Interview with Ryan Allis, founder of iContact.com
He started iContact, is a millionaire, has written a book and has started an organization to help reduce poverty and hunger all over the world. And he's only 24. This is our interview with entrepreneurial whiz, Ryan Allis.
- Tell us about your book Zero to a million? Why did you write it?
In Zero to One Million, I share my story going from an 11 year-old with a dream living in Bradenton, Florida, providing computer help for $5 per hour to today at age 24 running iContact in Durham, North Carolina, a company with over 110 employees, 30,000 customers, and over $15 million in annual sales.
I share everything I've learned about opportunity, evaluation, raising investment and venture capital, product development, marketing, web marketing, web 2.0, online advertising, sales, finance, attracting and retaining superstars, managing a team, managing projects, setting goals, building systems, and scaling a company.
I wrote the book with a desire to make this information accessible to anyone who wants to become a successful entrepreneur. I believe that anyone in this world should be able to become a successful business, social, or public service entrepreneur--if they set their mind to it and have the right tools.
- Tell us about The Humanity campaign? What gave you the idea/drive for that?
The Humanity Campaign works to reduce poverty and hunger by increasing access to education, healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurial opportunity at home in North Carolina. My motivation for the Humanity Campaign began with my efforts to create a society in which there is equal access to opportunity for all humans. I strongly believe that together, we can make every effort to eliminate extreme poverty.
- Where is the need greatest?
There's so much more than one thing in the world that I wish to change. Knowing that 2.7 billion humans across the world live on less than $2 a day while more than 49,000 people – mostly children – die from starvation and disease everyday, motivates me even more to give back.
- I saw that you recently went to Uganda, what was the most memorable part of your trip?
I would have to say, observing the difference in living situations between the urban and the rural areas in Uganda was definitely an eye-opening experience. I left Africa inspired by the extent to which the children and most adults living in these most difficult conditions maintain such a level of happiness and non-complaint. It was also fascinating to see advertisements everywhere for the cell-phone networks. These ads for CelTel, MTN, and Uganda Telecom were even painted on the sides of buildings in the most-rural towns. Bottom line, the experience has caused me to be even more dedicated toward eliminating poverty and ensuring sustainability. I look forward to going back to Africa again soon.
- You travel a lot and network with other young CEO's and capitalists. Do you find the same desire for philanthropy in them?
From October to March of 2007-2008, I had the opportunity to speak on the Extreme Entrepreneurship tour and met other bright and successful entrepreneurs. Many of the speakers associated with the organization are immersed in philanthropy projects of their own. Individuals such as Blake Mycoskie, who started Tom's Shoes organization to help children receive footwear in developing countries, or Vic Sarjoo, who is helping turn around an inner city Boys and Girls Club, are like-minded individuals inspired to change the world.
- With a busy schedule, work, family, friends, how do you make time to give yourself? What do you like to do when you aren't working like crazy?
Like most entrepreneurs and business owners, I consider time to be extremely precious. I schedule my time diligently to make sure that I'm organized and can accomplish as much as possible in any given period of time. When I get a moment to myself, I enjoy reading books that inspire or meeting up with friends for a little hip-hop dancing.
- What would you tell young Americans who don't have a great piece of technology or the finances to start a company? How do they partake in the type of success that you have?
If you presently do not have the financial resources, a great piece of technology, or a good business idea, intern or get a job at a company in an industry you are interested in to start building your network or partner with someone who does have those resources.
Becoming a successful entrepreneur is not easy. You must have persistence, dedication, tenacity, and the ability to deal with adversity. If you tell yourself that your primary goal is helping others through your products and service, than success will become secondary.
- What are some books we should be reading?
To the aspiring entrepreneur, I would recommend these 5 books without hesitation:
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas L. Friedman
- The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
- Zero-to-IPO by David Smith
- Why did you settle the company in North Carolina, not a historically hot tech center, vs. any of the Silicon Valley's across the country?
- Tell us about this notion of your meetups? You open your home to other entrepreneurs?
Every month, I invite members of the community into my home for an Entrepreneur and Social Entrepreneur meetup. We have presentations from entrepreneurs, discuss specific issues in the community, as well as share ideas about ways to change the world. Other topics discussed at gatherings are public policy, politics, investing, healthcare, education, law, poverty, marketing, or technology. We tend to get about 70 entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs at each event.
- Have you found that all of this success forced you to grow up early? What's been the best and worst part of it all?
Initially, I faced large obstacles at a young age such as the financial burdens of launching a company, and finding people who would take iContact seriously. For several months, my business partner and I lived on futons, eating ramen noodles, and bootstrapped the company's finances until we could afford to pursue venture capital funding. Through the whole experience, I have always found that my experience as an entrepreneur absolutely caused me to grow up quickly, but there was nothing wrong with that at all.
Today, the best part of watching iContact grow as a leader in the email marketing industry is the opportunities that have been given to others along the way. I have been able to build a successful and sustainable company from the ground up while at the same time creating over 100 jobs for people in the community.
- What gave you the idea to start iContact?
For me, it was definitely a gradual process. When I was 11, I started helping senior citizens in Florida learn computer skills for like $5 per session one summer. I kept building my client base for a few summers and by 8th grade, I had made over $1000. I learned basic HTML and web site development, which would prove to be very useful down the road.
Right before my junior year of high school, I had this amazing experience traveling around Spain and Mexico. While I was in Mexico City, I came up with this idea for my first company, a web development firm that I named Virante. I had officially become an entrepreneur. When I was 18, I made the decision to go to UNC, and that's where I met Aaron Houghton. He ran a company called Preation who had developed the initial technology for iContact. I saw the many advantages it had. We decided then to create a company around it.Together, we created iContact, and have spent the past few years building it into what it is today.
- What are the major challenges of running a for-profit company?
I have had many challenges upon starting iContact in July of 2003. Bootstrapping, getting people to take us seriously, balancing school and work, securing the needed financing, and being able to bring on great people were certainly challenges.
- When hiring employees, what do you look for in out-of-school hires?
I've learned that no matter what someone's level of experience is, if they have a bias toward action, take initiative, and have a solid work ethic, you will want them to work on your team.
Having a bias toward action and taking the initiative means that a person will never become idle due to indecision. If they see a problem, they will be proactive and figure out a way to solve it, and are always looking for ways to improve the company. Having a good work ethic means that a person is able to see any issues that arise through until a solution is reached. These people will often have to multi-task and work on several different projects at once, and being able to focus to complete the tasks at hand illustrate their strong work ethic.
- Do you think a 4 year degree is essential to success in today's economy?
A four year degree is not a prerequisite for success in business by any means, but it can be helpful. Certainly the experience of college was extremely beneficial to me as an entrepreneur. Building social relationships, learning accounting and statistics, and understanding 'how to learn' was critical. In academia, you can learn the theory and background of business which is essential, but you don't learn the practical application until you actually do it. I stress the importance of education and will finish my undergraduate degree at UNC Chapel Hill.
- What skills should young Americans arm themselves with in order to be successful?
As an aspiring entrepreneur, your success will depend on your work ethic, initiative and a strong desire to make your dreams reality. Here are the top 3 tips that I think will help you reach your goal:
- You will not be able to do everything at once. Take a long-run approach. Play life like a long-term game.
- Take a proactive role in planning, goal setting, and personal evaluation.
- Have a bias toward action.
- What is next for you?
We're working on building iContact into the leading provider of email marketing services for small and mid-sizes businesses.
We are growing at a tremendous rate: we just eclipsed 30,000 customers, and now have a team of more than 100 outstanding employees. I am proud to say that we are a leader in our industry in terms of what we offer to our customers, and in what we give back to our community. iContact donates 1 percent of our quarterly payroll to 15 local and national non-profit organizations. Even though we are a business who wants to succeed at what we do, it is very important that we are socially responsible for the sake of our community and our world.
I believe I should take it upon myself to lead other CEOs and entrepreneurs in the direction of being responsible corporate citizens by giving back to their communities. We have the entrepreneurial talent and resources to end extreme poverty and ensure universal access to education, healthcare, and other basic necessities. I believe this generation of enlightened entrepreneurs can have a dramatic affect on these issues and help build a stronger, safer world in the process.
In the future, I hope to work as an entrepreneur, social entrepreneur, writer, investor, and public servant.
North Carolina is the best place in the country to start a business. You have three research universities within 20 miles, beautiful weather, access to capital, and a tremendous entrepreneurial community and support network. Living expenses are modest, the housing prices are 1/4th what they are in New York City or San Francisco, and we can hire great employees at 60% of the cost.
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