Tory Williams

Listen to your clients’ needs, not the hurdles ahead.

 

Based in Edwards, Co., Tory Williams is an entrepreneur and founder of Zing Mobile Apps, a business that provides a new way to experience mobile app consumption. With over 25 years of experience as a CEO in both marketing and technology industries, Tory Williams brings invaluable experience to his company.

After graduating from Bowdoin College, Tory Williams began a successful career in building startups and business turnaround. His extensive skill set in both business development and finance led many companies to turn to him for help bringing their businesses out of bankruptcy and into a profitable, healthy place. One of Tory’s most notable achievements was bringing a company out of near bankruptcy by completely reinventing the business, resulting in $500 million in sales the following year. After several years of helping others turn around their businesses and founding self-funded startups, Tory Williams founded his own company, Zing Mobile Apps in 2010.

Zing Mobile Apps offers the future of mobile retailing, providing a customizable interface that is easy for both businesses and consumers to enjoy. Companies can customize their own app and can integrate several features such as loyalty programs, mobile payment, coupons, store information, and product pricing. The best part is, Zing Mobile Apps can design an app to any template the business would like. Zing will also continue to manage all elements of the mobile app and provide guidance towards marketing efforts along the way. Tory Williams has created Zing Mobile Apps to be an excellent place for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses to gain footing while launching a new product. On the consumer end, Zing also provides online ordering capabilities as well as rewards programs.

When he is not busy at work, Tory Williams is also an experienced helicopter and jet pilot. His most ambitious adventure was a flight around the world with his family. In addition to flying, Tory enjoys skiing, biking, and riding his motorcycle.

Where did the idea for Zingon come from?

The idea for Zingon came from a friend who owned a payment platform and was looking to add mobile payment for his customers. He had once bought a company from me in the 1990s. We stayed in touch over time and reconnected.

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

My days are really 24/7 based on client needs. My phone is always connected and I can route issues to the right staff member, whether here in Colorado or in Germany. The key to making a day productive is staying organized and focused on the end goal.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I love to invent new business efficiencies or take potentially time saving features and see them through their launch. Things that have the “wow” factor.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I love the way we can use technology to manage day to day tasks without much thought. Everything from paying bills, handling purchases remotely, and investigating products and services from work or home. Lately, I’m impressed with the focus on one to one communication with clients, based on unique and individual needs or wants.

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

I can work anywhere and anytime that I need to…except when riding my motorcycle or skiing out of bounds.

What advice would you give your younger self?

My advice to my younger self would be to follow the growth companies and invest money to find opportunities.

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

Listen to your clients’ needs, not the hurdles ahead.

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

It is essential to make sure the client is number one in all aspects of their journey.

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

What has helped grow my business the most is to do what no one else can do. This requires a deeper understanding of the customers’ needs and figuring out how to best service them based on time, cost, and features.

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

One failure that I have overcome is how to best manage finances. After running out of cash, I started to manage cash more so than A/R, inventory or production.

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

Turn the idea of GoPro, or filming, into a technology that makes it easy to capture yourself in action. This can be done through RFID gates with a chipped pass, which turns on cameras focused on our route and sends to your email for sharing and viewing.

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

I recently purchased flowers for my mother, which I would consider the best $100 I have recently spent.

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

I have found Google Dropbox extremely helpful in being productive. It allows multiple people to contribute to a document, is easy to open and send, and cuts down the time spent on many projects.

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

“Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t” is a great read for entrepreneurs.

What is your favorite quote?

“We don’t learn from our mistakes, we learn more from what we do correctly.”