Can you introduce yourselves and your role?
Rodney Kabuye, Founder & CEO, PLUGG:
I’m Rodney. I’m Founder of PLUGG, and PLUGG exists to make ethical labour the standard in the built environment. We built a technology that brings transparency, compliance and real social impact into how labour is managed so companies can build responsibly and not just efficiently.
Pete Smith, Board Advisor, PLUGG:
I was a management consultant for almost two decades, and then made a jump in-house into Cardo Group for a number of years just after COVID, which was an interesting move. I was experiencing the fruits of what a startup organisation could be. That’s been a common thread throughout all of my career, helping organisations look at their operating models and understand how they can be more efficient.
Eric Wansong, Non-Executive Director, PLUGG:
The first half of my career was all focused on business development and sales. The second half of my career has spanned every aspect of operations. I have fortunately had experiences with different companies across the entire company maturity lifecycle.
What was happening professionally that led you to look for a new direction?
Rodney Kabuye, Founder & CEO, PLUGG:
It gets lonely, and we got to the point where strategically we needed that extra advice and input and insight into the direction we were going in. That was six months ago. Pete and Eric actually helped strategically so much in that journey, especially on the operational side of how PLUGG was going to grow, the challenges that we might be facing that I might not have seen myself as a founder.
Eric gave that sounding board and that holistic view of how everything should operate, and just bouncing ideas as well helped us on the technological side of things as we’re growing and speaking to enterprises on the compliance side of things that maybe I probably would not have seen. But we attacked them a lot earlier and now we’re in a better position going into the new year. It’s been great and exciting, so yeah, it’s been really helpful.
Pete Smith, Board Advisor, PLUGG:
The reason for going through Connectd and starting in the board advisory space is that I was a management consultant for almost two decades and then made a jump in-house into Cardo Group for a number of years just after COVID. I was experiencing the fruits of what a startup organisation could be. When Rodney and I first spoke, it was just a really natural conversation around how his business was, what he wanted to achieve with it.
Eric Wansong, Non-Executive Director, PLUGG:
I also have an eye towards where Rodney wants to grow PLUGG. I’ve been involved with 11 mergers and acquisitions over the years, so I have a sense of what investors look for when they want to invest in a company. So just helping guide Rodney as to how best to position PLUGG not only for growth, but to attract investment dollars. Selfishly, I’ve always enjoyed learning about different businesses. But having been the founder of a startup, I’m also hypersensitive to how difficult Rodney’s job is.
Can you give us a specific example of a decision you made differently because of their advice?
One day we’re speaking about this operational challenge or this operational overview. In a startup, especially at the stage we’re at, things move so quickly and then we come back, we speak again, and we have to change that, we have to restructure that. Pete just adapted so quickly with it, which was brilliant, and Eric will know this as well. We’ve had different challenges in regards to pricing, and he’s really dived into it.
We might have a structure, but by the time we come to next week, the conversation has moved, and everybody’s just adapted and moved with the pace. That was brilliant. I guess that goes back to getting along. I think that’s very important, not just on the advisory side, but being able to get along and have a laugh as well while you’re doing it. Not just transactional. That’s the value. That’s why, coming to the end of it, we’d like this relationship to carry on.
What’s your advice for founders on when to bring in investors?
Eric Wansong, Non-Executive Director, PLUGG:
There are some exciting alternatives that could be taken. But we all know, if you’re constantly chasing shiny objects, you create horizontal activity, you’re not creating vertical progress. That’s the excitement of a startup. The possibilities are endless. But at some point you need that anchor customer. You need to have enough economic proof points that you can attract investment for growth.
Rodney and I have had this conversation. There’s such an art to raising money and when you raise it. I’ve always said this, Rodney, I want you to raise money, but I also don’t want you to give the baby away in the process. At the end of the day, we want you to be personally successful, which means you need to keep as much equity as you can to yourself and not give it away too soon.
I hate to be paternal at this point, but we’re looking out for you and we want you to be very successful personally. Which is why I’ve always said don’t get that money too soon, because you’re going to give away too much. But at the same time, you need money.
Rodney Kabuye, Founder & CEO, PLUGG:
I agree with what Eric just said, and that’s how my thought process was. Then you find yourself in a position where you might take that plunge, and then having someone like Eric to discuss that and bring you back down and make you think again, that’s the value I’m talking about.
What does the future for PLUGG look like?
Rodney Kabuye, Founder & CEO, PLUGG:
When we talk about the next stage of growth and where we are, it’s identifying some of the gaps that we might need assistance on, procurement. So it’s not just about bringing anybody on, it’s about strategically bringing the right people on, like a family. So that’s one of our values. It seems to be that everybody is connected in the right way and it feels like a family. So that’s the next stage of growth that we’re going into.
How has Connectd helped PLUGG reach their goals?
Rodney Kabuye, Founder & CEO, PLUGG:
It was actually brilliant. James, what a great guy. He’s got the energy. The team he seemed to bring on would connect us with the right people and plug us in. It was very quick and efficient. Me and him had a conversation, so he obviously picked up my vibe. Then he went and identified the right individuals in that respect.
It all happened so quickly, which was brilliant because at the stage we were at the time, sometimes it’s all about timing. The same thing again happened as we get to the next stage of growth. It seems to be all the right fit. Shout out Connectd in that respect. I highly recommend it to anybody that’s going through that similar journey to get connected and plugged in.
