Most people think “work smarter and more efficient, not harder.” It is undoubtedly necessary to be smart and efficient in your efforts, but I still believe that the actual effort is the most important determining factor in entrepreneurial success.
Founded in 2012, MobileBridge has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and has established global headquarters in Nashua, NH. MobileBridge CEO, Eyal Oster, founded the mobile marketing platform as a seasoned technology evangelist and entrepreneur, previously holding various executive roles with cutting edge technology companies including AiPixel and Aitech, where Oster led the development of the Nasa space shuttle program solid state flight recorder program and the Boeing reusable space systems MPEG-2 real time compression model for the international space station, winning the Exceptional Company Performance Award from Boeing.
MobileBridge is driving the next generation of mobile engagement for organizations worldwide. Their leading mobile engagement automation solution improves your mobile channels so you know and engage your customers better by bridging their on-line and offline worlds. Providing marketers the ease and flexibility they need, MobileBridge’s cloud-based platform easily integrates with CRM, POS, marketing automation, ecommerce and more to enable true omni-channel marketing. With solutions in proximity marketing, customer engagement, mobile commerce, and customer insights, MobileBridge helps businesses increase customer loyalty, retention, and revenue.
Where did the idea for MobileBridge come from?
I have always been a technologist and when the mobile revolution began, I envisioned that in the very near future most customers across all industries would be communicating primarily via mobile device. The idea for MobileBridge came as a solution for businesses to not only keep pace with customer trends and preferences but provide a platform acting as a catalyst in advancing the mobile revolution. I envisioned that businesses would need to drive relationships and customer engagement through the mobile channel both as a primary channel but also as the common denominator between all channels.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
Much of my typical day-to-day consists of internal management meetings. We have a great team in place both in our European and U.S. offices and much of the MobileBridge vision moving forward stems from these roundtable conversations. I also spend a good amount of time with existing and prospective customers in sales pitches on product roadmap and functionality of the MobileBridge platform. I’ve always felt that I can never absorb too much info pertaining to the mobile market so I continuously read and educate myself on the market, our competitors and take an overall look at where we are heading as a company.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I have always been an idea driven person. I love putting an idea on PowerPoint, then giving it more substance like a sketch and show the purpose of the idea. Then I like to delve into the impact of the idea on the target audience, the various stakeholders and develop a plan of action. Lastly, I share it with the people who can co-bring it to life.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Technology in general is of course an amazing thing, but within our market domain, I would say machine learning is one trend which I think is extremely important and will make a huge impact on our business and countless others. What makes it interesting is that the machine learns from the data, you can test users’ actions, it’s a recommendation based on history, user behavior and user preferences. It takes away the complexity of making a workflow of an omnichannel journey.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Diligence. In emerging markets such as mobile technology, consumer preferences and trends are ever evolving and in-order-to be a productive, effective entrepreneur, many hours and a never quit attitude are essential in staying ahead of the curve.
What advice would you give your younger self?
To just go for it. Looking back, I wish I would have began my entrepreneurial journey at an even younger age than I did. Another key piece of advice would be to choose your business partners extremely carefully.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on?
Most people think “work smarter and more efficient, not harder.” It is undoubtedly necessary to be smart and efficient in your efforts, but I still believe that the actual effort is the most important determining factor in entrepreneurial success.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Make sure you strike a healthy balance between the product, sales, marketing, delivery etc. – make sure your strategy is healthy and keep working on this balanced method all the time.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Finding the right investors is of extreme importance and I was lucky in this respect which has helped grow our business and drive it onward.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Establishing the wrong business partners can really cause a lot of damage and overcoming it can be a very difficult process. Although it can be difficult on a personal and professional level, the best way to overcome this mistake is to simply move on and be more cognizant of whom you partner with in future endeavors.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
I give money to charity every year and I long ago realized that giving back and helping people in need genuinely makes me happy and enlightened. Donating to charitable causes obviously benefits the cause but on a personal level, I feel greatly benefitted as well.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
I use Kayak travel software a lot and I think it’s wonderful for tracking flights, gate changes, delays, etc. We have a global presence and their software really helps in taking away the uncertainties in business travel.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” is an amazing book which explains how to simply get along better with people around you and how to become their friend. Even in a digital world, personal relationships are the core of any business and this book is a great asset in improving interpersonal skills.
Key Learnings:
• We are moving from mobile first to mobile only. Mobile is a necessity for businesses to drive relationships and customer engagement through the mobile channel both as a primary channel, but also as the common denominator between all channels.
• Dedicate time to your mobile strategy. Mobile technology is an amazing opportunity, however, without the right strategy and execution many businesses will be left behind, like what happened during the dot.com revolution where businesses who failed to adapt on time literally went out of business.
• Find the right investors. It is of extreme importance not just for the monetary aspect, but to have investors who can help drive the business forward and are aligned on vision and strategy.
• Be diligent.
• Read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and learn how to simply get along better with people around you and how to influence them to work together towards a shared goal.
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Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.