Connecting the C-Suite
The founder of CXOsync, an events services company that creates thought leadership conferences for the c-suite, says the secret to his success is his team.
THERE ARE FEW THINGS more demotivating than sharing a great idea with your manager and watching as nothing happens. That doesn’t happen at CXOsync, an events services company that hosts conferences for CIOs, CMOs, CISOs, and CFOs around the world. The business’s explosive growth is powered from within. With the help of 125 employees across six offices, it will host 370 events by the end of 2018. Other organizations do half the number of conferences with double the staff, says Founder and CEO Nepal Patel. “It’s not that our team feels overworked, it’s that they love what they do,” he says.
Patel loves it, too. His passion is infectious. He believes peer-to-peer interaction is crucial for business development, and for executives’ continued education, especially in today’s digital era when it is easy to do business without ever meeting face-toface. It appears others agree. This year, CIOsynergy, the part of the company that creates thought leadership conferences for CIOs, snagged a spot on the Inc. 5000 for a second year in a row.
Patel founded the company in 2008, almost by accident. He had quit his role at an international events company abruptly, eager for a change. While job hunting, he responded to a VP of marketing’s question on LinkedIn about the best way to build a call center to generate leads with CTOs. Patel commented that a more effective way to connect with this target group would be to invest in local relationships by hosting an event. The marketer liked the idea and asked Patel to help him pull it off.
From there, word spread. In 2008, Patel did four events. Fast-forward to 2019, when the company expects to do 500 events. But Patel doesn’t try to erase the company’s “ramen noodle days.” That is part of what made him and his team who they are today. The early months were marked by struggle and defined by perseverance. Patel never took outside funding, and his biggest challenge was raising brand awareness, especially since he was competing with big-name players. Here, his team played a crucial role. They were eager to share company success stories with their own networks, and their enthusiasm for the budding brand shined through.
CXOsync’s current focus area is CXOdigital, an online platform for continuing the conversations that happen on stage. Patel says many new ideas come from employees. Expansion into new regions usually happens naturally, too. A well-performing sales person will pitch Patel on opening a new office. If the individual can prove the area has potential, Patel is happy to back the plan. It is important to him to preserve a culture in which good ideas are heard and acted upon. “The secret to our success is our team. You can’t train for passion. Our people have it, and we try to treat them right.”
This year, the company launched its first conference in Hong Kong, the fourth city in Asia it has hosted an event in. Patel recounts what it felt like to watch as team members from all over the world sent congratulatory emails to one another. “We had people emailing from India, Los Angeles, New York, the UK. It is a huge group effort.”
There are few things as satisfying as watching a plan come together. And Patel says that “when you enjoy something, it doesn’t feel that difficult.”