Rich Wagner of Prevedere
Meet Rich Wagner, founder of
Prevedere, an enterprise software company.
What is Prevedere?
Prevedere is a Dublin, Ohio-based enterprise software company focused on big data and predictive analytics. We provide companies the ability to identify external drivers of financial results and then leverage the information for strategic planning and forecasting.
How did you come up with the idea?
While working as an IT Leader at a U.S. Fortune 500 Company, I realized there were no solutions available to help companies systematically identify external factors affecting their business. Our software systems were focused on internal data only and did not provide the type of analysis requested by our key decision makers.
What was the biggest surprise in starting your business?
The amount of people interested in entrepreneurship and the number of organizations built around it. The State of Ohio and Columbus region have a large number of organizations that play key roles in startup companies like ours. I have met with leaders from
Third Frontier,
Jobs Ohio,
Tech Columbus,
The Ohio State University, and
Columbus 2020 to name just a few.
Where did you find your first employee?
Our first employee came from a local software vendor, which I had used at my last employer. I worked with him for about six years and that experience led me to offer him a position at Prevedere.
What does a typical day in your business look like?
About 50-percent of the typical day includes working with a variety of customers and potential customers across many industries. Our customers include large financial institutions, private equity, manufacturing, consumer goods and retail, construction and investment firms, so our days are filled with learning more about their specific industries. The remaining is focused on fund raising, marketing, and building the right staff for our company.
What are some of the advantages to doing business in Ohio?
Ohio’s diversity of industries and colleges provides us a key advantage. We have the ability to meet with large companies across all industries in just a short drive across town. We have also taken advantage of internship programs from The Ohio State, and the region has a large, young talent pool for our potential next employees. The other financial advantage is a lower cost of doing business in Ohio as opposed to places like California and New York.
What resources or organizations in Ohio did you take advantage of and how did they help?
Several including, Tech Columbus who provided pre-seed funding for our company. In addition, we are continually working with Columbus 2020. Kenny McDonald and Victor Thorn from Columbus 2020 have been valuable contacts for Prevedere. We are continually looking for opportunities to take advantage of resources that are provided by the state.
Can you share a funny or amazing entrepreneurial experience with our readers?
Going from working out of my house with just an idea to presenting to multi-billion dollar companies has been an amazing experience overall. Building a startup company is definitely the roller coaster experience most people describe; however, there always seems to be someone or some opportunity that motivates you to keep getting back in line.
What inspires you?
Overall, helping people leverage technology to make better decisions. I really enjoy when a customer shows interest in what we have to offer and then sees the value of our application for their organization. Motivating them to take action to leverage technology is what really drives me.
What founders do you admire and why?
As you would expect, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs due to their success and accomplishments. Steve Jobs clearly realized the value in the talent you surround yourself with, and his energy and work ethic were quite admirable. Additionally, anyone that takes risks and works hard to make their company successful is an inspiration.
What’s next for you?
Building the right team to grow our company, obtaining new customers, and entering new markets!
Interview by Joe Baur