GE 264: How Bart Grew FullContact to 40K Customers & 300 Employees by Focusing on Finding Great Leadership! (podcast)

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• [00:34] Before we jump into today’s interview, please leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast!
• [01:22] He has been a software entrepreneur since he was 8 years-old.
• [01:42] Bart sold his first company at 16 years-old.
• [02:02] He worked in enterprise software for some time.
• [02:20] Eventually, he decided to transition from Windows to Mac and realized how hard it was to transfer all of his data.
• [02:55] This was the inspiration for FullContact.
• [04:15] It’s a great way to sync your data across multiple platforms, including capturing information from email signatures.
• [04:52] For larger businesses, they offer API’s in order to keep CRM’s up to date.
• [05:45] At the low end, they charge $10/month for the service to manage a few thousand contacts.
• [05:58] The pricing goes up according to the scale of the business.
• [06:30] FullContact now has 40,000 customers and 300 employees.
• [06:54] Before becoming FullContact, the company was called Rainmaker.
• [07:15] It was a slightly different business structure.
• [07:45] Their numbers went up because Lifehacker ran a feature on the company. They were unprepared for the uptick in traffic.
• [08:45] SEO works well for FullContact in terms of acquiring new customers.
• [09:25] They create blog content on landing pages.
• [09:45] Bart found it was a struggle to deal with the emotional element of scaling.
• [10:08] Different leadership is required at different levels and the CEO is in charge of putting the right leaders into place.
• [11:40] Bart thinks finding good leadership is about demonstrating competencies.
• [12:10] Find people who have demonstrated the actual skills that you need.
• [12:52] You have to have “fierce conversation”; conversations that are direct.
• [14:10] Some people feel humbled by realizing they aren’t a good fit for a leadership role.
• [14:43] Other people let their ego get in the way and aren’t always capable of seeing themselves accurately.
• [15:25] Often, people with ego issues end up leaving of their own accord.
• [16:05] The vision of the company is to be a people-focused company.
• [16:58] Bart gets up at 5am for work each day.
• [17:15] He takes the bus into downtown Denver and uses that 45 minute ride to check emails and have some alone time.
• [17:40] When he gets to the office, he has a few hours to prepare for meetings and the rest of his day.
• [18:12] Bart’s favorite Sci Fi book is The Three Body Problem.
• [18:40] The tool that Bart uses that has added the 264  most value is EOS, the Entrepreneur’s Operating System, which is a framework they use in the office.
• [19:45] EOS can be found in Traction.
• [20:07] Bart recommends the book, Rocket Fuel.

Resources From This Interview:

• Bart@fullcontact.com
• FullContact
• Must-read books:
  • The Three Body Problem
  • Traction
  • Rocket Fuel

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