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Excerpt

How Did One Mistake Lead to the Founding Of Another Company?

Have you ever created something out of necessity? Charles Sy Created Dropify to solve one of his problems. Learn more about it here!

What are some of the biggest mistakes that you have done that you’ve learned from?

One of the most crucial things that Charles made a mistake with is forecasting wrongly. But it can also lead to new opportunities.

In Charles’ case, he wanted to look for ways to make his first business, Strat Quad profit faster because his forecasts weren’t being met. This problem then birthed his other business, Dropify.

There are many problems along the way. Charles understood this and tried his best to keep his actions as conservative as possible. He doesn’t advertise his business because, in reality, most of his processes are still being tested, particularly with Dropify.

He also learned that not all drop shippers are good. Sometimes they find ways to exploit their services if they’re not monitored correctly.

Right now, Charles is trying to gather data on how his businesses can do better when it comes to long-term growth.

Do you think your companies can scale now?

Charles believes that his businesses can grow a lot. They’re just careful with how they want that scaling to happen.

The goal of Dropify for 2020 is to have 2020 dropshippers by the end of the year. That’s 2020 seller centers and suppliers that they have to monitor hourly. By that time, they need to be able to identify when someone is trying to manipulate the prices.

Do you make suppliers sign up for Dropify?

Charles encourages those who are having a difficult time with their online business, and the people who own a brick and mortar store and want to drop ship to sign up with them.

Suppliers would have a set price for their products. They should put the price that they’re happy with selling their merchandise. The only other expense that they will have is rent and administrative fees from Strat Quad.

Where did you get the software used in Dropify?

Charles had the software made by a third-party overseas. He attempted to do so in-house, but as soon as he realized that it wasn’t so simple, he chose to find the most competent company they know to do it.

How do you hire?

Charles’ HR departments handle most of the hiring process. They find people through LinkedIn, Facebook, and Job Street. Once they find applicants, they put them through a series of interviews and after the interview, Charles then tries to judge the applicants on whether or not they can fit in the company culture. 

He described their hiring process as very traditional and basic. He also admits that his interview process may be lacking a few steps.

I personally have done some of Charles’ steps before. What I realized was that my judgment was very lopsided and biased as the founder, especially if the team says that they need more people. I found that the weakness of most founders is that we trust people too much. Sometimes, even if we just first met, I would hire that applicant immediately. 

The biggest mistake in hiring is that people don’t take enough time in the hiring process. Why that is will be discussed in another podcast.