Meet Derek Wright of 25 Point Systems in Boca Raton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek Wright.

Derek, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It was late 2015, and I’d spent most of the last 17 years recruiting, training and developing sales reps for big financial institutions in the U.S. It was always rewarding to watch those you’d brought into the business build their own success stories, but it was equally disheartening to witness the failures of those that threw in the towel. Sales is a tough job, and while the rewards can be phenomenal, it takes confidence, great communication skills, and the right habits to overcome the challenges that stand in your way.

Most people have goals, but very few commit to a realistic action plan to get them there. In Sales, quotas and benchmarks mean too many people are told what their goals should be, rather than being encouraged to set their own, so there’s no buy-in or commitment to them.

After reading an Inc. Magazine article on “the 8 Fastest Growing Industries of 2016,” I became fascinated with Gamification, the idea that incorporating traditional game elements into a business setting improves engagement and productivity. Too often, the culture of Sales can seem mundane, boring, and uninspiring. The reality is that the lack of engagement this created with salespeople was costing companies millions of dollars, and we needed to make it fun again.

I wasn’t looking to start a business, but I quickly became consumed with sketching out how we’d develop software to bring this to the masses. Salespeople were hard-wired with two intrinsic motivators – a competitive spirit, and a hunger for recognition, and I knew that. Within a month, I’d prototyped 18 PowerPoints slides that I saved as screenshots on my iPhone, a simulated mobile app that I’d share with anyone who’d listen. I’d talk to real estate agents, insurance salespeople, and bankers, solicit feedback, seek opinions, and ask questions. The most important question? If I built this, would you buy it? The answer I heard began reinforcing my hypothesis – that gamifying the culture in a branch office would bring the masses back to life, infusing the profit centers of companies with energy and increased productivity.

I then set out to recruit my team, and that began with John Baier. John is a legend in the Financial Services industry, one of just 50 inductees into the GAMA Hall of Fame, the highest honor in the industry. Between us, we had the resources, industry expertise, and contacts to turn an idea into reality. What we didn’t have was anyone to build the damn thing. In late 2016, I found Nick Bianchi-Coppola, who ultimately became our Technical Operations Manager, and Kyle Richey, a world-class UX designer, and the brains behind Strides, one of the best selling productivity apps in the world. Nick and Kyle helped us select and hire a software development firm out of India. It took eight weeks to build our MVP, our first product launch.

The early days were filled with sales calls, handling customer issues, questions, and resolving software bugs. After launching our 2.0, we’d gained the confidence that comes with validating the market. We quickly acquired 32 corporate customers in 3 countries and 1000 paying users in less than a year. While John traveled about the world speaking to audiences about the importance of goals, discipline and accountability, I build the business back home, hiring 3 sales reps and 2 administrative assistants, while streamlining our operations to scale.

Today, we’re continuing a rapid growth in pursuit of 10,000 users in 2018, and in Q1, increased revenue 316% over the prior period. We raised $350,000 during our startup phase, and are currently in talks to raise an additional $500,000, part of an overall growth plan that includes the development of premium features to enhance our current product offering and substantial marketing investments in building on traction in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Entrepreneurship is synonymous with struggle. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Building a business is all-consuming, and takes a toll on all the other parts of your life you used to have time for. For me, it’s meant giving up a social life, happy hours, and sleep. With two young kids at home, I often joke that I’m raising three of them, the third being 25 Point Systems. You don’t always have the answers, either.

For me, the biggest tactical challenges have been finding the right talent to address your needs, while at times, operating on limited resources. Good engineers cost money, but bad engineers cost more when your latest release is riddled with bugs. The biggest struggle, however, is the one in your own head, where the daily setbacks are pitted against the daily wins, and when the former outweighs the latter, it takes an extraordinary amount of belief in yourself to keep the train moving.

Fortunately, I’m hardwired with a lot of that, and I’ve burnt the bridge. I have no Plan B, and I think that’s critical to staying the course.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the 25 Point Systems story. Tell us more about the business.
At 25 Point Systems, we believe activity and habit formation are the cornerstone of a successful career in Sales. Our flagship mobile product, Tier 25, integrates traditional activity management principles with customized goal setting, daily activity tracking, and real-time visibility for Field Managers, all at the touch of a smartphone. We provide data analytics for sales leaders, enabling them to spend less time crunching numbers and more time coaching.

Their reps benefit from getting more of what they need from their mentors, coaches and managers, and they thrive on competing with their peers and being recognized for their efforts through features like Leaderboards, and Company Recognition feeds. We know Sales inside and out because we’ve done. My partners and I have been on the front lines, we’ve built teams, and we know why some make it, and others don’t. Therein lies our competitive advantage – we’re not software guys, we’re sales guys, and our product reflects that.

In a short time, we’ve been witness to some unbelievable success stories our customer have experienced, not only increasing productivity but retaining more of the people they hire. That’s impactful on a far greater level than our own sales numbers.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
It sounds cliche, but luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. It also happens when you get out of the office. Our most valuable asset is our people, and John and I have recruited all but one of our team members from networking, and telling our story often.

So, I was “lucky” to meet Nick Bianchi-Coppola through a former client, but had I not asked that client who he knew with an IT background, luck wasn’t delivering Nick to my doorstep. Sure, we have customers that buy our product every day that we haven’t met, but they’ve found us because we’ve been proactive in driving traffic to us – through social media, through trade show, through our customers.

Pricing:

• Retail Price of $10/month Per User

Contact Info:

• Address: 1200 N. Federal Highway, Suite 200
• Website: www.25pointsystems.com
• Phone: (844) 522-4374
• Email: info@25pointsystems.com
• Instagram: 25pointsystems
• Facebook: 25pointsystems
• Twitter: 25pointsystems

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