Casserly
PATRICK CASSERLY started his E-Services group in early 2000, by persuading a large U.S. corporation to sign a five-year contract on the basis of his vision and a viewing of the proposed site for his office a warehouse full of rice.
In a compelling presentation last Friday for the University of Technology's business incubator (called the Technology Innovation Centre), E-Services Chief Executive Officer Patrick Casserly explained his vision for Jamaica's 'New Generation of Entrepreneurship'.
He said that on the basis of his first contract, he successfully sought out investors with international experience, and this, coupled with his ability to demonstrate a thorough understanding of his market and competition enabled him to persuade a Houston venture capitalist to invest in his business.
He started small in the business dedicated to the provision of back office processing and call centre services. His primary duty on his first day of operation was to mop the floor. But he was thinking big, building on the advantage of Jamaica as the third largest English speaking country in the hemisphere, and our propensity to talk, and now has a business that employs 2,100 people, which is likely to grow to 2,600 by year-end.
ANTICIPATING THE MARKET
Casserly argues that the first and most important function for the modern entrepreneur is anticipating where market demand and market forces will drive the industry, assessing changes to the legislative framework and their impact on technological solutions.
Using the analogy of a technological whirlpool, he argues that the key role of a modern technology entrepreneur is to look at his company and assess its lifespan, as these days innovation is so fast that you only get 18 months before your product reaches the end of its life, like 'the buggy whip' of a distant era.
END OF LIFE VORTEX
Instead of being dragged down into this end of life vortex, the entrepreneur's objective should be to remain within the whirlpool. He believes Apple is a good example of this innovation. Visionary U.S. entrepreneur Steve Jobs returned to save the company he founded by a series of innovations I Mac, I Pod, I Tunes and now movies. Mr. Casserly experienced this personally when E-Services lost its largest client in 2003, and he had to reinvent his company by going into a harder business for competitors insurance processing.
Jamaica is on the cusp of a new generation of entrepreneurship
In his view, while Jamaica is still a country of "brick and mortar", meaning that unless you are building a building you won't get financing. He nevertheless believes that we are on the cusp of an entrepreneurial revolution (although access to venture capital would definitely help).
He argues that with a few exceptions, Jamaica is 18 months behind its competitors, who are global.
Entrepreneurs need to start small but think big, he said. E-Services is still a small business in terms of its philosophy because they think small in terms of how they assess costs, constantly monitoring their cash position, and only making prudent asset purchases. They also constantly review every position, asking "Is it necessary?" and eliminating non-performing jobs. However, they have a passion for training as they are in the people business, requiring eight to 10 weeks of training for entry level employees. In his view, you can never rest as a start up entrepreneur, as you need to stay ahead of the 'Tiger who is always at your heels', in his case the one from Mumbai, India.
Taken from the Financial Gleaner
