“As CEO, you need to get into the trenches and sit with your customers. They will have the answers to most of your questions.”
We are thrilled to welcome Simon Leroux as our newest Inovia Entrepreneur in Residence. Simon is a Co-Founder of Gazelle.ai and a seasoned mentor. Simon began his career at Bell Canada, holding senior management positions in sales, strategy and marketing. His lifelong passion for entrepreneurship led him to ROI Research on Investment, a boutique consulting firm specializing in attracting foreign direct investment, where he became a partner.
While scaling ROI Research, Simon and his co-founders got the idea for Gazelle.ai, an application that uses artificial intelligence to identify companies with the best growth potential. The startup won several accolades and caught the attention of KKR and Lightcast.io, a leading provider of labor market analytics, which acquired Gazelle.ai in March 2023.
Simon is now a VP Product at Lightcast. He sits on two boards and regularly shares his expertise with entrepreneurs at Queen’s University and Startup Montreal, where he was named 2021 Mentor of the Year.
Thanks to his vast experience, Simon can advise our founders on a wide range of topics. We recently sat down with him to discuss the value of sales experience, why a CEO should meet with clients often, and strategies to avoid burnout.
TELL US SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU.
I love building stuff. Manual work helps my brain disconnect from the type of intellectual work we’re doing. Last weekend I redid the docks at my cottage. It’s fun for me. I can pretty much build a house from the ground up by myself. I don’t guarantee it would completely meet official standards, but it would be standing!
CAN YOU SHARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OR FAILURES THAT YOU LEARNED FROM?
When scaling our first venture, ROI Research, we entered new markets quickly. We were getting a lot of business in the front of the house, but the operations and the delivery process were not ready, and we could not deliver on our promises. That was a simultaneous failure and learning.
Sometimes it’s better to wait and say “no” to a client or to say, ‘’give me a few months, and I will be ready.’’ You may still get that business, but at least you have managed the client’s expectations. Yes, you can afford to say no. It’s still something that I put into practice almost daily.
WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU RECEIVED IN YOUR CAREER?
‘’Go into sales.’’
When I started my career at Bell, I was on a fast track, getting promoted every six months and exposed to products, marketing and strategy. I was lucky enough to have a mentor who said, “Simon, you’re doing really well, but you don’t have any scars. You’ve got to go into the arena and make some mistakes, deal with customers, deal with salespeople, lose some deals, win some deals.’’ So I went to manage a sales team, which I considered a backward move at the time. In hindsight, it was the best advice. I think everybody needs to work in sales early on or at any point of their career. You’ll learn a lot and be a much better marketing or strategy person.
WHAT’S A QUESTION YOU WISH PEOPLE ASKED YOU MORE OFTEN?
In my case, it’s not a question, but I wish people did it more often: meet their customers. Early-stage startups want to grow fast. But to go fast, you must get the fundamentals right, and the CEO needs to get into the trenches. Even if it’s not in their personality to go and sit with customers, they need to do it daily or at least weekly. I’ve never been to a client meeting where I’ve not learned something. So to answer questions like: “What kind of salespeople should I be getting?’’, ‘’Should I develop that new feature?’’, or ‘’Should we go into that new market?, your clients have the answers.
WHAT ENERGIZES YOU? HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF?
One of my biggest challenges has always been maintaining a good work-life balance because I’m all in when I’m excited about a project. I had burnout at the beginning of my professional career, which is pretty rare. Because of that experience, I recognize when I am reaching my tipping point, I stop, reset, refocus, and reprioritize.
I plan my vacation at least a year in advance, it’s set in my calendar, and tickets are booked. That helps anchor me. I also spend time at the cottage. I practice a lot of sports – snowboarding, mountain biking, and running. I’m a huge soccer fan: I play, coach and watch soccer.
A book about work-life balance was a game changer for me: The Big Five For Life by John Strelecky. You can carve out a lot of time by focusing on the things that you want to accomplish while you’re on this planet.
IN YOUR ROLE AT INOVIA, WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD FOUNDERS ASK YOU?
Considering where my expertise resides, I’d love for people to come and talk to me about how they can use AI to transform big data into insights and products that solve real customer problems. I can also help them scale their business by hiring the right sales team for their growth stage and advising on strategies for international expansion.
Want to benefit from Simon’s expertise? Get in touch!