Today we’d like to introduce you to Sander Biehn.
Sander, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I moved to the ATL in 2012 to reset my 22-year career at AT&T. It was a most unpopular decision all around with my kids who wanted to stay in Minnesota. However, the change brought perspective to me. What did I think of my long career in sales? Was there anything I had left to give after so many years of chasing a quota?
I started to short circuit and think about my sales effort with new eyes. I started blogging for AT&T. I worked for a mobile phone company so I experimented with going days with only using my smartphone to get my daily work done. I made a video about my experience. My social media efforts made my customers take notice and I landed $47M in new business. Somehow the thrill of the deal wasn’t enough anymore. What mattered to me was the novel approach I had taken and I wondered if social selling could be taught to my sales colleagues.
I went to a Product Development conference called Product Camp in Atlanta. I wanted to tell my story about social media and ‘intra-preneurship’ at AT&T. No one cared about the Intra-preneur stuff. They all thought I had the excellent makings of new business–a business that helped Enterprise salespeople learn to leverage social media to better reach customers and make sales.
Me, start my own business? I had a pension. I had kids heading to college age. I was over the hill. And then I snapped. I quit and set to work creating a product. I was extremely fortunate to rope a Fortune 500 client in the first several months. Note to entrepreneurs: This is not normal. But it happened to me. My business rapidly grew.
I hired 2 people and moved into a startup loft space in Decatur, Georgia. Our client led our development from there. We listened to them and did what they wanted. Soon we built a software platform that enabled sales and executives to share relevant content on social media with very little effort. Our customers wanted us to automate everything but to keep the human touch. We followed their lead and prospered. Our business grew internationally and I found myself on a lot of airplanes. We outgrew the Startup space a year later and took up offices in downtown Atlanta.
It felt right. We were investing in a new and growing part of town. We were a startup, but a different kind of startup– one with more confidence, direction and experience than many of the fast-growth companies in Buckhead, midtown and the suburbs. We’ve done things our own way from the start and our latest growth to 10 employees in the US and Europe along with our 16th-floor office in the Centennial building on Marietta street has only underlined that fact.
Our tradition of listening to our customers and quickly delivering the things they need regardless of what others think has served us well and has been the key to our growth. I feel like my years of toeing the company line has given me a great perspective on what I should and should not do. I feel confident that I know what is truly needed to succeed and I am extremely happy.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
65% of all small businesses fail inside of 5 years according to many sources I have read. If I knew the amount of luck and grit needed to make this company fly from the start, there is no way I would have done this. I didn’t see a dime from customers/investors/my parents/nobody! for the 8 months, I was in business. Remember that I have 2 small kids, a house, etc! Getting my first payments from clients was a huge stress factor.
Even when I had roped a large client, it felt like all my eggs were in one basket. They re-evaluated my contract quarterly. Once it seemed like they may not renew with me. I had been so busy servicing their needs that I didn’t have enough other business to survive if they left. They stopped paying and I was forced to borrow against my home to make payroll. I kept servicing the customer at all costs. Eventually, things evened out and we got the extended agreement.
When I was bringing on my partner I needed to fire the guy who was my first hire and a right-hand man from the start. We had an equity dispute and it threatened to tank the entire business if it was not resolved. Again, things seemed bleak. I was afraid my new partner would walk away. Firing that guy was one of the hardest things I ever did and one of the smartest. I was in a world of hurt directly afterwards, but I learned a lot and was able to rely on friends and colleagues who were there to help me make the transition.
Owning this business has given me gray hair and hypertension. I learned at some point that I needed to start taking care of myself better. I have changed my diet and began doing CrossFit to control my stress. This type of an exercise program isn’t for everyone but it has done wonders for me. My blood pressure is under control, but alas the hair is now permanently gray.
Please tell us about Thought Horizon.
We help salespeople and executives stay active on social media without a lot of effort.
Our software platform lets them choose the topics they wish to be known for and we take care of the rest in a highly automated fashion. We specialize in B2B enterprise tech companies as clients. I am really proud of the processes and team we have built to service this highly demanding sector.
Our desire the make our clients look truly awesome on social media is what sets us apart. It is needed if you want to have success in social selling and something I have known since the inception of Thought Horizon.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Daydreaming. I loved to daydream as a kid. I lived in a world of the story and pretend.
This led to a big passion for creative writing. Writing became my superpower. I learned how to deeply communicate with others using the written word.
Contact Info:
- Address: 101 Marietta St Suite 1625 Atlanta, GA 30303
- Website: www.thought-horizon.com
- Phone: 260-635-4001
- Email: info@thought-horizon.com
- Instagram: thought_horizon
- Twitter: @thought_horizon
- Other: www.readyforsocial.com
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