Member Spotlight: AVATAR
The human face of high tech: AVATAR
Remember 1997 鈥� and what was hot in technology? When you ran your business,听you relied most heavily on the telephone, the fax and on personal computers (which听fewer than 40% of American households possessed) that weighed a ton, and听probably touted a big 16MB of RAM. Internet access was dial-up, and you had to pay听to use the Netscape browser.
Dark days indeed by today鈥檚 technological standards. Yet 1997 was the year听Andrew Newby and Kristin Kiser founded : now Toledo鈥檚 flagship business听tech company for web applications, content management systems, online听catalogues, and ERP-integrated e-commerce solutions 鈥� with clients across the听business spectrum.
Obviously, these were people with foresight. Andrew sets the scene: 鈥淚 was听working for a Toledo ad agency and had a group of friends with a unique skill set.听Our early conversations were a glimpse of where companies would eventually go.听
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 predict how much everyone鈥檚 lives would change, but we saw听opportunities in corporate sales and communications.鈥澨�
Just 22 at the time they founded their company, Andrew and Kristin were听jumping into more of an unknown than many entrepreneurs do. Were they听prototypes for techie hotshots out to conquer the world? Andrew doesn鈥檛 turn a hair听when he says, 鈥淟ots of that. And twenty years on it hasn鈥檛 changed a bit.
鈥淲e started Avatar without really knowing how to run a business. That was听fun. The culture is in a tremendous industry in which you can work from anywhere听in the world. That represents a lot of power and control over aspects of the听business.鈥�
As they approached CEOs and other executives with their ideas about how听technology could strengthen and expand their business, the reaction was sometimes听resistant just because what they were selling was so new. Rather than trying to be听all things to all people, though, AVATAR focused at first on like-minded partners,听and on fitting into their existing marketing/communications at the technical level.
More companies saw the potential 鈥� which only grew as the technology kept听improving. 鈥淲e were developing the concept of cloud-based software in the late听鈥�90s,鈥� Andrew says. 鈥淣ow the idea of storing your accounting software in the cloud听is common.鈥�
Before long, the AVATAR team was building software that served sales听management, inventory
and real estate management, as well as survey platforms.听As technology keeps changing,
so do clients鈥� needs and the ways AVATAR
meets them. 鈥淢ost of our customers are trying to sell their product in a new way,
or听moving into a new market,鈥� Andrew says. 鈥淭he key behind digital strategy听development
and marketing is an entrepreneurial mindset: How do you grow,
expand and communicate?
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the most fun thing we can do: work with our clients using our insights听based on our own experience in that entrepreneurial perspective.鈥澨齏ith that Why not? perspective, he adds, a kind of corporate ecosystem听develops, allowing technology to be leveraged.
In a lightning-fast environment, how does AVATAR stay fresh? Most often by听listening to clients, he says. 鈥淲e do a lot of industrial e-commerce, but we鈥檝e听touched on pretty much everything. And that鈥檚 always been the fun, learning about the customer鈥檚 business, whether it鈥檚 chairs or tires or buildings or paint or greeting cards.鈥�
Freshness comes as well when they stray from technology. In the AVATAR river-view headquarters on Summit Street in Toledo鈥檚 Vistula neighborhood, you鈥檒l also find the HQ for Black Kite Coffee (located in Toledo鈥檚 Old West End) and Toledo Spirits 鈥� one caffeinated, one distilled and alcoholic. Black Kite was created, Andrew says, 鈥渂ecause there wasn鈥檛 a coffee shop nearby and we wanted coffee on Saturday mornings.
鈥淚t sprang from what I think is a Toledo mindset: If you don鈥檛 have it, you just build it.鈥�
Andrew and Kristin are married now (or as Andrew drolly puts it, they鈥檙e related through their 14-year-old daughter). They鈥檙e both longtime members of affinity groups with the Family Business Center, and shared Leesa Sutton, one of their key leadership team members, to take part in the Center鈥檚 Leadership Development Program. Her input was invaluable, says FBC Director Angie Jones: 鈥淟eesa was a great participant!鈥�
Back at company HQ, AVATAR and its satellite businesses still offer the daily vistas of new success. Is there a place they want to go yet, some direction not yet imagined?
鈥淓very day!鈥� Andrew says. 鈥淒epends on whatever hat I鈥檓 wearing. On the technology side there鈥檚 augmented-reality-based shopping, being able to see and manipulate something to create a retail experience. COVID has given that a boost, accelerating trends that were already happening.鈥�
Then he says something you might not expect from a technology entrepreneur. 鈥淲e鈥檙e embracing technology that allows 24/7 communication and teleworking. I hope it means people will embrace not having to work quite as much, that they can still be effective without having to sacrifice personal relationships.鈥�
Seems that AVATAR鈥檚 vision, though bright with technological promise, is finally based in the human: 鈥淚 always see technology as a facilitator for the personal rather than a replacement, or a watered-down version.鈥�