Russ: This is The BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at TheBusinessMakers.com. Now, it's time for the Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback, brought to you by Aflac – ask about it at work. For this morning's flashback, we're going to roll back to two weeks ago when I visited with Shawn Shadfar, Founder of omNovia. We entered the discussion where I asked Shawn to tell me about omNovia.

Shawn: omNovia Technologies was started about five years ago. We initially started doing information security consulting. Then, one of my friends asked us to build a software product to protect his online courses. Three months later, we had a success with that first product, and he asked us to build Web conferencing which was quite different from the first product. So, it became, initially, a hobby on the site project, but very fast, within weeks, we were working on it day and night. It became our main focus, and about nine months later, the baby was born. We had our first version of the Web conferencing omNovia Web Conference. Since then, from the first customer, only through word of mouth, we went up to 150 customers in 15 different countries. To make a long story short, we built our version 2 and version 3 of the Web conferencing platform we have, which is now competing with the WebEx and the GoToMeeting of the world.

Russ: Cool. So, it all started with being a software security company. You were just going to make sure that you focused on that, got an upfront project. But that customer challenged you with perhaps another completely different technology, correct?

Shawn: Absolutely. It's really over a coffee that kind of my life changed. It started all there and we worked very hard. I think we grabbed the opportunity and self-fund to the company and became profitable pretty fast.

Russ: Cool. So, the Web conferencing, actually started that application, was very early on, so maybe four years ago?

Shawn: Yes. We started the company in early 2004, but then by 2005, we were already focused on Web conferencing.

Russ: OK. Well, I'm under the impression, Shawn, that even in 2004, there were already some pretty significant players in that space, right?

Shawn: Yes. It was not a virgin space. There were definitely some major players. There was Microsoft, WebEx, and other players there.

Russ: What was it about those products that your customer apparently wasn't satisfied with so they challenged you with making something better?

Shawn: Right. From day one, their requirements were pretty strict. They gave online courses to 200 students connecting from around the globe for 10 hours a day with about 35% elderly people who were not necessarily Internet savvy. So, what he mentioned to me was that the existing solutions they were using were fine for short presentations, sales presentations but not when it comes to using with 200 people, 10 hours a day. They were having a lot of technical problems. So, instead of going and copying what they had and try to just improve on it, we didn't want to be influenced. We reinvented the wheel, reinvented Web conferencing with quality in mind, with reliability in mind. In Web conferencing, having a system that works at 98% of the time is not sufficient. Those 2% is like as if electricity or phone, they don't work 2% of the time. So, we built the system that's extremely simple to use. There is no software to install. You go to a Web page, you log in, there is no buttons to push.

Russ: So, there's nothing that has to be downloaded on my system.

Shawn: There is nothing to be installed. No Java, no Activex, no software. It's like your Web page, you go there, you sit back, the audio is through the computer. You hear, and you watch the presentation.

Russ: So, the initial challenge by this customer was sort of based on the numbers of participants. They wanted it to be many more participants than the existing platforms would handle and the length of the actual meeting. Those two things were the driving force, right?

Shawn: Right, Russ. Basically, from day one, it had to work 10 hours a day with 200 people, which at that time, was a lot. But, our requirements have actually evolved since then. Now, we can go up to 5,000 people in one meeting. You might not need that, but it's a testimony to the quality and reliability of the system. We actually do have customers that have 5,000 people. TD AMERITRADE, one of the customers who switched from WebEx to us, they have a room of 3,500 people and they use it every week.

Russ: Wow! And stay online without interruptions for 10 plus hours?

Shawn: Well, in this case, to be fair, TD AMERITRADE, they have sessions of up to two hours, but we do have other customers with hundreds of people doing [xx] all day long. For example, the marketing and the financial industry or giving online training, e-learning, HR training for 4-5 hours a day.

Russ: This is impressive. We're speaking with Shawn Shadfar, the Founder and CEO of omNovia. Shawn, you said a second ago that you sort of have done this boot strapping from the beginning. That means you've not taken outside funding?

Shawn: That's correct, Russ. From a prior experience where about nine years ago, I had started another company in Austin. I learned my lesson not to go to parties and network and try to raise money for a long time. Instead, we self-funded the company and focused on the core business from day one. Fortunately, we managed to become profitable after a pretty short period of time.

Russ: And you have 150 customers now, right?

Shawn: Yes, we have more than that. Now, we have more than 150 customers. Now, Russ, to be honest, we are seeking some investment currently, but the purpose is to do marketing and to get the word out. So, it's not a matter of survival, far from it.

Russ: That wraps up the Radio broadcast portion of our discussion with Shawn Shadfar, Founder and CEO of omNovia. But there's more as our BusinessMakers Web Extra. Just go to TheBusinessMakers.com and check out the Shawn Shadfar BusinessMakers Web Extra to hear the rest of this cool story. And that wraps up this morning's Aflac BusinessMakers Flashback, brought to you by Aflac – ask about it at work. Now, it's time for another Advantage Point, so let's welcome Katie Laird.

Katie: This is Katie Laird with another Advantage Point, providing upgrade advice for turning your small business into a not-so-small business. As if growing your business wasn't already enough of a challenge, keeping your sanity intact and bottomline secured during a recession takes nerves of steel. But, while the going might get rough, nothing will help get you through these shaky economic times like a positive attitude and a whole lot of creativity. Consider the Stockdale Paradox, a concept presented in Jim Collin's book, "Good to Great." It is the idea that you must confront the brutal facts of your current reality while keeping an eye on a more positive future ahead. So what is your current reality? Are you struggling with clients that are consistently slow to pay their bills? Do you have employees that are less than zealous in their work and commitment to your company's vision?

Now is the time to cut back on the non-performers and focus on the clients and employees that are truly in it to win it. After all, you were hungry to make your company a success. Make sure you surround yourself with people that feel the same way. During a recession, employee morale can be a tricky area to navigate. Make sure that you are helping them celebrate their work successes while remaining as transparent as possible with things that are less than positive like lost clients or a tough quarter. If you find yourself increasingly asking employees to do more with less, help them with their time and project management skills. Buy them copies of a book like David Allen's "Getting Things Done," as a great resource to – well, you guessed it – getting things done. Remember that history is a wonderful teacher. No recession is permanent and companies that boot strap it through the tough times often make it out the other side that much stronger. To read and comment on this Advantage Point, visit us at TheBusinessMakers.com.

Russ: You're listening to The BusinessMakers Show, heard here and online at TheBusinessMakers.com. Stay tuned for our featured guest segment where we'll going to do another deal maker series because I'll be joined by Blair Garou, Managing Director of DFJ Mercury. He's going to do one of his snapshot real deal reviews as we visit with Nikhil Roy, Founder and CEO of Rudder.