Jon Robinson

Take chances. By staying in the safe lane, you limit yourself and the organization. Experiment, take risks, iterate and continue to learn and expand your depth and breadth of knowledge.

 

Jon Robinson is the president of Lunar, a technology-based business consulting and SaaS product development company focused on automating the sales and marketing process. In his role, Robinson fosters the establishment and growth of all functions within Lunar.

An entrepreneur at heart, Robinson has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience, which guides his expertise in building businesses and growing companies to reach their highest potential. Prior to forming Lunar, Robinson headed the Operations division of Launch That, a digital marketing company recognized for building a network of highly successful businesses and websites, which ultimately became its own business unit as Lunar. Before joining the tech industry, Robinson founded two successful restaurants, Penny Black and The Hills Bar & Grille in Michigan, where he managed all operational, marketing and financial aspects of the businesses. Robinson graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

Lunar was born out of the operations division at Launch That. The team developed proprietary applications and managed the organization’s Salesforce instances. As those services and products developed over time, Launch That spun Lunar out as a separate division in order to support external businesses.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

With two young kids at home, sleep is a rare commodity. I’m usually up late, throughout the night and early in the morning, and use this time to draft and respond to emails and read industry news. Throughout the day I enjoy working with our functional teams to develop solutions to customer pain points. I spend a lot of time on sales and marketing, planning and strategizing with our team and helping team members overcome roadblocks.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Collaboration. By working with team members across multiple functions, Lunar is able to appropriately conceptualize, strategize, execute and sell.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Machine learning, process automation, and technological integration into all aspects of a business.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

At least two cups of coffee daily – sometimes three.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Learn to code. Then practice, a lot.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Six hours of sleep is more than enough.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Take chances. By staying in the safe lane, you limit yourself and the organization. Experiment, take risks, iterate and continue to learn and expand your depth and breadth of knowledge.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Focus on the customer. By being less concerned with the “sale” and more focused on the outcomes for your customers, even before they’ve signed with you, business will come. Lunar has experienced extensive referral and repeat business from the customers who we’ve helped take the leap headfirst into technology adoption. These customers have become evangelists for Lunar and are great examples of our “Expect The Moon” culture.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

In 2007, I founded a restaurant group, which grew to three restaurants by 2011. I sold my interest in the restaurants to my partners when they were satisfied with the three restaurants, but I was interested in continuing our growth trajectory and reinvestment. Three years after my exit, the restaurant group declared bankruptcy. I learned that it is important to agree on the desired end-state at the onset of a business relationship. This vision keeps all stakeholders focused and aligned. Misalignment at the top of an organization trickles down to the employees and has detrimental effects. After my restaurant experience, I have strived to keep all levels of organizational communication open, transparent and consistent.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Someone needs to disrupt the health insurance business model! Year over year double-digit increases in premiums have become unsustainable. The marketplace is ready for an organization to develop a new way to help keep us healthy and take care of us when we’re sick.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Airpods. Whether it’s for music or having a conversation, I can slip these in my pocket or laptop bag for use on the go. Previously my wireless headphones were bulky and immobile.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Salesforce is at the center of my work life. It is the source of truth for our customer success and sales teams. It also houses our marketing database and all customer communication.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Good to Great by Jim Collins

What is your favorite quote?

“I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university.” – Albert Einstein

Key Learnings:

• Collaboration is the key to bringing new ideas to life.
• Focusing on customers is the best way to grow your business. Happy customers are the best advocates for a company.
• Transparency and open communication is vital in any business relationship, even if it is a post-exit relationship. Misalignment and miscommunication can have detrimental effects on an organization.

Connect: