QA with Duane Jackson, Tech Entrepreneur KashFlow Founder

QA with Duane Jackson, Tech Entrepreneur KashFlow Founder QA with Duane Jackson, Tech Entrepreneur KashFlow Founder Image Source: Duane JacksonIn the UK, Duane Jackson is a businessman whose name is synonymous with transformation and achievement from inauspicious circumstances. Duane Jackson had a troubled childhood in care, and was expelled from school twice by the age of 15, before being imprisoned for drug smuggling.On release from Ford Prison in 2002, aged just 23, Duane Jackson’s job prospects were not good, but he had already resolved to turn his life around, after reps from The Prince’s Trust visited as part of their prison outreach and support work.After his release, he used  a Prince’s Trust grant to set up as a web developer  and then founded KashFlow, the first ‘software as a service’ (SaaS) business, which, 11 years later, he sold for a sum reportedly worth  â€œtens of millions“.This multi-millionaire is a winner of the high profile Pride of Britain award. He has been publicly applauded by Prince Charles himself as a shining example of “the ability of people whose lives h ave been so difficult, to achieve extraordinary things”. Throughout his KashFlow career he was mentored by Lord Young of Graffham, and Elon Musk is one of the people whom he has dined with in recent times.However, he has never forgotten where he has come from, and his main focus now is helping others in similar circumstances. When he sold KashFlow, one of his first acts was to given £100,000 to the Trust.Certainly, Duane Jackson  enjoys acting as informal advisor to a number of technology startups, and he has also a new product, Supdate.com, that helps company founders with the crucial task of keeping their shareholders up to date. But it’s clear from his blog  and the Code4000 project that helping young people in difficult circumstances or prisoners to turn their lives around remains a primary motivation. Indeed, he has even chronicled his own story up to the sale of KashFlow in a full book, Four Thousand Days: My Journey  From Prison To Business Success. Image Source: Amazon (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11 Questions for Duane Jackson, Founder, KashflowDuane Jackson spoke to AGENT about his incredible  business and life story, the lessons he has learned along the way, and shares some of the most useful wisdom for entrepreneurs  who are just setting up in business today. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. How did you first get into business and what were your goals?I was released from prison at the end of 2002. I had a baby on the way and no prospect of getting a job. So self-employment felt like the only option open to me. I wasnt planning on making the millions of pounds that I eventually did. I just wanted to be able to provide for my new young family.2. What age were you when you realised you wanted to run your own business?It was at the age of 23, still in prison, that I realised I wanted to run my own business. Up until that point, I didnt realise it was something I could do. I didnt know anyone from where I grew up who  ran a business, and I think I naively assumed you needed some sort of qualification to do so. But volunteers from the Princes Trust visited the jail and explained how they helped people from disadvantaged backgrounds to start their own businesses. That was the pivotal moment for me. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Who are your business icons and inspirations?My first business inspiration is probably a common one: Elon Musk. His vision is way beyond that of anyone else I can think of. Hes building businesses that really will shape the future of humanity. I was fortunate enough to have dinner with him last year, and I was pleased to see that, as I suspected, he really is totally passionate about what he does. Its not just about the money but the change he can bring.My second business inspiration is Luke Johnson. I admire his cerebral approach to business that has enabled him to succeed in fields as far apart as media, food and sporting goods.4. Wh at has been your biggest challenge in business, and how did you surmount it?I started in business as a web-developer. My biggest challenge then was the accounting side of things. The options at the time were Sage or Quickbooks. Both were cumbersome and not ideal for someone with no accounting training. So I built my own basic system.I soon realised that other small business owners were in the same situation so I changed my focus from selling my time as a web developer to improving my self-built accounting solution and selling that to other businesses. That became KashFlow, one of the first software as a service businesses, which I grew to 40 staff and 20,000 customers before selling the business in 2013.One of the biggest challenges I had whilst growing KashFlow was the time required to prepare useful monthly updates for my investors. If theyre rushed and not thought out, then theyre useless for the recipient. But to prepare something that was useful and consistent was too time-cons uming when I had a business to run.Eventually we worked out a process that made it a lot easier and since selling KashFlow I have set up supdate.com so that others in the same situation can easily manage their monthly reports. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. Work-Life Balance: is it possible? How do you achieve it?Im not sure it is possible when youre working on a startup. It feels like the business needs your every waking hour. So any time not spent on it feels negligent. But then, of course, your personal life suffers. If you dont have a partner or children then that might not be too much of a problem. Especially if you enjoy working on your business (if you dont, find something else to do!) But if you do have a family then it can be really tough on them. As long as you communicate with your other half and they understand, accept and support what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it, then youll get through it.6. What is the first thing you do every day? The first thing I do is check my emails, usually before Im even out of bed. We have people using Supdate from all over the world, so support requests can come in at any time of the day or night. I could employ someone to do this, and many of our customers are amazed that I dont. But were still at an early stage with the business so I think its vital that I have that direct connection with our users so I know first-hand what were getting right and what needs improving. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 7. What screen saver picture is currently on your phone?A picture of my youngest (of three) daughters from a holiday last year. Shes stuffing her face with cake. And because its a live photo I can see it animate. It always makes me smile.8. What is the most important app on your mobile phone, and why?Samsung’s SmartThings Mobile app. It controls just about everything in my house and I couldnt live without it. Although Im using it less now that I can control a lot of stuff just by talking to the Amazon Echo. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 9. What is the last thing you Googled?News about the share price of a public company that lost 30% of its value today. If you think youre clever, try stock trading. Youll soon realise youre not even half as smart as you thought.10. What item do you never leave the house without, and why?My electric cigarette. Its been about two years since I smoked a real cigarette but Ive not yet given up the electric variety. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11. What advice would you give to your younger self starting out in business?“Just get on with it.” Too many people, myself included, feel like they need to wait until everything is in place before progressing with their business venture. But life doesnt work like that. If youre planning to drive from London to Manchester but refuse to leave until all of the traffic lights in between turn green, then youll never get there. Just jump in the car and start driving.Image Source: Duane Jackson