Dave Gulas:
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Beyond Fulfillment podcast. I'm your host, Dave Gulas, and this week my guest is the founder and the CEO of Striano, Flavio Strianessi. Welcome, Flavio.
Flavio Strianese:
Thank you, David. I'm really happy to be with you in your podcast.
Dave Gulas:
Yeah, thank you so much for taking the time to be here. If you could, for everyone, can you just tell us what Striano is and how it got started?
Flavio Strianese:
Yeah, sure. So basically, Striano is a custom software development company. So we cater to every client that wants to build software from scratch or that they already have a platform working and they need some improvements or scale it. And since I'm not technical, my background is not technical, the approach that we have to it is more to the product side of it. And over the four years almost that I've been with this company, I discovered that there's a lot of people out there that they're not technicals and that they have great ideas, they're having great ideas. So what we do is we try to help them identify if they actually found an issue or a problem that needs to be solved with that solution that they're making. That way you validate that there's a market there and you can build a business around it. Originally I studied law.
Flavio Strianese:
I specialized myself in tax law. Actually for almost ten years. I used to work for KPMG doing audits. Then I moved to an organization. I'm originally from Argentina, so I ended up working for the government there, similar to the IR's, but local, from Argentina. So I was kind of the bad guy going after the intrapreneurs and everybody collecting taxes. So you can imagine that that was a little bit stressful after a couple of years doing that. I always wanted to live abroad, to experience, to broaden my mind and experience.
Flavio Strianese:
So I moved to Barcelona. A friend of mine was doing an MBA, so he said, hey, come over, you can stay over, see if you find something. Before I left, I prepared myself. I did some hospitality training, bar management. That was 2013, so Barcelona was like really in a tough place to get a job and networking. Through LinkedIn. I found another argentine guy that he was living in the UK, in London, and working for Harrods. So chatting with him, he said, hey man, if your english is good, reach out to this couple of of companies.
Flavio Strianese:
They do outsourcing. So that's what I did. So on a Thursday, I basically borrowed my friend's car to car to buy a suit, jump on a plane, and I went to London got three job interviews, landed two of the jobs on Monday. I was already working, so I spent two years then working in London. Then my heart brought me back to Argentina. My girlfriend at the time, now my wife and mother of my twins, she was here in Argentina, so I came back, ended up pursuing as well. I did a master's in hotel management, but I always had that curiosity towards technology. And her family had a tech company, so she was always suggesting me and telling me, hey, try sales, you're going to enjoy it.
Flavio Strianese:
And since was really tough to find a hospitality job in Argentina. Being that I didn't study, I was just like starting my masters. I started working for an it company as a sales rep. Then after a couple of months, I finally found a company that was looking for more like a yemenite business development role. And I liked a little bit of marketing as well. So I changed to them and they gave me the opportunity to come to the states. I was offered to be their partner, opened the subsidiary in the United States in Florida. So I took that chance, I took that opportunity.
Flavio Strianese:
For me, it was either that or go to the US jobless. So it was a pretty good scenario. You could say I've learned a lot from them. I had two partners there. We worked together for a little bit more than two years. But then one of our biggest clients, he just walked off. And I was pretty stunned, to be honest. That was my first heavy hit.
Flavio Strianese:
I wouldn't call myself an entrepreneur already because I was part partnering with somebody else and I was actually just expanding somebody else's business. But it was hard, like, to know that you invested so much time in a client, and then from one day to the other he says, okay, guys, this is it for me without giving much explanation. So it took a toll on me. I was a couple of months, like trying to figure out what my next steps would be, and I actually got together with him. I said, hey, man, I need to talk to you. I need to understand what happened. So I invited him lunch, we sat down, he said, man, it's nothing to do with you. It's just like my goals were different.
Flavio Strianese:
My business was going somewhere else. And that, I think, was one of the biggest lessons that I think I've learned and that I can pass on is like, do not take it personal. It's like, business is business. You're gonna get a lot of people saying no to you. Most nos then yes. And you got to go through a lot of no's to finally get that yes, that it's fulfilling and it's satisfying. So with his feedback, I said, okay, so I have something good going on. We just need to figure out what to improve.
Flavio Strianese:
And that's how I started Striano, mainly because on the previous company we're just executing requirements. We were not giving like too much of a effort on analyzing what they were trying to build. So I made that turn and said, okay, let's help these guys, startups mainly, or entrepreneurs that are trying to put out there a solution that is needed for a lot of people that are trying to build their business or improve their business, streamline processes or whatever the issue was. But they couldn't reach to big software companies, or if they reached to a freelancer or somebody that doesn't have an structure, they would just code whatever they wanted, but they wouldn't analyze it as a product or as a platform itself. And that's what we try to do. We build products ourselves. So we've been through that process. I know what it's like when you're trying to launch something and it's really difficult.
Flavio Strianese:
You don't know if somebody's going to buy it, if somebody's going to pay for it, and we help them validate all those steps and finally get something out there to the market that it's stable and scalable and they can build a business around it.
Dave Gulas:
Okay, wow. All right, so a lot to unpack with that story. So you went from law, tax law, to hospitality, and then over to tech, all as an employee, and then through an experience that didn't work out in tech, you end up starting your own company, realizing the improvements that you could make and do it your way. Did you always have that entrepreneurial ambition as you were going through the early part of your career?
Flavio Strianese:
Not really. It's like I was always a company man since I started studying on like by the middle of my career, I already started working at KPMG. Then I moved to several big companies in Argentina. But I always saw myself within that structure, within an organization, either small or big. I think it was when I came back from London to Argentina and it was a really tough time because I couldn't find a job. I really wanted to keep working in hospitality, and I couldn't find a job because nobody would hire me because I didn't study hospitality. I had a law degree. So everybody was wondering, what's a lawyer doing in a hotel? Basically, that's when I said, and of course, with the support of my girlfriend at the time, I started saying, okay, let's transition.
Flavio Strianese:
And when I first started my first job in tech, when I saw that I had different points of view. Maybe it was because my different background, like most of the people in tech, their background normally is tech. They started it, or they're software engineers, or they've been doing this for a lot of time. I switched careers a couple of times, and I was, like, very laser focused point of view when I was in law, because you couldn't miss a thing. Then in hospitality, I was catering for guests. So my customer experience side stood up and said, okay, now it's not about you. It's not about what you're reading. It's about somebody else.
Flavio Strianese:
So combining those things, when I came into tech, I kind of found an opportunity, because most people, they were just worrying on reading the requirements, trying to get that done as is, they wouldn't ask themselves, okay, but why are you building this feature like this? Did you ask somebody, some users, potential users, early adopters, that that's the way to do it. So I had a lot of questions that my partners at the time, or the team that I was working, they were not doing, and for them was a little bit annoying that I was doing all these questions with a client as well. And for the client was, like, actually valuable, because most of them, they come with big ideas and they want to do it all, and it's not cost effective. So most of them had a limited budget, but they wanted to do it all. So on my end, it was like, okay, let's try to reduce it. Let's try to filter down what you're trying to do and put out there in the market something small. But that is solving the issue that you encountered and that somebody's going to pay for you to solve their problems. And that formula is the one that it's been working for me and Sriano all these years.
Dave Gulas:
Wow, that's really interesting. So, like you said, you're basically an outsider to tech with a totally different background. So the law gave you your attention to detail. The hospitality really gave you that customer centric point of view to really be focused on someone else. And then as you bring those points of view into tech, and then the entrepreneurs that follow the show can certainly relate to that, about having big ideas, big ambitions, and they can see it working out perfectly in their mind. But when you try to turn that into reality, oftentimes it can be that things won't go as planned, right? Yeah.
Flavio Strianese:
And you find a lot of roadblocks. A lot of roadblocks, or people just trying to bring down your idea. And in all these years, I found that most of great ideas that I crossed paths with are from non technical people, just like regular people living their lives, but they found an issue, or that they go over and over again. Either they're experiencing themselves or they see somebody in their environment that they always complain about it. It's like, hey, man, I have this issue at work. I have this issue at work. They change works, and maybe it's the same. So there's a pattern.
Flavio Strianese:
And those people have the ability to find that and actually come up with a solution, and they don't have a background in it or software engineer. And those people, I love talking to those people because I've learned a lot of it in the last couple of years, just of hearing my team talk and sharing ideas. So even that, I don't know how it's built on the backend of it. So all the bits and pieces, I know what the end result is. I know what they can accomplish if you tell me. Flavio. I need to build a platform that brings my client from point a to point b, and these different steps needs to be done in the middle. And I have a broad idea now that that's possible with technology.
Flavio Strianese:
So I can double click on each of those steps and keep asking questions. And most entrepreneurs, they don't know what technology can do. And let me tell you right now, technology can do almost all, or not, or, yeah, all. It's just a matter of budget. It's just a matter of a good consultancy and try not to reinvent the wheel sometimes, because a lot of companies, they do want to build everything from scratch. So what we try to do different is try to save costs, but some for, and sometimes integrate with something that it's already built. The last couple of years, there's been a trend of, and probably you heard about it, of why labeling. And it's basically somebody building a platform is their own, but they offer it to you, to me, and to different people.
Flavio Strianese:
White labeled, meaning that they don't put their brand on it. You can put your brand on it and sell it as your own, so you can hone on those as an advantage, as an accelerator to get from point a to point b and reduce costs. And even that, a lot of people say that it goes against my business. I say no, because that integration, it's one piece of the puzzle then to integrate that tool with another tool with another tool, and then finally orchestrate everything together with something custom. That's where my team and I come in, and that's where we put value to the process.
Dave Gulas:
Okay, so now you have this awakening, like, wow, I could really do this myself. You have your lessons learned from the previous tech company and how that fell apart. Now you're going out on your own. So for someone that had a corporate career all this time, to jumping in full with both feet and starting their own business, what was that process like?
Flavio Strianese:
It was tough, let me tell you. It was really difficult because being an employee, you have a lot of structure. So you belong to an organization that has process in place, that you have people that support you, you have people that you can go to with questions and doubts and sometimes new ideas. When you start by your own is like it's just yourself, the mirror and your thoughts. And sometimes that can get really tricky. But my biggest challenge, I would say at the beginning was to get organized and start building little habits, like little things that I needed to do every single day in order to move forward. Otherwise, at the beginning it's like, hey, I don't have a nine to five job now. I can get up whenever I want.
Flavio Strianese:
I can go to work whenever I want. But then at the end of the month and you don't cut the bills or you don't have enough money to cover for your labor costs and whatever, then it gets tricky and you're forced to start doing some things that you didn't think you had to do. So for me, it was all about getting organized. At the beginning, it was really difficult for me to ask for help and delegate because basically it's like you don't trust that somebody else is going to do the job the same as you do it. But what I discover is that that's a good thing because then if I delegate, I can basically cater more clients so I can help more people. And if somebody's doing something, and I'm, let's say before I was on, I always liked to do these comparisons like the street view and the Google earth view, right? So I was on the street, I was in the middle of operations and I was missing a lot of details or big pictures. Once I started delegating operations and mid management and head of departments, I like, elevated myself to a role where I'm overseeing everything and I can pinpoint some things that actually help the project or the client that people that are so close to it, they don't see it because they work daily on that and they're not thinking some other way. It was really difficult to get to that point, and I didn't do it by myself.
Flavio Strianese:
I had coaches, I have mentors so I did mentorships, masterminds, everything out there that people see on social media. I can tell you a lot of those work. Like, for me, having a mentor, having somebody that I can go and talk to that has more experience than me, that built a couple of businesses, and it's been doing good. It was probably one of the best choices that I made.
Dave Gulas:
Wow. Okay. So you had to get organized and really develop some new habits and get used to just being on your own. As an entrepreneur, what was the process like in terms of getting revenue, getting clients early on? And it sounds like you're relatively new to sales at that point, too, and that's an entrepreneur has to, you have to always be selling and building and promoting and building your business. What was that process like for you?
Flavio Strianese:
Yeah, so basically, I still don't consider myself a sales guy. I do love to be in meetings with clients and the discovery calls, so I would consider more myself like a pre sales than sales. It was really always. It was, and it is difficult to me to do those cold calls and first outreaches and following up. So to get those leads is something that I struggle every single day. But basically, I had to do it at the beginning. Otherwise, if you don't reach out, nobody knows you. You don't get people in front of you to talk to, so you have no business.
Flavio Strianese:
Luckily, when I started getting a couple of clients and I had more budget, I delegated that. So I tried a couple of tools or agencies that helped me with getting leads, like automating some processes, CRM, like having a CRM in place. It's vital. I would say it was crucial at some point because I had worksheets everywhere. Like jumping from one worksheet to another worksheet and customizing the PowerPoint for this client, this lead, this other thing, I was all over the place. Getting a CRM was a huge step. Then getting somebody to help me get those leads, or at least to follow up, also was a big help. Automation was definitely something that I use a lot.
Flavio Strianese:
I mean, I work in tech, so I have to benefit from those tools. And then, yeah, it's just like being consistent. It's like, besides all those no's that you get, just keep trying. As I said at the beginning, do not take it personal. Like, it's the same when someone calls us to try to sell us something before. You would just like, disregard. Hey, no, no, man, sorry, I'm busy. Bye.
Flavio Strianese:
And you just cut it off when you're on this side trying to sell to somebody. I assure you that your perspective of those people change a lot. Now probably I pick up a lot of more calls of unidentifying numbers, and I just try to be, hey, man, I know you're just trying to do a job, but I don't have time for this or I'm not interested. I just changed my approach and just move on. But it's difficult.
Dave Gulas:
So you've developed some empathy towards other sales people kind of being in that position yourself sounds like definitely.
Flavio Strianese:
And actually admire them because I found some of them that I'm, my God, they're resilient. It's like they insist and insist and insist, but in a way that it doesn't get you mad. Or at least I would get mad. I would have gotten mad in the past. Then after I tried to do it and I got blocked so many times, or I couldn't pass through an assistant, but I couldn't pass through front desk, then I was like, man, these people are really persistent and they have that spirit, that energy. So, yeah, it's a tough work, but you need to have that spirit of a hunter, I would say, to just go after it. My wife is like that. My wife, she's in sales and she loves it.
Flavio Strianese:
Whenever I talk to her, she says, but that's the more fun of it, pursuing them, following up and insisting and trying to convince them that they need your services, that you're going to provide value. And I'm like, yeah, I don't know. It's like if they don't reply, it's for some reason. And she's like, yeah, because they're busy with their own lives, their own jobs, their own concerns. So you're maybe not top priority, but you're in some level of priority. You just need to keep pushing, keep pushing until you find the right time. Because if you don't insist, when they finally get to that list that you say, hey, I need software development. Now, we are in that stage, and you haven't reached out to them in weeks or months.
Flavio Strianese:
They're not going to remember your name. They're not going to even think of you. But if you've been consistent in sending newsletter, some posts on Instagram, sending, I don't know, a case study or something, they have your names. Triano Flavio, custom software development. It's all around them. It's there. You're feeding that to them. So when they come to that priority list, they say, hey, there was this guy that was like spamming me or annoying me with all these messages, but they took software development, let's reach out, let's ask them.
Flavio Strianese:
And when you see it that way it kind of makes sense, but it still doesn't make it any easier.
Dave Gulas:
Okay, so now one thing too, I noticed that you do a lot of is on the personal branding side. So you have a YouTube channel, you've got like 6000 plus subscribers there. You post a lot of videos about, about the software and about some of the different solutions you offer. You know, you're active on social media, you've written a book. I mean can you talk about how the personal branding has helped you grow your business in that way?
Flavio Strianese:
Yeah, sure. So that was actually that I was a little bit reluctant at the beginning. So we were pretty focused on the company brand. But then when I started talking to marketing professionals, PR professionals, and actually started opening my eyes and see what CEO's of big companies were doing, like Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Nvidia, Twitter, all of those guys, if you check their social media, those people have more followers than the actual company. So there was something into it. And old marketing people and pr people said, hey, people buy to people, they don't buy to a company. So you need to start, either put a face to your company or you be the advocate that promotes your brand. So for me it just made sense.
Flavio Strianese:
So I think it was a couple of years ago or one year ago that I started really investing time in my personal branding and but one thing that I wanted to keep consistent was my message. So Sriano, it was built to kind of bridge the gap between non technical and technical people. So we're trying to be that bridge that connects those two sides and help them translate each other or understand each other. So on YouTube channel, what I try to do is basically explain technical things with a non technical approach or not use too much jargon, just try to bring it down so everybody can understand the social media. We tried to do a little bit of that as well. We give more like commercial content as well, but we mix it up. And the book, it was like something that came up organically, I would say. So it started off like a simple one page document that I created after having a call with a couple of clients that they had an idea but they didn't put that idea on paper.
Flavio Strianese:
So they didn't wrote down any of the requirements. They just had it in their heads and it was amazing the detail that they had in their head. But I was like, I can't do anything with that. I need you to put it on an email or a paper and just send it to me somewhere. And all of them say, okay, but where do I start? So I said, okay, I'm going to send you a couple of questions and we'll start off from there. And this keep repeating itself with every single lead that I was talking to. So I ended up putting up one page at the beginning was with, it was ten steps first. Then I said, no, that's too long.
Flavio Strianese:
I cut it off to five steps. No, that's too short. And it ended up like seven step process. Then I started sending that out. They would give that to me, I would deliver that to my technical team, and with that, we could actually generate a quote, an effort estimation, and a proposal. So I kept working on that. It ended up being a ten page document. Then when I showed it to marketing and pr, they said, okay, keep expanding this because this might be something that you can turn to a book.
Flavio Strianese:
And that's basically what we did. We just kept expanding each of the steps, and it turned out to be chapters. And now is a book that is basically a guide for people that are trying to build a software solution. And they don't know where to start, where we explain them in seven really simple steps, what to do and how to do it.
Dave Gulas:
Okay, excellent. Yeah. And I can attest to, I talk to a lot of entrepreneurs that, number one, are not happy with their software, and they have an idea to make it better, but they just don't know where to start, or numerous ones that, because they've been frustrated with the commercial options, they've built their own. So certainly that's a need. And you have a website where people can get a free download of this book.
Flavio Strianese:
Yeah. So actually, for all your audience, if they want to grab a digital, free digital copy of the book, you can go to Striano dot in Fo. You just, it's simple. You just put your email and you're gonna get a copy of the book.
Dave Gulas:
Okay. Striano dot in Fo. And we'll link all that in the show notes. Okay. All right. And also, Flavio, if people want to get in touch with you personally and just find out more about your company, the solutions and what you offer, what's the best way people can reach out to you directly?
Flavio Strianese:
So they can go to our website, striano IO. There's a contact form below, or you can just send an email to hellotriano IO. And then my team is gonna reach back and they're gonna forward the email to whoever needs to be replying. I get involved a lot in the initial discovery process. So you probably gonna hear from me.
Dave Gulas:
Okay, excellent. We'll link all that for everyone also. All right, well, Flavio, thank you so much for taking the time to be here. Really enjoyed our conversation, and you provide a lot of value to the audience about your journey and lots of lessons they can take from that. So thank you so much.
Flavio Strianese:
Thank you so much for the invitation again, and I hope it was valuable for your audience.
Dave Gulas:
All right. And that is all the time we have for now. We will see you next time.