How One Saas Startup Overcame The Struggles Of Scaling - Thymometrics
Jerry Pett is on a mission to help make the workplace happier, more productive, more fulfilling - and is building innovative software to help make it happen.
His software-as-a-service company, Thymometrics, is rapidly rising to become one of the world’s leading employee engagement tools.
Why Start The Business?
With a background in software development and consultancy, Jerry has experienced the annual roll-out of the much maligned staff survey. In companies around the world, senior managers mistakenly put their faith in a snapshot view of workforce sentiment and motivation levels.
As he puts it: “Generalised feedback that comes only once a year doesn’t mean much and is hard to act upon.”
Jerry was introduced to his future co-founder, Hugh Tonks, via a respected mutual contact on the Cambridge network. Hugh had devised the original concept for Thymometrics and the stage was set for a way of providing employers with fast, always-on, real-time employee engagement analytics.
A suitable business name was chosen, loosely based on the Greek word for the measurement of feelings and mood. In 2012, Thymometrics was born.
Making The Breakthrough
The early days of Thymometrics are a little reminiscent of CurrencyFair's start. The new business entered a hugely competitive industry full of global giants with multi-million dollar marketing budgets. How would the new upstart break through against the established players?
Relishing the challenge, Jerry, Hugh and the team focused on two key elements of the SaaS playbook. They worked obsessively to create an outstanding product, and produced high-value content that positioned them as "thought leaders" in their space.
The plan worked. CEOs and HR Directors began to take note, and little by little, the young business continued to grow, acquiring new customers from around the world.
High-level validation came when industry guru Josh Bersin (of Bersin By Deloitte fame) sung Thymometrics' praises. In one of his reports he noted that products like theirs were unique in being able to "provide data on how teams actually feel and catch problems before they fester".
International Growing Pains
The company continued to prosper, acquiring increasing numbers of international customers. Positive revenue growth is always a key goal for any business, but for Thymometrics it brought a new challenge: multi-currency payments.
The bank seemed determined to charge us as much as possible.
Jerry recalls a conversation with his business banker in which he enquired about the costs of running a US Dollar account:
“The banker seemed to just talk endlessly about all the fees and charges that would be applied to the account for no extra service or support. The bank seemed determined to charge us as much as possible.”
Thankfully, a friend had used CurrencyFair before and recommended the service to the two co-founders.
And the result? “I found CurrencyFair to be very simple and straightforward. Unlike our old bank, the fees are entirely reasonable and it’s all very transparent. It’s not just the cost-saving though. We love the fact that, like us, CurrencyFair are trying to improve an entire industry.”
See how we calculate our low fees compared to the banks here.
Would Jerry recommend CurrencyFair to other fast-growing businesses?
“Absolutely. If companies are using their bank to handle more than one currency, they are paying more than they should. The whole thing has been really easy. When we had questions, we got very fast responses. And, of course, we’ve saved a lot of money. I think a business would be insane if they didn’t make the switch.”
I think a business would be insane if they didn’t make the switch.
How To Get The Best Out Of Your Staff
Knowing that Jerry’s company specialises in employee engagement, we asked him for some advice that other businesses could follow to get the best out of their staff.
“Treat your staff like adults. Too many businesses are still in “command and control” mode and rely on old-world rules and regulations. Most organisations claim that employees are their greatest asset but it’s those that actually believe this and act on it that get the best results. Good leadership means providing guidance and support and then getting out of the way so your people can perform at their best.”
To learn more about their employee engagement service, visit thymometrics.com.
