Matt Bowman - Wi5Connect
Matt Bowman, Wi5Connect’s new CEO, is a leading author, speaker, and industry source in the areas of sales, marketing and social media. Bowman joined the company in August 2008 and brings more than 15 years of senior level sales and marketing experience in the enterprise software, e-Learning, and consulting industries.
Silicon Slopes: Can you describe for us what Wi5 Connect is all about?
Matt Bowman: Wi5Connect is an enterprise software company that competes in the B2B space focusing on the Web 2.0 and eLearning industries. We focus primarily on companies with over 500 employees that have disparate workforces, high employee turnover, or are in the acquisition mode. We use a “hybrid SaaS” model and have in place both direct and channel distribution. We essentially invented the next generation of social communities now referred to as Social Learning Communities.
Silicon Slopes: When did you go live with your first product, LearnSocial? How long did it take to develop?
Matt Bowman: I initially became interested in Wi5 Connect because of their unique technology. Given my frustrations with Web 2.0 technology and its limitations as a business tool, I was very attracted to the ease of use and ready business application of the Wi5 products. I felt the technology came closer to the true definition of Web 2.0 than many of the other tools competing in the space. Plus, the technology's design allowed ordinary business people achieve the same kind of results that have typically been seen only by "experts" in Web 2.0. When I started to see the mission critical business problems this technology could solve, and how it was more effective and affordable than the next best alternative, I was hooked. I guess the final element that caused me to begin discussions of joining the company was learning of the design team's focus on crafting solutions to business problems - not just creating cool technology.
Silicon Slopes: How does LearnSocial, a “social learning community” differ from a typical social community platforms?
Matt Bowman: Social Learning Communities differ from vanilla social communities in both technology and purpose. Social Learning Communities (“SLC”) is the combination of a social community fused together with a state of the art Learning Management System (an eLearning technology that provides online instruction and training). As such, SLC provide a wealth of functionality not available with an online community. In terms of purpose, LearnSocial was specifically designed for business enterprises and as such, becomes a self-contained community for only the employees of a particular company. Communities on the other hand have typically been used in a social setting and are usually open to anyone and everyone. Moreover, social communities tend to lack focus and any topic imaginable is discussed therein– everything from the new Batman movie to last night’s dinner. SLC’s provide a catalyst for employees form the same company to focus on work related discussions. The results have proven to be an effective method of transferring brain trust from veteran employees to new hires, reduce employee turnover (particularly among Gen X and Gen Y employees), and affordably help companies turn skill acquisition into skill mastery. SLC can do all of this due to their unique ability to combine formal and informal learning in a compelling manner – something that online communities do not have the functionality to do.
Silicon Slopes: You recently launched your second product, CommSocial. Can you tell us a little more about it?
Matt Bowman: CommSocial is the outward facing sibling of LearnSocial. CommSocial offers the same technological platform but is designed to help companies better engage their customers, improve customer loyalty, identify up-sell opportunities, and cultivate leads into qualified prospects. Moreover, it allows you achieve all of this without being an expert at Web 2.0 strategies.
Silicon Slopes: Is it intended to be an add-on to the LearnSocial platform or a stand-alone product also?
Matt Bowman: CommSocial is a standalone product. However, when a client owns LearnSocial already, it is a very affordable upgrade.
Silicon Slopes: What is the key to taking a social community from start to a vibrant community?
Matt Bowman: Trying to turn social communities into effective business tools is akin to flying a 747 without computers. It requires a great deal of effort and expertise. We’ve successfully designed our tools to allow business executives who are novice in the Web 2.0 world achieve the same kind of results that “experts” do. Having said that, the key to remember here is that when you assemble a group of people, be it your employees or customers, the same rules apply in the virtual world as in the real world. There needs to be purpose, incentive to come back, value to the user, and leadership and attention by those hosting the community.
Silicon Slopes: Where is the most commonplace companies fail?
Matt Bowman: You wouldn’t hold a users conference and ask your customers to talk amongst themselves in the corner while you check your email in another room. Same rules apply in the virtual world. Although SLC’s make it much easier to define and deliver that value in a sustainable way, you still need to give it thought. Gartner recently said that 50% of the Fortune 500 companies that launched a social community will see that initiative fail. This is precisely why we created SLC’s.
Silicon Slopes: Who are your competitors? What sets you apart?
Matt Bowman: Due to the unique nature of our product, we compete both in the Web 2.0 and eLearning industries. What sets us apart in both is the stronger business proposition we offer. In Web 2.0, many are struggling to monetize an interesting idea but fail to articulate their real business purpose. In the eLearning industry, most are struggling with the inherent limitations of not being able to combine formal learning with informal learning, the lack of incentive for employees to voluntarily use the eLearning tools, and the lack of analytics to measure engagement, identify retention, and accurately determine ROI. We are the first to combine an eLearning tool with an online community and the results have been outstanding. Primarily what sets us apart are the business problems we can effectively and affordably solve with our platform. In particular, our ability to help reduce employee turnover is timely given the poor economy.
Silicon Slopes: How are you funded?
Matt Bowman: We currently have private investors that provided the first round of funding. We are now going out for a second round of funding. At the same time, we are quickly becoming self funded. After just 10 months of operations we have $400,000 in accounts receivable and we have another $1 million in contracts currently being negotiated. We should end the first calendar year of business with about $1.4 million on the books.
