Annette Tonti is the CEO of MoFuse, a Providence-based tech company whose service allows businesses to create and maintain a simple mobile website at a cost of $8 to $200, depending on traffic.
PBN: You were recently named as one of Mobile Marketer’s “Mobile Women to Watch 2011” along with executives from Disney, Citigroup, Microsoft, National Geographic and AT&T. Congratulations.
TONTI: Thank you, it is an honor to be named along with such an impressive group of people.
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PBN: You mention in the profile that MoFuse’s biggest challenge for 2011 is going to be finding the “best talent to grow our business.” Why is this a challenge? Is there a shortage of qualified developers?
TONTI: The most important aspect of building a successful business is finding the people who make the business work and grow. Talent really is everything for a young business. In the words of Steve Jobs, “A small company depends on great people much more than a big company does.”
Steve Job’s said in [BusinessWeek Frontier], “Assume you’re by yourself in a startup and you want a partner. You’d take a lot of time finding the partner, right? He would be half of your company. Why should you take any less time finding a third of your company or a fourth of your company or a fifth of your company? When you’re in a startup, the first ten people will determine whether the company succeeds or not.”
The technology sector has become white-hot again. We are in a battle for talent because there are many exciting fast-growing high tech businesses from Boston to New York. We’ve been outbid for talent by high tech firms with deeper pockets. It is a challenge to find those who connect with your company’s mission and want to be a part of that growth but maybe for a “startup salary.” We have an exciting business, real traction, great customers and a very promising future. Someone joining our young team will be able to make a true difference in our business. It’s tough to affect that level of difference in a larger business. It is very rewarding here.
PBN: MoFuse recently closed $1.27 million of an expected $1.5 million financing round and is planning to triple its staff. That’s a great way to start off the new year, what else does the company have planned?
TONTI: We’ll be launching a new, groundbreaking platform this year. Our current platform is known as the ‘best in class’ for the SMB market, but we cannot rest on that nod of confidence for long. Our market moves fast and we have to keep pace. We have a lot of experience now in understanding how to help businesses to have a successful mobile presence. Also we know what the competition is up to and what we need to do in order to win. The [lessons] from the past two years will be incorporated into the new platform.
PBN: The economic climate is no longer as dire as it was a short while ago but it’s definitely not in the clear, how has your fundraising experience been?
TONTI: As with many start ups, it takes time to work on the pitch, prove your concept and grow your initial business. These days investors want to see traction and ideas where the risk has been mitigated quite a bit before they invest. When we first started pitching in 2008 and 2009, there was very little action at all by investors, East or West Coast. 2010 proved to be a better year. As the market began to climb, investors regained excitement around putting capital to work again. We are extremely excited to be working with a number of Rhode Island based angel investors.
PBN: How has your experience been as a local tech company in Rhode Island?
TONTI: The greatest feature of Rhode Island is its size. When you are in business, your network is really a seriously important core asset. A strong network helps you with all aspects of your business from hiring talent to client introductions. This is the best state that anyone could possibly want to live in for networking purposes! If I want to get to anyone in this state, I’m fairly certain I know someone here that can help me get to that person or business. Growing a successful business and having a strong network go hand in hand. Here in Rhode Island we have a strong network of successful entrepreneurs, business people and investors – it’s a great place to build a business for that reason.
