Axcess, LLC Founder and CEO Andy Loff recently spoke with Kevin Minton on the Chief Executive Boards International podcast. Andy spoke about his journey from new engineer struggling to grow a company to the recent launch of Axcess, LLC, and some important lessons learned along the way.
You can read about their conversation below and hear the full podcast episode here: “From start up to multimillion dollar manufacturing company.”
Strong Foundations: Composite Advantage
Andy’s first job was with a Dayton, Ohio based non-profit that focused on creating innovative products and commercializing them for job creation and to develop spinoff companies. Following this model, Andy and his boss developed innovative fiberglass products that became the foundation for a new infrastructure company called Composite Advantage.
Created in the mid-2000’s, the company specializes in large structural fiberglass elements used in building bridges, railings, platforms, and other heavy components that are traditionally made of wood, steel, or concrete. Their goal was to replace these materials with a fiberglass, which lasts longer and requires less maintenance. In many cases, they were the first to bring these kinds of products to the market, which was a key to their success.
Andy notes that one of the advantages to working with a non-profit was its early financial support for getting the business off the ground, along with customer support and, in some cases, prepayment agreements.
Another early challenge was finding a manufacturing source for the fiberglass components. Ultimately, they decided to integrate that step into their business model along with design and engineering work. As a result of careful planning and investment from customers and their non-profit, Composite Advantage created over 100 jobs.
Lessons Learned from Growing a Successful Company
It’s easy to look at an established organization like Composite Advantage and focus on how smooth operations are, how seamless it is to work with them. What’s easier to overlook are the roadblocks, delays, and mistakes overcome along the way. Andy spoke candidly about the challenges Composite Advantage faced, and the lessons learned.
1. Beware of overconfidence, especially when you love your work and are closely invested in it.
We’ve all been there: we’re passionate about the organization so we assume we’re experts at everything, refusing to let others do any of the important work. We don’t mentor our employees enough so that they get what they need from the job and become assets to the organization. Andy shares his sense that overcoming these tendencies has been one of the hardest parts of starting the company, and may have even held back their ability to grow in early days.
And sometimes we do too much talking and not enough listening. In the case of Composite Advantage, Andy shared that it happened on the technical engineering side at times. By not listening to more experienced, veteran engineers, some important (and expensive) design and business development mistakes could’ve been avoided.
2. Spreading the work around means everyone benefits.
Another challenge was learning to be honest about strengths and weaknesses. Over time, Andy realized the areas in which he excels and those where he doesn’t. As he says in the interview, it’s better to align your work with what you’re good at and let others do what they are good, instead of trying to single handedly run the show. He explains business leaders need to realize they don’t know as much as they think they do (and it helps to reinforce this realization by surrounding yourself with people you respect who can help remind you to trust others).
Andy’s takeaway from this humbling lesson is that people are biggest key to success. Rather than fumbling in your weak areas and stunting your business’s growth, hire people who are better at those things than you are. Then, make sure you allow them to do the work. This was a turning point for Composite Advantage and helped them grow.
Yet another advantage to spreading the work around is that everyone can achieve work-life balance more easily. Matching the right person to the right job means no one is consumed with work challenges they don’t have the skill set to meet, and everyone has time away from work to recharge.
3. Mentoring and staff development makes your company stronger.
In addition to hiring experts to complement your skills is the notion of employee development and mentoring is an effective way to create the expertise you need. Composite Advantage learned to give their staff opportunities to grow in new projects and settings, with the result that they now have more in-house resources.
Investing in your employees allows them to grow into their positions, and lets you hire a more diverse range of talented people. The key is finding people with aptitude, even if they lack certain formal education, experience, or skills.
Extending the Model to New Business Opportunities
Having developed Composite Advantage into a successful company, Andy and his business partner sold it in 2018 with the goal of keeping momentum going in new ventures.
One of those ventures is Axcess, LLC. This start up is focused on designing, building, and installing bridges for pedestrian use, especially in smaller markets like parks and residential developments.
Andy incorporates many of the lessons he learned during his Composite Advantage days into Axcess, including mentoring and developing staff, providing meaningful job opportunities for people with a range of backgrounds, targeting those with aptitude and a growth mindset, and letting each employee do the work they were hired for.
Axcess is also committed to serving as a trusted advisor to customers through knowledge of the market and bridge options, technical expertise, product and material sourcing, and the ability to provide a turnkey solution for these smaller-scale infrastructure projects.
The result is a win-win:
- A product that benefits the customer: functional, aesthetic, low maintenance, durable, and budget friendly.
- A business model that benefits the community: creating meaningful work for people, providing job skill training, mentoring those in early stages of their careers, and improving access to the outdoors and recreation.
Ready to learn more about Axcess, LLC and plan your bridge? Please contact us!
