Solentive
Smart50 rank: 8
Revenue: $3.90 million
Growth: 97.74%
Founders: Kareem Tawansi, 40
Based: New South Wales
Employees: 45
Industry: Information technology
Website: www.solentive.com
In 1993, when Kareem Tawansi started DesignAvenue Software (trading as Solentive), the PC industry was still in its infancy. He was a software engineer and saw the opportunity to provide custom software engineering. “I was entering an emerging market with few competitors but a large demand for software engineering services.”
The most challenging part of starting the business was acquiring clients. “I quickly learnt that despite the quality of the service, clients aren’t going to come knocking on the door. I had to become more proactive and learn how to sell my services,” he says.
He says he realised that selling services is much harder than selling physical products. “With services there is nothing tangible, it all comes down to trust and reputation. I began building a network of contacts that trusted me and my services and began acquiring clients through referrals.”
It took 11 years for the company to reach $1 million in revenue. Now revenue for 2007-08 is $3.9 million, up from $2.2 million in 2006-07.
The online strategy has helped with the website bringing in nearly half the revenue. The website has two objectives, he says. First is lead generation with SEO and SEM getting visitors to the site and then information that ensures visitors continue to interact with the site.
The second strategy is thought leadership – complimentary content on the website should provide the visitor with innovative and useful information. “This information should reflect original thought and add value that cannot be attained elsewhere. In order to access this content the visitor is required to provide their contact details and this be converted into a potential lead.”
Tawansi says his philosophy is to “jump in the deep end and learn how to swim”. This is one of the reasons he tool on a multi-hundred thousand dollar project. “The technology required to complete the project was new to the market and we did not have the expertise inhouse to work with this technology. This combined with the fact that the client was a high profile international company that potentially had the power to ruin our reputation, made the success of this project even more important.”
He pulled it off. “What I learnt from this experience is that nothing is ever impossible. To achieve growth and success you have to constantly be pushing the barriers, be throwing yourself out of your comfort zone,” he says. “We are continuously seeking that larger project, that larger client – because I believe this is the catalyst to the growth of my business.” Currently Solentive offers consultancy services, custom software development, integration of third party solutions and custom software maintenance.
He plans to expand the company by include an end-to-end service offering consulting, custom software development, re-selling partner products and accompanying services as well as providing online services.
He also plans to launch new products that could have the potential to change the industry, he says. “Once we gain traction in Australia with the product, we will launch it in the US and UK."
