#98 - Interview with Anthony Barringer - Head Marketing at S-PRO AG

00:00:00: At the World Economic Forum in Davos, we will meet Anthony Behringer, who is head marketing at ESPRO.

00:00:07: ESPRO is a global technology company specialized in software development and IT consulting.

00:00:12: ESPRO is a scale-up which is currently expanding globally.

00:00:15: We will talk with Anthony about ESPRO's plans for a

00:00:18: twenty-six

00:00:19: and the challenges of growing a company globally.

00:00:23: Anthony, thank you so much for participating.

00:00:25: How are you today?

00:00:26: Good.

00:00:27: And thank you very much for having me here.

00:00:28: It's a beautiful day.

00:00:29: We have a beautiful view, so it's great to be here.

00:00:31: Thanks.

00:00:32: So what

00:00:32: are your impressions so far from the Economic Forum?

00:00:35: Well, it's actually my first time in the host during the World Economic Forum.

00:00:38: So for me, it's brand new, you know, and just kind of be walking down the promenade, seeing all the different events that are set up, partaking in events.

00:00:47: It's quite amazing in terms of the scale that goes on here and the amount of different people and different topics there are.

00:00:53: Looking forward to the rest of the day, still just day one here.

00:00:56: So hopefully more insights and things to experience later.

00:00:59: Anthony, I would be interested in what is S-Pro exactly doing?

00:01:03: Maybe you can elaborate on that one.

00:01:05: Yeah.

00:01:05: So S-Pro, as you said, we're, you know, our DNA is a software engineering and IT consultancy.

00:01:11: When it comes to digitalization projects, building apps, building web portals, building any type of, you know, business solution.

00:01:18: But really, when you break it down to what we do is we solve business problems.

00:01:22: We solve the problems that business has using technology, matching the use case with the technology and finding a way to move a business forward, help a small business grow, help an enterprise business reach its clients in more efficient ways.

00:01:36: So we really see ourselves as problem solvers, meshing the world of technology and business together.

00:01:41: You're expanding globally.

00:01:43: You're opening offices all over the world at the moment.

00:01:46: So what do you think are the challenges, especially from early stage?

00:01:51: I mean, Espro has been an early stage company now to a scale up.

00:01:55: Maybe you can also talk about those kind of challenges and, yeah, advantages that you have.

00:02:01: Yes, so ESPRO is about twelve years old now.

00:02:04: Our birthday is actually next two weeks, on February first, we're twelve years old.

00:02:08: And as you said, we started as a small company, two people, the founders, and they've grown it into a company of over two hundred fifty specialists around the world.

00:02:16: And as you said, we're expanding our markets as well.

00:02:19: So we're opening up new offices in the US.

00:02:21: We've been present in Salt Lake City, serving clients, but recently we've also expanded our presence in New York.

00:02:28: Obviously, given the financial market place in the US there, it was a natural match given our track record, working with financial institutions here in Switzerland, as well as where S-Pro started in Ukraine.

00:02:39: And you mentioned kind of what's one of the challenges in scaling, coming from a very small company and being a company that serves enterprise clients, for instance.

00:02:47: And really, it's about not losing your identity.

00:02:49: I think that's one of the hardest things.

00:02:50: as the company grows, as process become more formal, as chain of command becomes more formal, it's less of that.

00:02:57: start-up groove less of that scale-up groove and more like a let's say very mature company and there it's maybe not as flexible as it used to be.

00:03:05: you have to follow certain processes a certain order to things.

00:03:08: however what got you there is in your DNA.

00:03:11: you don't want to lose that completely just because you're you know a big company now or you're a growing company.

00:03:16: so the challenge really when it comes to our company as we've grown and we've scaled and we've expanded is still keeping that Very agile almost startup mentality as pro had in which led to a lot of success in the first decade plus of our existence still having that as part of our growth and part of our brand and DNA going forward.

00:03:35: And

00:03:35: how important is culture for a company?

00:03:38: Maybe you can talk about that.

00:03:40: Yes, culture is very important.

00:03:41: Now, they always say, you know, culture and strategy, they're kind of fighting.

00:03:45: And I think that's because a lot of times smaller companies, when they're first starting out, they don't have a strategy.

00:03:50: But what they have is a culture.

00:03:52: And it's the culture that got them there.

00:03:53: It's what brings them success.

00:03:54: And I think a lot of the times it's about turning that culture into a strategy.

00:04:00: What made you successful, what made you to this point where you are today as a company, that's still ingrained in your DNA somewhere.

00:04:07: That is your culture, the good and the bad.

00:04:10: And harnessing the good parts of that, turning that into a strategy of how we can then leverage that culture, that mindset into a growth strategy is quite essential for anyone kind of transitioning through that scale up to enterprise level.

00:04:24: And Anthony, what are the goals now for twenty twenty six for S Pro?

00:04:28: As you say, we're expanding.

00:04:29: We're growing.

00:04:30: So I think that's one of our main goals is to the success that we've had with clients here in Switzerland, which we've been serving for over ten years, especially in the

00:04:38: U.S.,

00:04:39: bringing that success, bringing that mindset in solving business problems.

00:04:43: helping clients digitalize and succeed in a digital world, bringing that to the US and being successful in our efforts and expanding, let's say, our beachhead that we've started there in the few markets I mentioned before.

00:04:56: And Anthony, you're the head of marketing for S-Pro.

00:04:59: That means you develop the strategy, the positioning of the brand, of the product.

00:05:04: What are the challenges?

00:05:06: I mean, the IT market is a very competitive market globally, but also nationally.

00:05:10: So what are the... challenges.

00:05:12: How can you position a brand and give it an edge in the market?

00:05:16: Yes, very good question and a very tough question that many IT marketers such as myself are faced with every day.

00:05:23: To me it comes down to two words, authenticity and focus.

00:05:27: So going back to your question before about culture.

00:05:31: You know, I think being authentic, being true to yourself as terms of a company or the culture that you want to live and show and show as an example to your clients, that that needs to stay there, that you can be really authentic with your messaging, along with those lines, focus.

00:05:46: I think the days of the software house or the IT company saying, hey, we can do anything, those are over because no one wants a generalist.

00:05:54: They want a specialist.

00:05:55: So niche

00:05:55: is important.

00:05:56: Niche is very important, yeah.

00:05:58: because if you're just someone who helps everyone do everything you're just like everybody else or you're just in a big pile of other companies that say that there's nothing that differentiates you from the competition, nothing that makes you stand out.

00:06:10: Now obviously if you can leverage your authenticity, your culture into a focus point that makes you stand out all the better.

00:06:17: So if you were a company that grew up riding the AI wave, even before it became a hype, and you can prove that with a track record, and then not trying to jump on just the next hype train, but really focusing on where you can bring value, and that's what it comes down to, bringing value to clients.

00:06:32: So

00:06:32: can you use maybe an example, give us an example of a focus, like a certain product with certain service, maybe can you give an example?

00:06:40: Yeah, I can around the AI space.

00:06:42: So here last year we built for a client, the International Union of Conservation, of nature.

00:06:47: This is the UN's watchdog to say when it comes to nature and wildlife and the ecosystem around the world.

00:06:55: And so they had a lot of challenges.

00:06:57: They were a bit, not quite a digital organization yet.

00:07:00: They were getting there, but they deal with thousands of resolutions and documents and going back a hundred plus years of their existence, a very, let's say, pen and paper manual work.

00:07:11: And when they're coming up with new resolutions, new regulations related to the conservatorship of nature or UNESCO World Heritage sites, sometimes there's conflicts.

00:07:21: So using a tool, an AI-based tool that we built for them, acting almost as a bit of an AI agent, being able to reason, being able to hold up measurements and the resolutions next to each other and being like, no, this one is actually outdated or it's being contradicted by this one or we don't need another one because we already have three.

00:07:38: So Those kind of things, simplifying a problem that a business has and also helping them even improve the existing process, not just simplifying it.

00:07:46: Before, something that took two weeks, finding all the different documents, holding them up against each other, now takes two seconds.

00:07:53: And so it frees up the organization and do a lot more in relation to their mission, which is protecting the planet, which is quite an important one.

00:08:00: And so this is something that we're trying to productize a bit.

00:08:02: This agentic AI approach.

00:08:04: to using regulation for compliance for all the different things, using the technology again to solve a business problem.

00:08:13: Anthony, you mentioned authenticity is important.

00:08:16: Can you give an example?

00:08:17: What does it mean being authentic as a company?

00:08:20: I think in a way being true to yourself.

00:08:22: So if you say you're gonna work with certain industries and you work with certain industries, if you, in Espo's example, we grew up serving startups, helping startups bring their ideas to an MVP phase beyond proof of concept and helping them launch their business.

00:08:38: As we've grown as a company, we haven't forgotten about where we came from as well.

00:08:42: And that was really from the startup world, being somewhat of a startup ourselves with two founders.

00:08:48: And we're still committed to serving the startup community, which is why last year we launched our startup talks initiative.

00:08:54: This is a series of events in Zurich, always dealing with different topics related to startups, maybe not even tech-based.

00:09:01: We did one about fundraising.

00:09:03: We've done one about expanding into new markets.

00:09:05: We've done one about pitching.

00:09:07: We've done one about MVP development.

00:09:09: So all the different kind of topics that are facing founders today where they might feel overwhelmed, don't know where to start.

00:09:15: they realize there's a community that has the same challenges and there's a place for them to exchange, talk with experts, be it from tech, be it from finance.

00:09:24: and we're very proud that we can bring this community together and we're looking forward to expanding our event series this year for the second year probably starting up in late winter early spring with the next edition and we want to really look to keep building that community and for me That's a good example of authenticity.

00:09:41: What we used to do, what got us to where we are, we're not going to forget that journey because it's quite essential to us and our DNA as a company.

00:09:49: Anthony, finally, I also have a question.

00:09:51: I always like to ask my guest is if you were to pick a superpower, which superpower would you pick?

00:09:58: And next to your superpowers, you already have.

00:10:01: So I think if you would ask me before, many years ago, I would have said flight.

00:10:04: As many people would have said, I love to travel.

00:10:06: So that's kind of the logical answer.

00:10:08: Again, when I think of traveling back to the United States, flying over the North Atlantic and just street clothes doesn't seem too comfortable.

00:10:14: Maybe still better than flying coach, but all jokes aside, I think looking at it in a future way, I would probably say teleportation because just like in business, speed is everything.

00:10:29: Being able to be somewhere quickly, being able to... beat someone to the finish line is essential in business.

00:10:36: And the idea that I can just, you know, close my eyes, open them and I'm where I want to go, minus all the hassle of the airport and flight, sign me up.

00:10:43: I totally agree.

00:10:44: And final question, if you were to pick an autobiography, which one would you pick to read?

00:10:51: This is a tough question.

00:10:52: I love reading.

00:10:53: I'm a very avid reader of nonfiction and biographies.

00:10:56: That being said, I feel that today we are so flooded by information about many of the modern, let's say, celebrities or experts out there or historical figures.

00:11:08: To me, it would be quite interesting if I could maybe even go back in time and read an autobiography of someone from antiquity.

00:11:15: We know a lot about these people like Caesar or the Greek philosophers or any number of famous people from antiquity.

00:11:23: However, we're always learning it from historical context and never necessarily from themselves.

00:11:28: And I am very fascinated with where we come from as a species, where we're going as a people.

00:11:34: And I think to know that you really need to be able to step back and see where we came from.

00:11:39: And so yeah, being able to kind of go into the daily mind of someone who lived two thousand plus years ago and really understand their perspective on their daily world would be quite interesting, understand where we're going today.

00:11:51: Yeah, I love that.

00:11:52: Anthony Behringer, thank you so much for the talk.

00:11:54: Thank you, Jacob.

00:11:54: It's been

00:11:55: really enlightening and enjoy.

00:11:57: nice weather here in Davos and hopefully see you soon.

00:12:00: Thank you very much!