot to think about. Depending on where you are in your life cycle of running a startup, a bit of different advice might be more helpful.   

Sramana Mitra: I don’t generally ask for generic advice in these kinds of interviews. The pivot story that you told is interesting. It’s a market experience. That’s why I like case studies as opposed to generic entrepreneurial advice. This is why the series has been successful.

We have captured the specific market experiences, mistakes, and pivots of so many entrepreneurs. That is what I like about this story. You have already given me great material to do a story with. I was just asking if there was anything else similar that we should discuss. 

Arthur Lozinski: The only other thing that is helpful is the people aspect of a startup that is enlightening to me. A light bulb went off when I realized that we weren’t in the technology business or even in the software business.

I realized that we were in the people business. That was a big shift in my understanding of my role and my job. I realized that this was the most important part. It was not obvious when I started. 

Sramana Mitra: Are you talking about the team-building point of view?

Arthur Lozinski: Yes. Internal team is number one, but I’m also talking about our customers, partners, and development team. We are in the people business. It sounds a little soft and intangible, but that mindset made a big difference to me. 

Sramana Mitra: One of the realizations that I had in my career working in this industry is that because we are in the business of selling cutting edge technology and we are more often than not in the realm of selling adopters, these early adopters need to be smart to able to make these purchase decisions.

That already self selects who you can build a business with in the early stages. In industry segments where there aren’t a lot of smart early adopter buyers, it’s difficult to innovate in those industries.

Thank you for your time.

This segment is part 5 in the series : Bootstrapping Using Services, Managing a Successful Pivot: Oomnitza CEO Arthur Lozinski
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