Brian Boyle | CrossTrainer founder
My growth plan began with an ordinary conversation at a wedding in 2016. I mentioned to a guy that I own a training-design agency. He told me that he creates games using augmented reality. Soon after, I got the feeling that the conversation wasn’t over.
I had started my company in 2005 as a graphic-design shop. We navigated the transition from print to digital and in 2013, we launched CrossTrainer to reach a more-targeted audience. We consequently doubled our revenue and number of employees.
Fast forward a few years. In mid-2017 I was accepted into the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at the Community College of Rhode Island. The program encouraged me to examine my business – past, present, and future – and establish a realistic growth plan.
A little over a year later, we’ve created a new business unit, CrossTrainer Mixed Reality. My four partners (including that guy from the wedding) bring expertise from the gaming industry, and my role is to focus our efforts specifically on training applications.
We’re using augmented reality and virtual reality to build tools for training and beyond. With this technology, we’re helping Fortune 500 companies work toward their goals to train people faster, represent their brand consistently and dramatically increase efficiency.
My advice to other small-business owners? Break away from the ordinary, day-to-day operations and commit time for reflecting on your business. Challenge yourself to do something extraordinary and then capitalize on it.