In this episode Kenny Dooley is joined by Colin Manson of Xergy/ Proteus (formerly Xodus) for round two, diving deep into the realities of scaling a tech business. Ever wondered what the biggest mistake a founder can make when building a brand new product? Colin gets candid, sharing that trying to sell 25 ideas at once was “utter madness” for a startup, and why keeping your product idea as lean as possible is the ultimate secret weapon for getting to market fast. Now, having secured an oversubscribed funding round of nearly £2.5 million, Colin reveals how Proteus is shifting from relationship-based selling (the “black book”) to a disciplined, data-driven sales approach. He details the strategic pivot, including partnering with a sales-as-a-service company and building pipelines across four key regions, including Australia and the UK.
It’s not all successful funding rounds and global domination, though. Colin gets refreshingly honest about the seven-year journey, revealing the “dark moments” of loneliness and the heady, scary feeling that the business might not make it. He also delivers unfiltered, must-hear advice for any company considering overseas expansion, contrasting the challenging, payment-delayed landscape of the Middle East with the more welcoming opportunities found in the Australian market. He even shares the hilarious story of realizing his initial dismissal of a 400-page sales playbook was wrong, and that the company is now following it “to the letter”. Pull up a chair and grab a drink for this brilliant conversation that offers genuine insight into the mind of a mature entrepreneur.
