Investing, Start-ups and High Growth | Branislav Trajkovski
Joining James on a recent episode of Tech Salescraft, Branislav Trajkovski, CEO at Payink, brought his wealth of experience in investing, start-ups, and high growth to the show. Having worked with businesses at various stages of their growth cycle, Branislav is well aware of the highs and lows of entrepreneurship; and the fine line that separates successful and stagnant growth. Branislav imparted an incredible series of actionable insights that will ensure your firm remains in an upward growth trend, propelling the businesses potential to new heights!
“When more people pull your product, as opposed to you needing to push the product, that’s a good time to start building your sales leadership team.”
Irrespective of what funding series round you may be at, Branislav stresses the importance of having product market fit. Knowing your product fills a gap in the marketplace, and serves the interested parties, is a far more secure strategy than simply acquiring funding to channel into an unfruitful, unwanted product. Once your product is situated in the industry landscape, then Branislav states, you can begin to bring in sales expertise who will take the wide-spread integration of your product to new heights.
“Sustainable growth: that is our objective”
Whilst ambition is an admirable trait, it has to be reimagined as a comprehensive strategy that is appreciative of the competition and hurdles within the marketplace. This translates into sustainable growth. Branislav highlights that growth may be slower when ambition is managed but it will secure the long-term success and stability of your firm. It is essentially “a trade-off” between rapid growth and sustainability, but with “hard work”, sustainability remains the better option. It ensures you craft a business that can withstand the inevitable hurdles, that is monetarily secure, and guarantees your people a mission to continue to support.
“We’ve learned from our experiences, and embraced the positives that empower our people.”
No matter the industry, a primary focus of countless firms is crafting successful talent acquisition and retainment strategies. It can present an overwhelming obstacle for many but, as Branislav reminds us, we should not let this distract us from the primary focus of this issue: the person, the talent, the new hire. The latter is captured under the idea of a holistic approach to recruitment, which Branislav has placed at the heart of his business operations.
“It’s all about our culture. It’s about articulating our culture to our new hires… that includes being family-first, a positive environment, empowerment. Articulating our values allows us to develop mutual respect with candidates, well before we meet.”
Branislav stresses that this idea of “mutual respect” comes from ensuring the culture is reflective of the people working for you, and the people you want to attract to your firm. In this regard, one can’t treat recruitment as a siloed activity; it must be an extension of the core values of your firm to ensure you’re acquiring people that are passionate about what you’re doing- and want to stay to catalyse the firm’s growth.
Branislav’s eye-opening insights reveal how complex the road to success is. However, Branislav’s acute understanding of the marketplace and entrepreneurship allows him to impart confident advice that will aid us all in overcoming the inevitable, and unexpected, challenges, the world of business throws our way! His conversation with James on Tech Salescraft is not to be missed!
Follow the link below to watch the full conversation now: