Tugboat Summit at Supportworks
Last week our CEO, David Anderson, and other Tugboat institute® members made the trip to Omaha, Nebraska where they delved deeper into learning about Supportworks, an Evergreen® company that works to redefine the contractor industry. The summit was run by brothers Dave and Dan Thrasher, the co-owners and leaders of the second-generation family business who put together a remarkable program and experience for our group to learn, connect with value-aligned peers, and enjoy a taste of Omaha
The week began as Dan and Dave welcomed us all to their beautiful and impressive campus, where Supportworks, The Thrasher Group, Thrasher Partners, and their newest business, Hello Garage, are headquartered. The first day started with a fireside chat with Dan, Dave, and Tugboat Institute CEO Dave Whorton, during which they shared the story of their parents bootstrapping the business slowly, over three decades, before handing the reins to them. Dan and Dave dug in and shared some of the strategies they learned and used to grow the company’s revenue 100x over the last 20 years. An amazing, inspiring, and honestly humbling accomplishment.
Dan and Dave also collaborated on a presentation about their recent experience launching a new vertical, Hello Garage, a company that specializes in transforming dirty garages with durable flooring and a customizable storage system. They were candid in sharing not only how they selected this vertical for expansion and their successes with this venture, but also the mistakes made along the way and the lessons learned. One key takeaway gleaned from this was that even when there is the utmost strategic planning and the numbers make perfect sense, sometimes it's still crucial to listen to and rely on a gut feeling. While it is hard to quantify, the entrepreneurial 'gut' is built on years of hard work, experience, and sometimes pain. It should not be ignored, even if it can't be put into words.
The last formal presentation was from Dan, who shared what it means to him to create and sustain a remarkable customer experience. He cautioned that CEOs should not delegate responsibility for making sure that it remains remarkable and that it’s a never-ending process of continuous improvement for the team. Anything less than fierce attention to this aspect of the business, creates significant risk to longevity. This is one area that can always be better.
Our CEO, David, returned with a clear reminder that it’s crucial to regularly and intentionally share the story and journey of Mimo with the goal of continuing to integrate the company’s Purpose across the entire organization-- in the strategy, planning, business process, communications and more.