By Ian Richardson, Managing Partner, Richardson & Richardson Consulting
Podcast Season 1, Episode 7 Guest: Mark Shaw, CEO & Founder, Stored Tech
Mark Shaw is the founder and CEO of Stored Technology Solutions, Inc. Since opening in 2010, he has integrated multiple services to the company, evolving with the ever-changing world of technology. His fearless approach to new business endeavors has led StoredTech to acquire several companies and expand to 5 different offices. Currently, StoredTech has presences across New York, North Carolina, and the Philippines, with over 70 employees. I spoke with Mark a while back and had a few great takeaways around form follows function, competitor advice, and systems before growth from our conversation. I wanted to share those with you here.
Form follows function:
I’m always a huge fan when I get to quote Tom Paterson in any medium. One of the learnings that I got from my time with Mark was a reinforcement of Tom’s principle that form will follow functionality. Mark focuses on building a reproducible model, and circles around for feedback with each opportunity to utilize that model. In his case, it’s acquiring and integrating other comparable businesses into StoredTech. Making sure that he has a system in place to successfully acquire those businesses, going out and acquiring one, and then utilizing what worked and didn’t work to make the process better has made each acquisition more successful than its predecessors.
Competitor Advice:
I was very interested when Mark and I got on the topic of asking questions. I had a similar talk with Izzy Amado around asking questions and was really intrigued to hear Mark echo the lesson. Mark has gone one step further – when he was pursuing a strategic initiative at StoredTech, he went to a competitor who has already completed that initiative and asked for assistance. That competitor gave all the information they had and answered questions from his team.
Systems Before Growth:
Building infrastructure in an intentional fashion before pursuing growth strategies was another learning that resonated with me. Making sure that you have the systems, processes, and people in place to support your growth plans, even if you’re uncertain about certain parts of that infrastructure, is a critical part of business success.
I gain so much value from meeting with fellow entrepreneurs and leaders. Each and every person I speak with brings their own experiences, knowledge, and viewpoints to the table, and without fail, I walk away with a head full of ideas and motivation to do better in my own business. I so greatly appreciate Mark’s willingness to come onto W.I.N. and share his story.
If you’re interested in joining me on an episode of W.I.N., it would be my privilege to host you. You can book your spot by visiting https://randr.consulting/connect and selecting the Podcast Booking option from the services menu. You can find previous episodes of W.I.N. on our website and subscribe to it on whatever your platform of choice is.
Always Forward,
Ian
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