In this ongoing series, we are sharing advice, tips and insights from real entrepreneurs who are retired location doing business conflict connected a regular basis. (Answers person been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Martin Seidl is nan CEO of Austrian Audio, nan shaper of high-end headphones and mics for musicians, contented creators, and mundane group who want immoderate way they're bumping connected Spotify to sound arsenic awesome arsenic possible. Here, he explains nan maturation of nan institution and really being a musician himself has helped steer invention to present precisely what customers want.
Image Credit: Austrian Audio
Tell america nan Austrian Audio root story.
I could commencement pinch Adam and Eve, but I'll support it short. Austrian Audio was founded successful 2017 by a squad of fantabulous audio engineers who each had decades successful nan manufacture — that's why I ever mention to Austrian Audio arsenic nan first startup institution pinch much than 400 years of acquisition successful what we do. I person 35 years positive of experience, and started retired connected a quest to triumph "fortune and fame." I was trying to go a very famous, singer, songwriter and musician. I did that for 20 years, and aft that, I decided, okay, it's clip to do thing superior now!
So you were your ain customer for astir 20 years. What did that thatch you?
It taught maine what customers are looking for. And that's wherever we get to what is different astir Austrian Audio from nan ample 400-kilogram gorillas successful nan industry. There is simply a very agelong contented successful pro audio. Analog is nan large word. Digital, for a agelong play of time, was equated pinch being a artifact point — not nan existent stuff. We span that spread between. Our instrumentality useful for accepted producers and nan young up-and-comers who are doing their euphony successful nan surviving room aliases successful nan bedroom, which is wherever 80 percent of music is recorded these days. We bring this modern workflow into this very accepted technology.
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How has guidance been?
Reaction is usually a two-step process pinch caller customers. First, they say, "I person ne'er heard of you." Then they effort nan merchandise and spell into post-production and that's erstwhile they understand nan difference. We person implemented a plug-in for your signaling strategy wherever aft you're done recording, you tin alteration nan guidance that nan microphone was listening. You tin make it an Omni (listening successful each directions), you tin make it a cardioid (targeted) — you tin alteration nan sound of nan room agelong aft nan arena is over. "Wow!" is nan very, very predominant feedback we get erstwhile group stumble into that. They ne'er knew it was imaginable and wonderment why didn't anybody deliberation of that earlier?
What has been your astir effective intends of marketing?
Word of mouth. Having products retired location that created this wow effect, and these celebrated sound engineers are passing them on to their colleagues and saying, 'You request to effort that.' I was successful Austria's largest venue not agelong ago, an open-air stadium that seats much than 50,000 people. AC/DC was onstage and I spotted our mics connected nan guitar amps. And I cognize that nan sound technologist of nan Rolling Stones recommended it to nan sound technologist of Muse, and now Muse is utilizing Austrian audio each complete nan place. When you look astatine bands of this caliber, value is not a factor. They conscionable want what is nan best. They tin prime and take immoderate they want. So if they take my product, they take it because it does precisely what they want. I'm really honored and wholly admit that pinch this musician's psyche that will ever unrecorded successful my chest, I look astatine nan shape and spot our worldly and think, 'Oh, I should get up there, too!'
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Is location is immoderate quality betwixt "Artist Martin" and "Business Martin" successful position of decision-making and starring a company?
Sure, it's rather simple. There is nan Artist Martin who facilitates brainstorming sessions crossed each departments and disciplines wrong Austrian Audio. He pushes beautiful difficult to get nan merchandise scope extended and beautiful cool features rolled retired successful each azygous product, nary matter what target customer it is created for. Then – sometimes luckily – location is Business Martin entering nan stage. He brings immoderate boring logical and a small systematic decision-making into nan process. Business Martin (together pinch nan guidance team) is nan reality cheque and looking astatine target groups, merchandise operation and soul resources.
Do you deliberation a CEO needs to beryllium passionate astir nan products to succeed?
They ever opportunity a bully salesperson needs to beryllium capable to waste anything. I wouldn't agree. I deliberation particularly successful nan pro audio industry, if you are not successful emotion pinch these products, past you don't cognize you're not striving to amended each day. If you emotion music, you want to perceive to euphony and you want to make amended recordings. About 50 percent of our labor do thing extracurricular of nan institution pinch creating music. So yes, that's important.
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