“The customer was very impressed with our operation, but, after the meeting, as we passed a desk where one of my friends was sitting, the customer noticed the guy’s PC wasn’t on,” said Murphy.
“I knew that was because it was just a monitor and not actually a PC. The customer asked why the PC was off, to be told by my quick-thinking friend that he was just ‘power cycling’ (turning off and on) the server and waiting for it to come back online. The customer was quite happy with that and we subsequently won the business.”
Murphy founded Strencom in 2000, when he realised the number of internet providers serving the Cork market had fallen from six to two in two years, as industry consolidation and advances in technology took their toll.
Murphy had worked in corporate sales in Esat Net and says his sales and marketing experience has been key to Strencom’s success. “You could have the best product or service on the planet, but if you can’t get in front of the customer to tell them about it, then you will not succeed,” he said.
Making the most of contacts in the industry has also been critical. “Networking is very important if you want to promote your company and product,” he said. “Use your business and personal contacts and, in return, repay favours and buy products and services from your contacts.”
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Since 2000, the firm has grown rapidly and Murphy no longer needs to fill offices with spare bodies pretending to be workers. Strencom now employs 13 and has plans to increase that to 20 by the end of the year. It has offices in Dublin and Cork, with data hubs in both cities and in London. There are plans to roll out more across Europe in the next 18 months.
Murphy says business owners should not be afraid to take on more staff to facilitate growth. “You can only do so much yourself. When you do take on new people, delegate to them and trust them to do their job.”
He adds, however, that finding and retaining staff is difficult at present, saying that firms need to be as innovative with staff recruitment as they are with things such as new product development.
Planning for a larger workforce is also critical, according to Murphy. “Create systems that will grow easily with the company, and think in terms of having 100 employees, even if you have only two when putting these systems into place,” he said.
Another lesson Murphy has learnt is the importance of making decisions rapidly. “Don’t panic, but make decisions quickly,” he said. “If you delay, it will hurt you at a later stage, and you will be trying to make up for lost time.”
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He is particularly proud of Strencom’s inclusion in the Deloitte Fast 50 awards for the past two years, with an increase in turnover last year of 188.15% and customer numbers up 400%. Unusually for a company of its type, Strencom is also profitable.
Murphy says maintaining a low-cost base and ensuring that cash flow is healthy is crucial. “A customer that does not pay is not a customer,” he said.
Strencom has had to compete aggressively for market share and Murphy says that entrepreneurs should not shrink away from competition.
“Be innovative with your product offering, and differentiate yourself from your competitors,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to take on what may seem like challenging competitors. Everybody has an achilles heel — the challenge is finding it.”
Kathy Foley