Q. Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities. CUE is a co-working community of doers and starters supported by high design, advanced technology and amenities. With ever-present staff and thoughtful programming, Cue is a potent place to start something. We are presently located in Downtown Dallas, with goals to expand throughout the DFW Metroplex.
Q. Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements.
A.
◦ I graduated form University of Vermont and began working at Miramax Films, where I worked my way up to the VP of New Media. I then left Miramax and co-founded a company called Metapa (aka Greenplum), which was sold to EMC. In 2003 I moved to Dallas and started (and sold) several real estate related companies. Now, I am focused on building Cue and Honeycomb. Honeycomb is the software hub that runs the entire building infrastructure for both St Paul Place and Cue.
Q. What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
A.
◦ Cue is located in St Paul Place, Dallas’ premiere boutique building, as such there was a need to provide flexible work options for internal tenants and outside companies. The genesis of the idea was to create a co-working operation that building ownership could easily manage through the use of technology. Ultimately what we have delivered is a thoughtfully designed space that provides value to building tenants, allows ownership to foster relationships with new and emerging companies that could lease more space in the future, while at the same time the entire operation is managed through a single technology platform.
Q. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
A.
◦ Always do your research and to try and learn as much about your customers, their goals, so that you can truly understand what value you can bring to them.
◦ Be flexible: Sometimes things don’t go your way and you have to be flexible with your approach
◦ Believe in yourself. There are going to be many times when doubt will creep in, that is OK, but you need to brush it off and keep going if you want to be successful as an entrepreneur.
Q. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
A.
◦ Creative problem solving – how do you address issues and resolve them in a timely fashion
◦ Communication – whether with investors or customers, get out in front of them whether it is good news or bad it is important that they know what is going on
◦ Accuracy: Make sure that everything you do or say is accurate. There is nothing worse than breaking a promise
Q. How many hours do you work a day on average?
A. Between career, relationship and family life, “work hours” are always on
Q. To what do you most attribute your success?
A. The ability to be persistent, focused and flexible.
Q. How do you go about marketing your business?
A. What has been your most successful form of marketing? Our focus has always been google rankings. When people search for co -working close to them, we want to be the first result. As such, we have focused on SEO and key word marketing.
Q. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
A. The company’s funding actually came through operations. Cue was once operated by another co-working operator. When we took it over an rebranded it, there were seven tenants. We utilized the cash flow from those initial seven tenants to building up the client base and reposition the operating.
Q. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
A. I think this is the same for most people – be goal oriented and focus all of your efforts on creating the best outcome. I also suggest that people review their goals every six months to make sure they are still pertinent.
Q. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
A. Operating multiple 20-30 CUE locations across multiple geographies.
Q. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
A.
◦ For me it is apple in the days before Tim Cook. It was an era of immense transformation, when a number of the most iconic consumer products were created. To know what people want before they do is truly a skill that few companies possess.
Q. How did you decide on the location for your business?
A. DFW is one of the most desirable locations in the country for home, health and business ventures