A quick-thinking, fast on his feet Creative Director found himself as the Founder and CEO of Rocksauce Studios. Q Manning talks about how someone with no formal business training can traverse the tricky new business landscape using determination & trust in his team. Parking & refreshments provided by Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody!

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The Accidental CEO
Tips for First Timers
Q Manning
CEO of Rocksauce Studios
Rocksauce started in October, 2010
Mobile Development & Design company, creating
software for iPhone, iPad, Android & Web
Founded by myself & partner, Peter Yoder, COO
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Where I Started
Born & raised in Crockett, Texas.
Married right out of High School in 1995, packed
up, moved to Little Rock, Arkansas.
Held many odd-jobs, like...
• Pizza delivery driver
• Bookstore Barista
• Telemarketer
• Office handyman
• Mailroom sorter
• Telecommunications Technician
Crippling anxiety disorder.
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Time to Uprade to Q
I picked up HTML & CSS.
Then I taught myself Photoshop.
Then Illustrator, ASP, Flash and...pretty much any
software or technology I needed to make myself
more attractive to employers.
By 1999, I was offered a Lead Designer position
at WhisperWire in Austin, making twice as much
as any time in my life.
Finally, things were rocking!
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About that DotCom Bubble...
It burst. 12% laid off.
Decided to finally go to college, 7 years after
graduating High School.
The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
• President of the Graphics Design Club
• Art Director of the Online Student Community
• General Manager of Student Television
• Graduated with 216 credit hours, out of 185
needed, Cum Laude, Film Student of the Year,
and other awards.
• And got Divorced
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Back to Austin
Returned to design industry as Creative Manager
Made some short films, won some awards
Quit my job to direct a Feature Film, that no one
ever saw
Then back to design, this time as Creative
Director in the new growing App Industry
Set up a team & process, where I had 24 artists
working for me
Then I quit.
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Starting Rocksauce Studios
At another crossroads...
• Go work for a competitor?
• Make another movie?
• Continue to do freelance?
• Start my own company?
My film producing partner, Peter Yoder, was
deciding: Real Estate or A New Business?
“If you can bring the capital, I’ll bring the know-how.”
B O O T S T R A P
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Why All This?
What is the purpose of telling you my long,
winding life story?
Because this is how you end up as an Accidental CEO.
Because if you didn’t attend business school or
don’t have a history of running a business, you
better have an “I can learn anything!” attitude.
Because running a bootstrapped, “lean” business
means wearing hats & making choices you never
imagined.
All of the tips which follow come from our
mistakes or hard lessons. Learn from our pain!
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Tip #1: Be willing or your business won’t be
You have to put more hours in than anyone else
in your company.
Your paycheck needs to be only what you need
to survive. You can get rich later. Wear with pride!
Be prepared to be the jack-of-all-trades
• Need IT? Do it yourself
• Need to make sales? Learn to be a salesperson
• Gotta have marketing? Learn analytics & adwords
• Website updates? Yup, you’ll do that too.
• You will grow immensely in ways you never
imagined. Learn to love it!
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Tip #2: Sales & Marketing are your Heart & Soul
Whether a tech company or a bakery, realize that
without a solid marketing plan & a versatile sales
team, you have little chance of success.
Make sure your sales & marketing team can work
together.
Define a clear line between the duties of each,
because these two will step on each other’s toes.
A marketing concept the sales team can’t sell to
your customers is a waste of time & resources.
But a sales team who undercuts the company’s
bottom-line to close is just as dangerous. Balance.
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Tip #3: Know your Numbers & Don’t Undersell
Know what your overhead, cost of customer
acquisition, and your sunk costs are.
Discover what your margin needs to be, and
never sell for less than that. Even cost should
have margin included.
Be wary of large deals that seem exciting, but
when the numbers are broken down, are actually
beneath your hourly needs. They can destroy a
bootstrapped business.
Cashflow is king. A great business can fail if
cashflow isn’t there. Make sure your invoicing &
payments are scheduled as you really need them.
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Tip #4: Slow to Hire, Cause you’ll be Slow to Fire
Running a start-up is different than being a
manager at someone else’s company.
Start-up employees sacrifice. They become a
second family - always there, always working,
always going above and beyond. They are tough
to fire, even when necessary.
Don’t be afraid to ask them to work longer hours
to get the job done, because this is a start-up.
Adding bodies to payroll will alleviate pressure,
but when downturns happen, “producers”
quickly become “overhead.”
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Tip #5: Hold Out for the Right Person
Avoid the temptation to fill a needed-role with
the first warm-body who applies.
Make sure they have the right skills, the correct
personality to match your team, and the work
ethic needed to get the job done.
Hire as a contractor first to test out the person’s
skill & willingness to do the job correctly.
Don’t be afraid to find diamonds-in-the-rough.
People with a great attitudes & desires to learn can
save money & earn loyalty for the chance taken.
If you need an expert, pay the cost. But make sure
they are actually an expert.
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Tip #6: Under Promise & Over Deliver
Make sure clients are happy with what you’re
providing.
Make sure your contracts are solid. When a loophole
is found that costs you money, immediately fix in
your next contract. Rinse & repeat.
But, try to avoid ever falling-back on the contract.
Clients find it combative & it can sour relationships.
Over-estimate time for delivery, so you can shatter
their expectations. Also helps if problems occur,
because blowing a deadline is disastrous.
Happy clients refer you & referrals mean success.
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Tip #7: Get a Board of Advisors
You & your partners are new to this - you need
help to avoid costly mistakes.
Avoid asking those you do business with - it will
force them to choose one or the other.
Use Linked-In, SCORE group, Vistage & others to
help you connect. Meet people at conferences,
like RISE or SXSW & court them.
3 to 5 members, each with a skill-set to advise a
C-Level executive: Executive, Finance, Sales/
Marketing, Technology and so on.
Hold meetings once per quarter, provide food,
then be honest & ready to implement their ideas.
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Tip #8: Trust your Partners Before Adding Them
A business partnership is like a marriage - you
need to know who you’re getting into bed with,
because your future is tied to them.
Make sure partners agree with your vision for the
company, have the same ultimate desires for exit
strategy and will follow you as leader.
If a partner isn’t pulling their weight, be willing to
confront them. Dissonance in the Executive Team
is palpable to all your employees.
Be constructive with your feedback. The better
they can do their job, the better it is for your
company.
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Tip #9: Only Give Ownership if You’re Ready
Employee ownership can be great to get people
excited & on-board, but be prepared
Expect employees to want to know the nitty-
gritty of finances. You must strike a balance
between what they should & shouldn’t know.
Management decisions which are normally
unquestioned will be scrutinized. No matter how
large or small an employee’s piece of the
company is.
Profit-sharing is a great alternative to direct
equity ownership.
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Tip #10: A Happy Employee is a Better
Employee, and it’s Usually Not About Money
Happy employees are productive employees.
Pay them what you can afford & raise it when you
can, but money won’t always solve discontent.
• Have One-on-One meetings with them directly
• Organize Company Lunches w/ Show & Tells
• Have an open-door policy for all departments
• Encourage suggestions & implement them
• Encourage vocal appreciation of one another
• Don’t wait until problems appear - this is how
you create a great corporate culture
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Tip #11: Don’t Waste Money on Fancy Offices
Unless you have limitless capital or a business
that requires an impressive office & furniture,
don’t spend valuable company resources on it.
Find a space that you can paint - and put up
chalkboard walls or WhiteyBoards everywhere.
This will encourage ideation & sharing, and is
more affordable than stand-alone boards.
Ikea is your friend. Get multi-purpose furniture,
chairs, and lots of bookshelves so your people
can arrange like they want to make it their own.
If the office layout isn’t working - change it!
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Tip #12: Monthly Clients are your Best Friends
Monthly clients, who sign onto multiple-month
contracts will help you get through hard-times.
Offer incentives - free product per X number of
months, a better hourly rate, etc. to be more
attractive.
Knowing you have income every month that you
don’t have to re-sale can help ease concerns, and
keeps cashflow moving like you need.
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Tip #13: Always Multiply Dev Estimates X 3
This applies mostly to technology companies,
but if you have a product being made by a
vendor, it applies to you as well.
Developers tend to quote the “Happy Path”
unless you push them to really consider all of the
pitfalls.
Problems will arise that no one can foresee.
Something that is estimated to take 8 hours will
take 24 instead. Don’t be left footing the bill.
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Tip #14: Have an Online Presence
In 2013, this probably goes without saying - but
you need to have an online presence.
Don’t leave your online fate to Yelp or similar
review sites - either build your site in-house or
find a vendor to make it.
26% of web surfing happens on Mobile. Mobile
customers buy quickly, whereas desktop
customers can sometimes wait up to one week
to decide. Make your site responsive!
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Tip #15: You are the CEO. Act Like it!
You are in charge. You are the keeper of the
vision.
Your attitude, your opinions, even your small
remarks have a huge impact on your employees.
Don’t be too afraid, or too shy, to make the
Executive Decision. It’s in your title! You’re the chief!
When things get tough, keep up a positive attitude.
Let employees know when you need them to
buckle-down, but don’t overburden them with FUD
(Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt).
Stay positive!
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If you have any further questions...
@qmanning
info@rocksaucestudios.com
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