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Pivoting for Greater Success with 7shifts Founder Jordan Boesch

Photo-Jordan Boesch
Jordan Boesch

Episode Summary

Not many start-ups would have the nerve to walk away from two thirds of their customers. But 7shifts founder Jordan Boesch realized the secret to greater success is focusing on who you’re solving a pain point for. We learn how he turned a chaotic restaurant scheduling system of Post-It Notes and white-out into one of the most successful human resources software systems in the world.

Episode Notes

Jack of all trades, Master of none

Years after coding a restaurant employee scheduling system for his father’s chain of sandwich stores, 7shifts founder Jordan Boesch had branched out into retail and other scheduling-heavy industries. “They told us it was good. It wasn’t great,” he laments. His solution? Get back to his roots.

Close a door, open a window

After Boesch had closed the door on 2 out of 3 customers to focus just on the restaurant industry, he discovered something interesting: he could focus on opportunities other software companies couldn’t. Focusing on his core competency — and his core customer — gave 7shifts the jet fuel needed to grow.

3,000 kilometres from Silicon Valley North

Boesch was questioned about why he’d build his company in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He points to the talent of a city with only a quarter million residents, adding “as a result, we don't have the same level of competition that you might have in bigger metropolitan centers like Toronto or San Francisco, and we can really stay laser focused to deliver a great product and build a massive company.”  

Join Jordan Boesch as we wash dishes at a Toronto hotspot with our #CIBCInnovationEconomy series, then listen to Boesch offer his advice on how to pivot your company for greater success the CIBC Innovation Banking Podcast.

CIBC Innovation Banking is a trusted financial partner to entrepreneurs and investors. Get in touch with our team at cibc.com/innovationbanking.

Show Contributors: 

Michael Hainsworth