April 8, 2024

Why we started 8 Penny Labs

During the summer of 2018, I had the good fortune to share a meal with an old friend and colleague of mine. Someone that I worked with and trusted. We had lunch at a waterfront restaurant in Plymouth, MA with our wives – the location and company were both wonderful. The conversation was wide in […]

#8PL #CustomSoftware #MidMarket #TheWorldHasChanged

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During the summer of 2018, I had the good fortune to share a meal with an old friend and colleague of mine. Someone that I worked with and trusted. We had lunch at a waterfront restaurant in Plymouth, MA with our wives - the location and company were both wonderful. The conversation was wide in scope and we touched on topics that friends often do - family, politics, work, the state of the economy, technology trends, etc. For the most part, we didn’t dive too deep into any of those topics, we enjoyed the conversation and the meal.

At the time, I was the COO of a software company. We enjoyed long relationships with our customers and employees. I got to be involved in every aspect of that business - I learned a ton. As I reflect on it now, I was doing the job I always wanted to do. I was resolving business challenges for our company and our customers using a mix of technology and business acumen. I love a good challenge to solve - I have my whole life been oriented that way.

Still, something from my lunch conversation triggered a deeper reflection about what I was doing and how I could use my skills and experience to be of service to more that just that software company, its customers, and our employees. That conversation at lunch triggered a reflection that I wasn’t really ready to accept. That I could build my own business and help a segment of the market that I thought was both underserved and in need of help. So, after many conversations with my wife and business partner Stacey, we legally organized the business in the fall of 2018 and were operational in February of 2019 - 8 Penny Labs was born.

Now back to our 2018 lunch conversation:

It was the technology trends conversation during lunch that made me reflect on the help I could be to others. In fact, the first marketing deck that I produced made the claim that “The World has Changed”. My claim was something that I didn’t think was controversial, but was met with resistance by some people that I spoke with at the time. There seemed to be a bit of denial in some corners about the emergence of digital tools in the marketplace and the affect they were having on everyone. Still, it was clear to me that the world had changed and was continuing to change at a blinding pace. I looked at the research and could easily see the acceleration of the change and the need for new skills in disciplines for companies to embrace across all markets. So, we maintained our commitment to be of service to others and pushed forward.

Having just completed our 5th year in business, I can say that some of the people that I speak with fully embrace that change is happening and they need to adopt new ways of doing business to remain competitive. They happily and easily accept our offers of help and that has enabled us to grow 77% year over year since inception. They see how technology adoption across the marketplace is changing the way they need to compete in their own market - and they get to work. To them, and you know who you are, Stacey and I thank you for your trust in us and look forward to continuing to be of service to you and your customers.

Others, are still resistant to the change. It is for this group of companies that I am dedicating this post and the next series of blog posts. Because, the world is changing and you need the help we can offer your business. Follow along in this space over the next several weeks as I make the case that the world has changed and see if you don’t agree with me.

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What's in a name?

#8PL #CustomSoftware #MidMarket #TheWorldHasChanged #WhatsInAName