Jason Pace is the current CEO and Co-Founder of OIx2, the leading provider of text chat, video chat, and social media interaction solutions for companies that want to interact with their customers on the Web. OIx2 is the latest of this serial entrepreneur’s telecommunication based startups. Mr. Pace started his first company, Tapestry, in 1995 before selling the company five years later to Eclipse Networks. After several years in executive leadership at Amcat, AT&T and Touchstar, Jason founded his second telecommunications company, Bluewave Technologies in 2008, growing the company to become one of the leading global, hosted, software as a service telecommunication companies. The company merged with Futureview Technologies a year later, creating one of the leading video interaction solutions in the world. In 2010, Mr. Pace successfully exited the company to form OIx2 growing the company across two continents and introducing several innovative products, including the highly acclaimed SBX platform that allows businesses to better manage their customer interactions on Facebook, Twitter, and other leading social media sites.
I conducted this interview with Mr. Pace from his office in Houston, Texas.
Paolo: You’ve successfully sold two companies that you started in the last ten years, many entrepreneurs struggle with determining when the right time to sell or exit companies they’ve spent years building, what’s your secret?
Jason Pace: There really isn’t any secret. Selling something you started is difficult. However, I go into each company I start with a clear exit plan. The discipline is simply sticking with it and not becoming emotional about the sale. Saying that, you have to be careful about selling too early or too late. That often happens when you don’t have a plan. So my advice is not just to think about your exit strategy when you start a business, but actually develop and work your plan.
Paolo: What advice would you give someone who is starting a company?
Jason Pace: Make sure you have a solid business model. I would get advice from people that you trust, and are not going to mind telling you the truth, whether or not your business model makes sense. A good way to do that is by joining entrepreneur groups that allow you to pitch your business and be criticized. The criticism may be difficult, and it’s possible that they are wrong, but vetting your plan to enough people will help you identify holes in your model and address the issues.
Paolo: Any additional advice?
Jason Pace: Hire good people. The two most critical hires for me are always a strong CFO and a strong HR person. Of course, with OIx2, it helped that my co-founder was a very good technologist. Being a technology company, that was important!
Paolo: In all your startups, you didn’t go the traditional VC route, but instead, found Angel investors. Why?
Jason Pace: It was just a matter of the market, as well as the amount of money I needed to raise. VC’s typically won’t be interested in investments less than $2-5 million dollars. Secondly, in all my startups, the product was already developed and it was just a matter of taking it to market.
Paolo: What do you think makes an entrepreneur stand out to a VC or Angel Investor?
Jason Pace: I think entrepreneurs need to be coachable. They need to know the numbers inside and out and be very detailed about their business model and strategy.
Paolo: Let’s switch gears for a moment and talk about the entrepreneur lifestyle. How do you achieve a balance between the demands of your work and your family?
Jason Pace: It helps that I love what I do. I don’t feel like I’m working at all! Secondly, I think many people just don’t plan. Life is about choices so making time for your family is a choice you can make versus just letting things get away from you. As you make time for your family, don’t also forget to make time for yourself.
Paolo: You also started your business in a what’s being called one of the greatest recessions in US history. How does the economy affect your business today?
Jason Pace: Actually, there wasn’t a better time to start the business. A lot of our business deals with customer interaction and social media. With the boom of Facebook and Twitter, it was the right time to take advantage of the situation. We had a good team, a good product, and the right market so we launched. The global economy has also helped our business. Many of our customers are so concerned about keeping clients because it’s harder to acquire new customers. As a result, the need for our software is greater.
Paolo: Thanks so much for your time!
