I recently went one-on-one with David Erickson. Dave is the founder and former CEO of FreeConferenceCall.com and is the co-founder of Phound.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Dave: I founded and was once the CEO of FreeConferenceCall.com which became the world’s largest audio conferencing company by minute volume. I love telecom and voice, created the first High Definition Audio Bridges and won an award at Jeff Pulver’s VON – Innovator of the Year. I was also a part of the dial-up radio industry. I didn’t create the stations or the relations, but almost all of it ended up on my network, with the largest company exclusive with mine. In total, we were at 2 billion minutes a month. We still have that many minutes and I believe 2024 will be an epic year where we really start growing.
Probably my biggest mistake was thinking that because I was the Founder that I needed to be the CEO. I was a very passionate leader and led the company to success, but if I had to do it all over again, I think I would hire a proper CEO and relieve myself of stress and maybe do more creative things, because that is what I enjoy. I think there is pride that keeps a visionary like me in the CEO position, but pride can also be detrimental.
Adam: How did you come up with your business ideas? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Dave: I’m always thinking and coming up with ideas. I look at things and I want to change them for the better or depending on my attitude and mood, I’ll put two things together and make something new. It seems like every time I see something, I come up with a different way or I go further down the road than the inventor did. That is not to say these are all good ideas. I find a lot of humor in what I come up with. When I think I have a good one, then I start researching what it would take. I only want to develop large-scale ideas.
My advice for others is to dream away. It’s when you start to romanticize them that you find yourself in trouble. Avoid talking up deals too much or sitting around discussing your idea. You need to kill or fill. Charge that idea, execute and move on. Don’t spend your time developing small ideas, think about highly scalable ideas.
Adam: How did you know your business ideas were worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?
Dave: Build it down and dirty and see if it warrants you building it better. I often try to do some very basic elements of the idea first to see what I see. Move forward on your good ideas with a plan to kill or fill.
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your businesses? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Dave: Know your customer. I had a close relationship with my customers – as close as they would let me be. I worked the customer support lines for 2 ½ years. I knew the FreeConferenceCall customer well.
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Dave: I am a marketer, I try to design viral products. At Freeconferencecall.com, we had a descriptive domain name. Every conference call opened with a greeting saying: “This service is provided by Freeconferencecall.com. Please enter your access code followed by the pound key.” This was played hundreds of millions of times, 40 million times a month.
Stand back and look for things that can be done to create promotion to your customers’ customers.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Dave: In my experience, leadership has a lot to do with being a good human: making people feel heard, creating an environment where people are comfortable speaking up and using their voice. It’s also about being vulnerable.
I am a passionate leader. I love what I do. I want to do it, I get to do it, so I approach each day with gratitude for the opportunity. I don’t let limitations hold me back. I’m a leader that chases his dreams.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Dave: I don’t think people care how much you know. They want to know how much you care about the project and care about them. Be grateful.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Dave:
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Don’t be afraid to fail and admit it.
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Execute by doing it right; don’t cut corners.
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Pay your taxes – you don’t make money by not paying taxes
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Dave: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky
Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Dave: Yes! Download Phound.app to take control of your privacy and confidently know who’s calling. Then tell me what you think!
