Agile Businesses: Don Gray Of Givex Corporation On How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
We did not shrink from the task ahead of us and knew we had to build something new fast or be left behind.
As part of my series about the “How Businesses Pivot and Stay Relevant In The Face of Disruptive Technologies”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Don Gray.
Don Gray is the Founder and CEO of Givex Corporation. Givex offers omnichannel POS, gift card, loyalty and stored value ticketing solutions which drive sales for clients; helping them better understand, reward and entice their customers and ultimately make better-informed business decisions. With over 16 billion transactions worldwide and counting, the company’s goal is to empower their merchants with knowledge and knowhow by delivering high quality customer engagement solutions on time. Whether it’s 24/7 support or hassle-free upgrades, Givex clients know that they can count on them to provide everything necessary for their success.
Gray brings over 30 years of experience in startups and turning around companies in a wide range of industries including IT, Gaming, Hospitality, Consumer Goods, Security Systems and Healthcare.
Outside of work, he enjoys sailing and golf and he is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization/World President’s Organization.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
I started my first company at 18 and have been running my own show for most of my business life. My dad was an entrepreneur and started from very humble beginnings. He taught me a lot about salesmanship and I realized from an early age that nothing happens without someone selling something to someone. I started out as a salesman and still consider myself a salesman.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I have started many companies and all come with some sort of mistake — some funny, some not so much. When I was very young, I was having lunch with my very first bank manager. I squeezed a lime into my water glass and it squirted the wrong way — directly into his eye. It was funny but also horrifying. But he still gave me the loan.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
The most important person and the one I am most grateful towards is my wife, Debra. We have been business and life partners for almost 30 years and it has been a great adventure. Debra also helped finance our very first business and she only knew me for a few months at the time.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?
The purpose of Givex has always been to help our clients experience excellence from the services we provide, and to do that, we work very hard to “keep our promises no matter what.” We believe this is one reason we have clients and team members who have been with us for many years.
Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you tell our readers a bit about what your business does? How do you help people?
Givex is a global fintech company providing merchants with customer engagement, point of sale and payment solutions, all in a single platform. We are integrated with 1000+ technology partners, creating a fully end-to-end solution that delivers powerful customer insights. We sell engagement (gift card and loyalty), POS and payment solutions that we integrate in the same platform. This reduces friction in IT and allows our clients to focus on their business and let us gather the data they need to make good business decisions.
Which technological innovation has encroached or disrupted your industry? Can you explain why this has been disruptive?
The biggest disruption over the last 10 years has been the pervasive nature of the internet. This has allowed cloud-based services of all kinds to emerge, from POS to payments. Without the internet and the ability to connect servers to operators easily we would still be dealing with legacy systems and poor data.
What did you do to pivot as a result of this disruption?
We built the Givex system in the cloud starting in 1999 before the internet was anywhere near as universal as it is today. In 2014 we introduced our cloud-based POS system to further enhance our ability to support the communication needed between a merchant and their customer.
Was there a specific “Aha moment” that gave you the idea to start this new path? If yes, we’d love to hear the story.
We were doing well as a cloud-based engagement platform when tablets were introduced. It became clear to me that we needed to add a tablet to our existing platform so we could start providing our clients with a tool to greatly enhance their data collection ability at a reasonable price. It took some time but we now have a very rich POS offering connected to our engagement platform.
So, how are things going with this new direction?
We are now signing clients with 700 POS locations on our platform, but more importantly, we are getting invited to participate in more and larger POS RFP’s which I believe will result in significant new POS rollouts in the years ahead.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this pivot?
We converted one of our long-time engagement clients to use our POS services and they replaced a legacy POS system. This transaction established our POS credentials.
What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period?
The most critical role of a leader during a disruptive period is to establish the vision and maintain the courage to stay the course and not get distracted with manageable failures.
When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?
Team members want to feel they are part of a company that will be able to adapt to disruption and provide opportunities to grow and be challenged. To do that, a leader needs to walk the talk, i.e., keep your promises.
Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?
Our number one principle is and has always been “Keep your promises, no matter what.” This includes promises to clients, team members, vendors and partners. It’s not always easy to do but without the intent, it is easy to slip.
Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make when faced with a disruptive technology? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
- Not recognizing there is change coming.
- Not adapting fast enough.
- Being afraid to change established practices.
- Not enough capital to pivot.
- Not getting the team engaged in the change fast enough.
Ok. Thank you. Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to pivot and stay relevant in the face of disruptive technologies? Please share a story or an example for each.
Our pivot to adding POS to our cloud-based engagement platform is an example of all these things.
- We recognized that cloud-based POS was coming fast.
- We moved quickly to hire a team to start developing the software.
- We had tablets built to our spec to simplify the install and support process.
- We did not shrink from the task ahead of us and knew we had to build something new fast or be left behind.
- We had to sell the concept to clients and convince our team it was worth their time.
- We were also doing well financially so we could invest a significant amount of our profit over the last 8 years to build this out.
- We had the capital to pivot but it came with risk, which I was willing to take.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Keep your promises, no matter what.” I learned this lesson a long time ago when I thought it was OK to say yes without paying attention to the promise it often comes with. This lesson relates to business, friends, family, spouse and whoever else you say yes to for whatever reason. Living by this mantra has been great for both my emotional and financial health.
How can our readers further follow your work?
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!≈
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