Dave Breith – Q & A

O-bit telecom has just moved into its new offices in High Wycombe and currently employs 40 people with plans to expand the business, and venture overseas. CEO of O-bit, Dave Breith, tells us about the success of his business, which provides voice, data, and network solutions for business communications.

How did O-bit start? What was the concept behind it?

My first job in telecoms was as a dealer for MCI WorldCom. I was on a fixed contract, developing new business for the company, from which I earned a fee. In addition, they agreed to pay me a bonus lump sum at the end of the contract. Unfortunately, MCI WorldCom filed for Chapter 11 before the contract ended, which meant I never received the bonus. I started O-bit telecom as I wanted to stay in the telecoms industry, but have control of my own destiny by structuring my own business.

How was O-bit launched and marketed? How long did it take?

O-bit started in 2002 with about £2000 in the bank and no fancy marketing or launch. We got O-bit telecom off the ground though hard work; calling people and networking to secure as many customers as possible.

Were there any struggles or hurdles you had to encounter while launching O-bit?

The biggest struggle was starting from scratch and doing everything in-house, from billing and credit control to customer support.

What kind of experience did you have prior to starting O-bit that you feel was important for the start up?

Before starting O-bit, I had already founded and lost one £66 million business. The lessons I learnt from that were invaluable for starting up O-bit telecom.

What are the key factors to running a business such as yours?

You have to go that extra mile for your customers. It is vital to make the end-user experience a happy one.

What services and products do you offer to businesses? And how do businesses benefit from these?

A full range of telecoms products and services such as broadband, phone lines, VoIP, SMS and non-geographic numbers. Businesses using our services benefit from our own dedicated and reliable networks, providing them with very high quality of services.

Tell us more about ‘Ask Merlin’. What is this software and what does it do?

Ask Merlin is essentially a tool that helps companies manage every aspect of business process, from HR to sales and marketing. For example, it can keep track of sales leads and remind relevant staff members when they need to be followed up.

You started off as a plumber. Who or what was your inspiration to move on to bigger and better business ventures that has got you to where you are now?

My best friend’s father inspired me to become an entrepreneur.

Coming from a similar background to me, he worked his way up to become the European Chairman of Heinz. I knew then there was nothing to stop me from achieving that kind of success.

Why do customers/businesses come to you? What do you offer that no one else can offer? How are you different?

O-bit telecom has spent an awful lot of time and energy building our own networks. This allows us to provide voice and data services to our customers with our own networks, and not have to rely on anyone else.

You were in this year’s Sunday Times Tech Track list with a turnover of £15 million. What are the main contributors to this success?

Hard work from everyone at O-bit telecom has helped us reach the level where we are being recognised by the Sunday Times. There’s no other way to explain it really!

Is there a specific type of business that you cater to?

Initially O-bit telecom was serving the home office market, but as we’ve grown, this has opened out to SMEs and small corporations, and latterly to residential properties and large corporations. So I’d say we can now pretty much cater for the needs of any size of business.

You recently launched Purple Networx. Tell us a little but more about that. How does it benefit small and medium sized businesses?

Purple Networx enables businesses to make lower cost national calls, and free between site calls, without any additional outlay.

It provides voice, data and wireless communications through one supplier, making it easy for them to manage their services.

You’ve won a few awards. What are these? And how does it feel to know that you are being recognised by businesses around the UK?

O-bit telecom has been listed on the Deloitte Fast 50 and Fast 500 EMEA and was placed on the Real Business Hot 100 last year. Most impressively, we’ve appeared on the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 for three years running.

We get quite excited about winning awards – particularly as each year we’ve been approached by the organisers and asked to submit our figures. Now it’s something we drive the business to achieve, and if we can reach the Tech Track for the fourth year in a row, it would be a fabulous measure of our success.

What is your advice to others wishing to start up their own business?

Well, if it’s in telecoms, don’t do it – it’s more competition for me! On a more serious note, be 110 per cent sure that setting up the business is what you want to do, because once you start, at least the first two years will be a struggle. You’ll really need to have buy-in from your family, as you should expect not to see very much of them during the start-up period and if the business does well, this will only get worse.

What’s been the best and worst thing about starting this business and why?

The worst thing? Not having any money in the business when we got started, and having to keep such a tight rein on cash flow.

The best thing? Being able to make some money! But this has only been the result of an awful lot of hard work and determination.

Do you have plans to venture your business outside the UK? What are you plans for the future?

We do, and we have already with an office in Florida, from which we have been recruiting partners over the last few months. We plan to launch Purple Networx in the US next year, progressing across the country from east to west coast.

O-bit will continue to grow organically, but there is only so far we can take the business on that basis. We are currently working with some consultants and are in the process of raising funds for an acquisition trail next year.

                                         - Dave Breith, 'Start Your Business', #41, 01/11/2009