BIO: Logan Nathan is the founder and CEO at i4T Global/i4Tradies. He’s a digital transformation specialist, a serial startup entrepreneur, a board director and advisor, and an angel investor.
STORY: Logan had an innovative idea that would be a big disruptor in the digital transformation industry. Just when the idea was getting traction, the pandemic hit the world. Logan had to pivot his business to survive. With the help of his employees, suppliers, advisors, and associates, he could pivot to a point where his business has now gone global.
LEARNING: Listen to your advocates and customers; they can teach you more than you think. Look at your problems from a different angle.
“It doesn’t matter what you have learned. There is always somebody who will teach you more than what you know.”
Logan Nathan
Guest profile
Logan Nathan is the founder and CEO at i4T Global/i4Tradies. He’s a digital transformation specialist, a serial startup entrepreneur, a board director and advisor, and an angel investor.
Worst investment ever
Logan has always had an innovative mind and is always trying to challenge the status quo. It is no wonder that he was running his company at 18 years of age.
Getting into the digital transformation industry
He always wanted to cause disruption, and the digital transformation industry caught his eye. Logan delved deep into it, did his research, and about four years ago, he wrote a book about digital transformation. Now he wanted to innovate a product in that industry.
Targeting tradesmen
Logan had, over the years, built relationships with tradesmen. So he decided this was where he would develop his product. His idea was to create software like Uber but for tradesmen. He discussed the idea with a trade business owner, and he loved it.
Diving both feet in
The two gentlemen dived into the idea and got the wheels rolling. Logan had a team of people who could code and do the technology part of the product. They then went looking for funding so that they could come up with the beta version.
They went for an angel investing meeting, and the investors were skeptical about the idea and told them to get out of it as fast as they could. Logan was adamant, and so he went on to create a finished product.
The market was not ready for them
When it was time to hit the market, Logan realized that it was not ready for their product. It became tough to deal with individual tradesmen. But one day, he happened to interact with a property management agent who was having issues with a tradesman. It was then that Logan realized that he was targeting the wrong people. So he shifted his business ideas from individual tradesmen to property management agents.
A successful turnaround
The shift saw the business take a turn for the best. The company started to get traction and was making a substantial profit.
Then came COVID-19
Just when the business was getting its footing, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, and Logan lost 80% of his customers. The business was not going to survive the pandemic. However, his never-give-up spirit made him look at the pandemic more positively.
Looking for all possible ways to survive
Logan gathered his employees, suppliers, and associates and had an extensive discussion on how to stay in business. They all accepted to receive pay cuts allowing the company to have some dependable cash flow. They also came up with an innovative idea to stay in business. This new idea has grown so much that Logan is taking it global.
Lessons learned
Entrepreneurs never give up
The biggest lesson that Logan learned from this experience is that a true entrepreneur never gives up.
Listen to your advocates; they can teach you more than you think
Your employees, suppliers, associates, and advisors are your true advocates. They are the ones who will give you the lift that you need. Make sure you listen to them because they, too, have opinions and ideas that matter.
Always think that the reverse is true
Always look at situations in reverse. Therein lies your solution. When things are going great, ask yourself what is bad about that situation to preempt it. When things are going bad, ask yourself what is good about that situation to seize the opportunities.
Andrew’s takeaways
Look at your problems from a different angle
Always try looking at a problem from a different angle; when one idea does not work as you expected, look in another direction where that idea can be valuable.
Talk and listen to your customers
Whenever you feel down, talk to your customers. You’re either going to find they’re not happy about something and then you’re going to feel invigorated to fix that. Or you’re going to find out they’re so glad about something, and you’re going to feel good about that.
Actionable advice
Make sure that you have enough cash flow to last you at least three months. This way, you will be able to forecast for the following three months. If you can manage that cash flow, and look at all the things that can go wrong, then you will be ok.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Logan’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to learn from his journey in the last couple of years. He also wants to use his experience to teach many other people because the more people you train, the more collaborative advocates you will have in your journey.
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