How Ryan Austin Founder And CEO Of Synapse Raised $5M To Build A L&D Productivity Software?

Ryan Austin is an entrepreneur who has built several companies in both enterprise SaaS and consumer products.

In his current role as CEO at Synapse, Ryan is focused on developing innovative software that empowers training teams to increase productivity and advance lives through learning. Prior to Synapse, Ryan co-founded GoFish Cam, which exited in 2019 and previously served as Senior Vice President for World Trade Group.

In an exclusive interview with AsiaTechDaily, Ryan says:

Love what you do every day. Let passion drive motivation

Work hard. You can accomplish anything you want, but it will require persistence.

Have thick skin. Nothing comes easy. You need to learn how to become tough without losing empathy.

Embrace uncertainty. Do not stress about things that you cannot control. People tend to create anxiety and stress when they feel like they have lost control. Focus on what is in your control. You will be amazed to see what happens when you learn how to embrace uncertainty – it is one of the strongest skills to learn in business.

Read on to know more about Ryan Austin and his journey.

Please tell me about your personal background and What motivated you to get started with your company?

Ryan Austin: I am an entrepreneur first, but one venture led me to work for the World Trade Group, where I started a new corporate training division. After the World Trade Group sold to private equity, I started a corporate training services company called Acuity. Here, I learned about problems within corporate Learning and Development (L&D) processes for training creation, and the idea for Synapse was born. Now Synapse is on a mission to empower training teams to enable more people to learn and grow.

What is your current main product, and can you share any previous product pivot story to the current product?

Ryan Austin: Our product is Synapse, L&D Productivity Software. We have not had any major product pivots, but it is enterprise software, so the development process took many years. In hindsight, we probably had a shorter path to launching the software, but the process is never black and white, and we are much stronger now because of going through this learning experience.

How much money have you raised in total so far? When was the recent funding round?

Ryan Austin: Approximately US $5M, a combination of pre-seed angel investment, a seed investment with institutional investors (VCs), and venture debt.

What were the internal decision processes in determining when to begin fundraising, and what were the logistics for this? And how many investors have you met so far, and how did you meet these investors, and which channels worked best for you?

Ryan Austin: Again, hindsight is always 20/20. If we knew everything we did today, we most likely could have skipped a pre-seed angel round, but we can operate much more cash efficiently today because of the learning experiences.

We have a lot of knowledge about our business model now that fundraising can be very strategic, and we can align it closely with value creation. When we first started Synapse, we did not have this information, so we were not operating as efficiently.

My advice to entrepreneurs is to bootstrap the beginning of your business until you get to a crossroads where you understand how to execute efficiently. That means go-to-market channels, pricing, and product-market-fit. Then raise investment to accelerate what is working. If it is not working, you are going to waste resources. Before you are ready, time is the only resource you need, and money cannot buy time. In reality, you will be more successful doing this cheaper and without the pressure of having investors when you are still figuring out your business model.

What are the biggest challenges and obstacles that you have faced in the process of fundraising? If you had to start over, what would you do differently?

Ryan Austin: The first piece of advice – I would not have raised money early when we were still learning about our business model. When you finally understand your business model, fundraising becomes much easier, and telling your story is much more powerful. If you are having trouble fundraising, it probably means that you are still too early.

The second piece of advice – When you are ready to fundraise, do not talk to every investor. You only have so much time during a time, and time is the most valuable resource you have, so respect it. Increase the probability of success by understanding who your best investor customer is. You should build a list and target investors who share a similar thesis to your business and mission. Fundraising becomes much easier when you are strategic and take a targeted approach.

What are your milestones for the next round? And what are your goals for the future?

Ryan Austin: We are now focused on executing our plans at Synapse to meet specific business milestones. The Seed financing round is all about sharing your story, having proof points that your business model can work, and that you have a team in place that can execute.

Series A is about proof points in your business model metrics and sees if it can scale. Investors in this category look at different metrics and ask questions about capital efficiency, CAC, LTV, ARR growth, etc. Having great metrics takes iteration and generally does not happen naturally. Hence, it is the job of the CEO and the management team to tweak the model until it is scalable and repeatable. Then you can apply Series A resources to grow your company quickly and effectively.

How have you attracted users, and with what strategy have you grown your company from the start to now?

Ryan Austin: We invested in a Chief Marketing Officer early, which is not something most Seed-stage companies do.

As a Software-as-a-Service enterprise solution, it takes time to build demand generation and your brand. Our approach to demand generation includes content marketing efforts to drive inbound leads, and we also have a team focused on outbound efforts. We are also making investments in product-led growth to reduce the costs of acquiring customers, but this investment will take twelve months or so before we see an ROI.

Which has been the best marketing software tool for the growth of your startup, and why?

Ryan Austin: HubSpot and Outreach and Salesforce. Combined, you can manage the entire sales funnel and automate many demand generation and account management pieces.

What do most startups get wrong about marketing in general?

Ryan Austin: I wouldn’t say it’s so much about marketing but learning how to tell the story. There is a great book called “Tell to Win” that I recommend reading. Also, learn about SaaS marketing methods – there are tons of podcasts and books out there. One good book is “Blueprints for a SaaS Sales Organization” by Jacco Van Der Kooij.

How do you plan to expand globally?

Ryan Austin: Channel partners and opening sales offices in specific countries.

What are the most common mistakes companies make with global expansion?

Ryan Austin: They are trying to do things too fast without the business model working. You should only expand globally when the business model is ready to be repeated, meaning it is scaling and working efficiently in one place and ready to be replicated in another place (copy and paste).

Even then, different countries or regions may have different market risks. You need to do your homework in advance. You can always accelerate learnings by connecting with local economic development offices to tap into their networks and resources – sometimes, they even incentivize you with funding to bring your business into their country.

How do you handle this COVID-19 outbreak situation for your company’s survival in the future?

Ryan Austin: Proper planning. We immediately planned for a downside scenario and worked through COVID plans monthly. When we saw the results, we opened spending and hiring. If the results were not there, we made cash trade-offs and cut back in marketing spend. Since one of our values is to embrace uncertainty, we also made sure not to react impulsively and out of fear. Protecting shareholder value and the jobs of our people is a top priority. Because of all of this, Synapse had two of its most successful quarters – good planning leads to good results.

What are the most common mistakes founders make when they start a company?

Ryan Austin: It is rushing into execution. This was a hard lesson for me to learn personally. In my next business or businesses, I plan to spend more time designing the product and business model upfront, testing it with the market, and potential buyers using prototypes early in the process. Then you use feedback to iterate and only execute once you have more data. This increases the probability of success and a much faster roadmap to become successful.

Also, put great people around you early. Build a strong advisory board, get good mentors who specialize in what you are attempting to accomplish, and partner/hire the best people who know how to accelerate your vision.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? And What advice do you have for someone who is interested in doing similar things like yours or in a similar direction?

Ryan Austin: Listen to the people you put around yourself. Do not be a know it all. That will cost you a lot of time. You can never get back time.

What are the top-three books or movies (TV series) that changed your life and why?

Ryan Austin:

Tell to Win – learn how to tell great stories. Position yourself in the best way.

Power of Now – do not stress on things that are outside of your control. Learn to let go.

Shoe Dog – nothing happens overnight. Enjoy the journey; be persistent.

How do you keep yourself motivated every day?

Ryan Austin: Love what you do every day. Let passion drive motivation.

What are the top- three life lessons that you want your (future) sons and daughters to know?

Ryan Austin: Work hard. You can accomplish anything you want, but it will require persistence.

Have thick skin. Nothing comes easy. You need to learn how to become tough without losing empathy.

Embrace uncertainty. Do not stress about things that you cannot control. People tend to create anxiety and stress when they feel like they have lost control. Focus on what is in your control. You will be amazed to see what happens when you learn how to embrace uncertainty – it is one of the strongest skills to learn in business.

What would you like to be remembered for?

Ryan Austin: It would be for making a difference in the world. Staying humble, feeling blessed. That would be a good way to go one day.

You can follow Ryan Austin here.

https://twitter.com/Get_Synapse

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