Arion Research’s Fauscette is Passionate About the Intersection of Technology and Business
I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Fauscette Founder, CEO and Chief Analyst at Arion Research.
Michael is an experienced high-tech leader, board chairman and software industry analyst. He is a thought leader and published author on emerging trends in business software, digital transformation, digital first and customer experience strategies and technology. As a senior market researcher and leader Michael has deep experience in business software market research, starting new tech businesses and go-to-market models in large and small software companies.
Currently Michael is the Founder, CEO and Chief Analyst at Arion Research, a global cloud advisory firm; an advisor to G2 and Board Chairman at LocatorX. Formerly the chief research officer at unicorn startup G2, he was responsible for helping software and services buyers use the crowdsourced insights, data, and community in the G2 marketplace. Prior to joining G2, Michael led IDC’s worldwide enterprise software application research group for almost ten years. He also held executive roles with seven software vendors including Autodesk, Inc. and PeopleSoft, Inc. and five VC-backed technology startups.
Thank you so much for joining us!
What motivated you to launch your startup?
I’ve been involved in the tech analyst community for about 17 years. I’ve also been an executive at 5 venture backed startups. When I was at IDC, and then later at G2, I routinely interacted with startups, and encouraged my analysts to do the same. There is a gap for them, especially for earlier stage startups, between what analysts firms offer and what the startups actually need and can afford to invest. I have worked closely with many over the years, helping with everything from product — market fit to messaging and thought leadership content development. When I decided to transition to an advisor role at G2, I spent some time thinking about what to do next and to me, it was clear that there’s a need in the startup ecosystem for a firm that specializes in offerings that are appropriate for them. I still work with my large vendor clients too of course, they get a lot of value from what I learn about the markets and innovations from working with the startups.
What is it that excites you about what you’re building?
I have a passion for technology and I’m particularly interested in the intersection of technology and business. “How can you apply this new tech to solve this business problem, or grow faster or deliver a better customer experience, etc.?” With Arion I’m working with startups in building and growing this new technology, with established tech vendors to improve their products and services or acquire and apply new technology, and with businesses to use that technology in what I call a digital first strategy. To me, there’s nothing better in business than helping bring those things together.
What has been your biggest challenge when growing your startup?
In my current role it’s mostly about getting the word out about what we can do. In other startups I’ve been involved in there are a few places where you can struggle. The first is not a surprise, finding the right product fit in a specific market can be difficult. For that one you really have to start at the business problem and work backwards. The other place I see lots of friction is when you do find that fit, then how do you scale the business to gain as much market share as possible, as quickly as possible. I guess I’d say for me, I enjoy the part that’s figuring out how to “make the sausage” and building the engine to make the best sausage possible.
What are your future plans for your startup?
When I launched I loosely planned 3 phases of rollout. The first was to reestablish relationships with my former large vendor clients. Then I turned to startups and finding the right combination of services to provide value to them. I’m in that phase now. Then I want to work on ways to showcase their innovations to businesses. I’m getting ready to pilot a show called Innovation Spotlight that will be one vehicle to provide that visibility. I have a few other ideas that we’ll be rolling out over the next year or so.
If you had to share, “words of wisdom,” with a Founder who’s about to start their own startup, what would they be?
As a leader I think the biggest value add in building the business is hiring the “right” people at the “right” time. Then there’s the other side of that, if you make a hiring mistake, and let’s be honest you likely will at some point, do not hesitate to correct the situation quickly. Helping employees find the intersection of what they love to do and have the skills to do, with what your business needs at that stage is good for them and good for your business. People that fit at one stage may not fit in the future, so help them find the next thing, either inside your company or somewhere else. Business is about people first.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Twitter: @mfauscette
LinkedIn: Arion Research
This was very insightful. Thank you so much for joining us!
