Kanwar Dhaliwal: Access to Talent Is Obviously a Key Aspect but Also the Proximity to the Ecosystem of Advisors, Investors Is Also Very Important

Tell us about yourself?

Engineer turned serial entrepreneur. Bootstrapped multiple companies to scale. Originally from the midwest.

What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?

That the best idea wins. In fact Ideas are overvalued.

Market opportunity and the execution focus is what really matters. People often believe that a startup journey is a sprint once you have the right idea.

What lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you?

Patience, perseverance and humility are very important. Also, it take a lot of discipline to not get caught up in the shiny object syndrome.

If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

I would go back to the first company I started and tell myself to invest more in the business and think longer term.

A lot of entrepreneurs find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. How have you found that?

I didn’t find that for a number of years until the company had sufficient scale.

Frankly speaking, if someone truly seeks that balance they should strongly reconsider taking on an entrepreneurial journey. It is very hard to take on competitors who are 100% committed to their cause if you are not.

Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?

The founding team had been in the space and we felt that the martech space was underserved w.r.t. quality technology platforms.

What do you think is your magic sauce? What sets you apart from the competitors?

Intense focus on customers and employees.

Our engineering team is superb and has put us in a position to address market needs in a rapidly evolving industry where the focus is shifting from just feature/function development to integrations and ecosystem development.

How have you found sales so far? Do you have any lessons you could pass on to other founders in the same market as you just starting out?

Inbound referrals has been our largest source.

Our commitment to great customer service fuels the goodwill in the industry that power that.

What do you consider are the main strengths of operating your business in California over other states in the US?

Access to talent is obviously a key aspect but also the proximity to the ecosystem of advisors, investors is also very important.

What (if any) are the weaknesses of operating your business within California?

High regulatory and taxation burden.

We are currently suffering through a cost of living crisis. With California already being one of the most expensive states to live in, how has this impacted your business?

The affects employees in terms of their ability to live in core urban areas and having access to the benefits of it.

It is no secret that California is the birthplace of innovation. But that also makes it incredibly competitive. How have you found the competitive environment of California?

Our competition is global so I would say that a lot of what California embodied has been adopted by many other places.

Have you considered moving your company to another state? If so, which state and why?

We are a globally distributed company already with hubs in Montreal and Amsterdam.

Where do you see your business in the next 5 years?

We expect to continue growing at a rapid clip and retain a focus on profitability and quality.

If we accomplish that then good things will happen and our optionality will remain very broad.

And finally, if people want to get involved and learn more about your business, how should they do that?

Visit us at everflow.io or on our linkedin page and reach out to us.

We have a very responsive sales, marketing and customer success organization.

Follow Everflow on Twitter or Linkedin.