Q 1. 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.
Ans: We are located in Boca Raton, Florida for the past 20 years and we offer clients merchant payment options and media tools that would help the merchant expand in their local or national markets.
Q 2. Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: Adam Elisha is more than 20 years in the industry.
I have deep understanding of the payments processing business and its associated risks. At the present time I’m a managing director of eData Financial Group, LLC and its subsidiary companies, managing business in the Bankcard industry. In 2013 I was nominated to sit on the National Electronic Transaction association in Washington, my role was with the Credit and Risk department of the ETA. The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the trade association of the global electronic payments industry. ETA also announced appointments to the board’s Presidential Advisory Council, and named more than 200 payments professionals to 13 standing committees for 2013. I’m very familiar with various types of merchant accounts across the risk spectrum both domestically and internationally. I do believe that my extensive experience helps me understand the factors that are most important for ISOs, agents and their merchants. I am willing to share and extend my knowledge in an environment as professional and dynamic operator. I have also spent the past 20 years as president and CEO of eData Financial Group. As CEO of eData Financial Group, I was pivotal not only in the financial and operational success of eData operation, but also in the successful development of the company’s overall business development roadmap in Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Panama and Asia. My responsibilities as CEO of eData included: (I) overall management of the company including strategic direction, sales, development and profitability; (ii) day to day management of five Bank card location and Acquiring consultants; (iii) direct consulting support.
Q 3. How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: We were involved in the medical supply business, and realized clients needed multiply payment options for broad based businesses and continuity-based businesses, club businesses, and direct response businesses, and businesses that need consumer financing. As the company involved, we realized though that the future is with mobile devices, such as Samsung and Apple Devices that also include mobile payment options, media tools and our own PCI gateway.
Q 4. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: Start with the end in mind; think about where you want your business to be in 6 months, one year, and five years.
Be flexible, what started like a great plan could easily be changed or altered.
Don’t give up, persevere, and remember being an entrepreneur is not for the timid nor the weak.
Q 5. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Risk taker
High energy
Determined
Q 6. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: At least 14 hours a day.
Q 7. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: I attribute the success of this company to, a lot of hard work, determination and being extremely goal driven.
Q 8. How do you go about marketing your business?
Ans: What has been your most successful form of marketing? Originally, we would do mailers to local merchants, and referral- based marketing. Now we are working on building up our SEO, SMO (social media marketing), and performance marketing through landing pages, SMS and email campaigns.
Q 9. How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: We have had no investors; we have used all of our own startup capital. We are a debt free company.
Q 10. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: You cannot be stagnant, you must be able to constantly move with the time, especially as a high tech, payment service provider.
Q 11. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: I see myself doing the same thing, growing and changing with the times.
Q 12. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: First data
Q 13. How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Good employees are essential to the success of any company and at Edatapay, we are made of a dynamic team and each person’s job makes the whole great.
Q 14. How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: 2 years
Q 15. What motivates you?
Ans: That I am able to do what I enjoy, that motivates me in business.
Q 16. What are your ideals?
Ans: Honesty and integrity in all aspects of life.
Q 17. How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: By seeing or hearing something that I like and then incorporating it.
Q 18. How do you define success?
Ans: In business, it would be by how many employees I could hire and how much money I could donate to educational causes.
Q 19. How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Good communication, a different experience and being able to deliver what was expected.
Q 20. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: Being able to own my own time.
Q 21. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: When I transitioned from the medical equipment business to the merchant processing business.
Q 22. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: Those that work for someone have that safety net of getting paid at the end of the month or end of the week, being an entrepreneur you might not get paid at all, so I think it’s the ability to handle that stress.
Q 23. How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
Ans: It is like sailing a ship, basically you follow the captain’s orders, but if you think there might be an iceberg up, sound the alarm. I find that most employees like to know what to do and also, being able to accept constructive criticism is essential for the learning and symbiotic relationship that exists within our organization.
Q 24. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: Freedom
Q 25. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: I probably would have gone to medical school.
Q 26. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: Yes, in extremely positive ways. I own my own time, so I can spend more time with them. The only difference is, when we go on holiday, the company mind goes too.
Q 27. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: Unfortunately, I really don’t have fear and it definitely would not be about business.
Q 28. How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans: It happened by chance, and it worked out great, because Boca Raton is such a beautiful city.
Q 29. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: There could be, but hard work and determination are good characteristics to have as part of the “formula”.
Q 30. If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: Alexander Hamilton, because he embodies the same ideals as me. He came from nothing; he was not an elitist and become one of the founding fathers of this country. He was a hard worker, goal driven and determined. He believed in honesty and integrity; he had all the American ideals that also represent the ideals of any good entrepreneur.
Q 31. What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Ans: Madame Bovary
Q 32. What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans: Not buying property when I should have.
Q 33. How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans: See the tip of the iceberg every time and whether it is just an ice cube or a giant under water boulder, always prepare as if is, in other words be very cautious and dot all your I’s.
Q 34. What are your hobbies?
Ans: Working out in the gym, going to the beach, surfing and plenty of reading.
Q 35. What makes you happy?
Ans: Spending time with my wife and 5 children.
Q 36. What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: I have done a lot of nighttime hours, in order to be able to communicate with vendors, banks and clients in different countries.
Q 37. If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask?
Ans: I would ask, since it is one of your success items. Which charity organization would you give to and why?
Contact Detail
Company name eDataPay
Address 20423 State Road 7 Suite F6-524
City Boca Raton
State Florida
Zip Code 33498
Tel No +1 561 395 9554