Rodney Giles: The Road to Success in Specialized Entrepreneurship

Ever wondered what it takes to start a niche business in the oil and gas industry? Join us as we chat with Rodney Giles, co-founder of BidOut, a company handling the procurement of billions of dollars in capital expenditures. Discover how Rodney, a high school entrepreneur, transitioned from the tech world to oil and gas and the advantages of focusing on a specialized niche.

Rodney shares the valuable lessons he’s learned from starting multiple businesses, both successes and failures, including the importance of timing investments, and surrounding yourself with knowledgeable people. He also reflects on how his energy levels have shifted over the years and how he now prioritizes his family more than ever. Get ready to be inspired and gain insights to fuel your own entrepreneurial journey.

Finally, learn about the purpose of BidOut and the value of using their platform for procurement. Rodney explains how the reverse auction format forces price competition and exposes service companies to new opportunities they may not have been aware of before. Don't miss this fascinating episode and uncover the secrets behind Rodney entrepreneurial journey and the success of BidOut.

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:29

And welcome to another energy crew podcast And we're your host, jp Warren. I want to thank everyone out there for tuning in and listening. We know you, there's a limited time of the day that you have And we definitely appreciate you tuning in here at energy crew and energy crew podcast. New direction is all about sharing the passions of leaders and founders and executives, just so you can kind of dive into what they are passionate about, where they're spending their time, and this episode was brought to you by exec crew. It's a new executive networking group that was going to be based on member runs, be dynamic And that's pretty. I'm pretty excited about that And the whole goal of that is that everyone will be a student and everyone be a teacher And we're going to create environment where leaders and executives and founders and aspiring executives can connect with each other and learn and teach one another and have some genuine networking opportunities. So if you want to learn more, head over to wwwconnectioncrewcom, head over to exec crew and be sure to register there to stay up to date as we get things going and we'll be launching in Q4.

Speaker 2: 1:32

So pretty pumped about that And I'm actually pretty about this. You, we are in the cannon right now. Right, we are, we are in the cannon and, ronnie, i want you to introduce yourself real quick. We're sitting here with a actually I'm going to do a little quick intro, then you're going to give a little intro about that. So we're sitting here with Ronnie with a bit out over here in a company that started in 2020.

Speaker 2: 1:50

That really started kind of started making some waves that I started noticing and I got got the pleasure to meet you and your other co founder, tyler, during, kind of when you're all were getting it up and running and it's been so exciting to see, kind of where y'all have gone and what team you've built and kind of the connections y'all are making and, i guess, the outreach y'all have having. So I'm not going to take your thunder. Why don't you kind of give me a little hello to everyone listening and kind of an intro, who you are, where you're from, and then let's give them where I want to give a little quick, you know elevator summary What bit out is.

Speaker 1: 2:22

Yeah, absolutely So. I'm Rodney Giles here. I'm the co founder of bit out and I co founded it with Tyler Cherry back in 2020. Took us a little while to get off the ground and build the product and really find the right product market fit And really over the last year things have been going incredibly well, very successful, a lot of growth And now you know we're, you know, really handling the procurement on our procurement platform of several billion dollars a year of capital expenditures by some of the majors and several thousand service providers. I come from a background starting my first technology really a web hosting company in high school. Fast forward to 26 years old. I sell the business and didn't know what to do from there.

Speaker 2: 3:07

So you started a company in high school in that and you and it lasted till you were 26 years old, till you sold it.

Speaker 1: 3:12

Yeah, so I started it So entrepreneurial since day one. Yeah, absolutely. I skipped school February of 2003, i think and went to met with a lawyer to incorporate and got in trouble at school for missing.

Speaker 2: 3:26

And Hollywood show about. Like the beginnings of something.

Speaker 1: 3:29

So, like eight years later, we have 100 plus employees bootstrapped the business with no outside investors, no capital other than kind of what we started the business with, sold the business off and, you know, had enough money to. You know probably do anything I want, but not enough to do nothing And played golf for a year or so and actually bought a bunch of non operated producing oil wells, minerals, royalties ended up buying some operated wells. Realized very quickly I'm a lot better at the technology side of the business than I am, you know, finding oil, so get back into a lot of people can say that, get back into another technology startup in 2014, turn that business around and grew it and, about the 2020 time frame, realized it was time to transition out and start a software as a service business. So where did you?

Speaker 2: 4:27

I don't want. Where did you meet Tyler?

Speaker 1: 4:28

So Tyler and I actually went to junior high and high school together, did you really? We were never like the closest friends. He's not my best friend, i knew him, you know a little bit, and we reconnected a couple years ago, you know. I think he reached out to me about. You know, tyler really came with the ideal and said hey look, you know, i'm trying to solve some issues. At that time I knew I was going to transition out and start a software as a service company. I wanted it to be a very specialized niche play, probably most likely in oil and gas. I didn't exactly know which area we were going to go after And really the timing was perfect And I was looking for the ideal. He brought the ideal And I think the, you know, over the next several years we started giving everything.

Speaker 2: 5:13

So was that the focus? like, was it Nietzsche's, nietzsche's bring riches, or something like that. Like you focus on a certain niche, like that's kind of a great opportunity.

Speaker 1: 5:23

Yeah, i think you know. I think the way I look at it is computer science students are not graduating Stanford University thinking let's jump into the oil and gas space. You know it's not a sexy industry. There's a, i think, inside and I think I know I don't want to build a, you know, b2c product that's mass market. You're not going to compete with these massively venture-funded companies. So we looked at a very niche play and it was exactly what I was looking for at the time and you know we since have built a pretty incredible product over the years. It's not been easy.

Speaker 2: 6:03

So I got two questions before we kind of dive in Number one do you still believe that the oil field is not sexy? Because I think it's extremely sexy. I think, i think and the reason why I'm saying this is because you know this the the stereotype of the oil field is very like you know. you know uneducated, rough necks or it's like the corporate dude in the suit and the 75th Ford dumping. You know oil behind schools and third-world countries. However, i find the oil field there's so much like technology. There's so many smart people, entrepreneurs, like the spirits here. You know what I mean. Like I get it, but like outside, looking in, i can understand it.

Speaker 1: 6:34

Yeah, maybe I miss. Yeah, maybe I misspoke there. I don't think it's. It's not sexy. I think a lot of people think it's not sexy. Yeah, yeah, and I think Elon Musk said once that he he would rather find a petroleum engineer that likes to solve problems 10,000 foot under the ground to help on SpaceX solving problems. You know hundreds of miles outside of the, you know Earth's orbit.

Speaker 2: 6:54

Well, that's how I'm again and save the world. That's how a couple old field drillers from Texas.

Speaker 1: 6:58

That's right. That's right.

Speaker 2: 6:59

New from the asteroid.

Speaker 1: 7:00

It was definitely a true story That was a documentary.

Speaker 2: 7:02

That was a documentary. And I guess my other question, before we kind of get kicked off and kind of what you've been kind of passionate about recently, is is you know you started in 2020, you know, obviously that's we don't have to get into kind of the nightmare and kind of the realities that not just you but a lot of people that not only in operating companies but starting their own companies, were into. So you're grinding, you're grinding, you're grinding this, this recent growth right, that you all are experiencing this, this success, that you all are experiencing all this stuff. Was this something that kind of you woke up to and like were surprised, like, okay, wow, all our hard work, it's finally paying off, or is like, or did like, the ducks have to be in order before you could launch off. Does that make sense? Was it kind of a natural cultivation of all your hard work Or was it like we got all this in order. Now let's hit the ground run.

Speaker 1: 7:48

No, i knew, I knew our plan was going to work. I knew it's just going to take time, and so I, i didn't doubt the plan one bit. You know it was a, it was just a. There was intense amount of work to get there, for the wheels to start moving, and you know that's, i think, with any business. I think most people probably give up too early, and but you know, i, i think I had no doubt. Now I wish everything happened a lot faster and move a lot faster.

Speaker 2: 8:22

But we all do That's like real estate.

Speaker 1: 8:23

But it's you know, looking back probably wouldn't change anything.

Speaker 2: 8:28

Well, what's crazy is I mean, it's not even looking back that far. Yeah, it really isn't. It really isn't. So let's get into this. So we're going to start this off. Everyone out there kind of we're like framing this is. I want to hear about people's passion. I want to hear about kind of the other founders, other, you know, leaders passions about what they're passionate about. Where are they spending majority of their time that they probably should be doing other stuff, but they're really excited about, kind of whether it's a subject, whether whatever it is a process, something in their role, what they're passionate about. I want to learn why they're passionate about it. I want to learn why I should be, why it should be on my radar, and also kind of want to hear any like tips, tricks or stories or anything like that at the end. So so, ronnie, what, what, what is the subject that you're passionate about? What, what are you kind of diving into lately?

Speaker 1: 9:08

You know, i think for me, i'm really passionate about building businesses from zero to one, and so I've had I've had many startups, you know. A few of them have been very successful, a few of them have not been, but I really like the complex problem of building businesses from scratch And I think they're the most difficult to to get from that zero to you know, it's what makes it kind of really excited right there because I love this right now.

Speaker 2: 9:33

So what makes it difficult to get from zero to one?

Speaker 1: 9:36

I think because you've experienced, Yeah, I think because the the founder of the co founder has to be a Swiss Army knife to really get started, And so you have to. You really can't be an expert in every area of the business, But you have to be really good at areas of the business, And for me, I find things get really boring when you have, you know, 100 employees and the wheels are moving And you know the business is just growing at a very, you know, consistent growth.

Speaker 2: 10:05

I want some wrenches in the gears. I want challenges. Exactly, i like the challenges.

Speaker 1: 10:12

I like the complex problems And I think they're more complex, trying to get started, because you're trying to figure out pricey model. you're trying to figure out product market fit with customers.

Speaker 2: 10:19

But so for those out there that you know, that are listening to this, that have that itch to kind of maybe go out on their own, obviously you've had successes, you've had failures, which, which I love how you're being, you know, open about that. So for those that are trying to kind of get out there on their own and like, and they're hearing this, they're thinking, Oh shoot, I'm going to hold off on this, I'm going to pause, I'm going to pump the brakes until I kind of know a little bit about everything, Do you feel like people should wait before they start getting into something, Or is it just before, for example, to know, like the financial HR, whatever that site is, or what's? what's? what's kind of some advice from you to, I guess, take the plunge and to start a bit, build a business from zero to one.

Speaker 1: 11:02

I think it's better to jump in headfirst and just go do it And I think you learn a lot through the failures. You learn a lot about what not to do in the future. So I think I probably know 50 plus friends, our acquaintances, who want to start a business and have been in that stage for 10 years and have never taken the week. They've always said I want to do this one day. I want to do this when the times are right. when the times are right and times never going to be perfect, it's just like having a kid, That's right.

Speaker 2: 11:28

You know like, oh, once I get this and I have this much in the bank, then we'll have it, then we're gonna start thinking about.

Speaker 1: 11:33

But you never plan everything, right That's right, i think some of my most fun times were in my 20s where we were able to build a culture with our team of, you know, people working in midnight every night in the office. I mean, we were, you know, working a lot harder, probably, than we are now. Well, yeah, now I'm 38. I've got two kids. It's you've got to. All right, i can't stay late tonight.

Speaker 1: 11:56

We've got a baseball game, and so I try to prioritize family and everything I do, But it's you know it's different from an energy perspective as well. So What do you mean? I don't have the energy that I had in my early 20s, Dude, And I don't know you probably do, though I'm 43.

Speaker 2: 12:13

I woke up two weeks ago. I woke up two weeks ago and I sprained my knee from sleeping. All right, last week I woke up and I sprained my neck from sleeping. So no, i do completely understand about that, about the energy. So let's, let's, let's. So building companies is kind of what, what, what you're passionate about, what I feel like the, the, the entrepreneurial spirit's out there. Lately I see it more and more and more recently, i guess, from a personal experience for you personally and in your successes and your failures. What are some of the, the key lessons that that you've learned, whether it's prioritizing, whether it's jumping in, like you just said, what advice, or not only advice and encouragement, but also kind of like what should be on your radar before you kind of dive in and do take that punch.

Speaker 1: 12:59

Well, i think I think it's important to define what you want, and get it written down, and what you want to build. How specific should that be? Because I have difficulties. I think a one pager, and you know I've always broken it up into maybe four areas. Do you start that?

Speaker 2: 13:13

when you start your companies Like your goals Yeah.

Speaker 1: 13:16

You know, Tyler and I just pulled up kind of our original business plan that was on one page sheet from the really the first time we met And you know it's interesting to see that probably 80% of it is we're right now in terms of the ideals and the vision And you know it's pretty spot on. But I think you've got to have it written down. I don't think things work to build a 30, 40 page complex plan. I think you're going to get buried in that, but I think it's important to have it defined And you know, a lot of times I'll I'll even print out something like that and laminated and leave it on my desk for like a year And just so I keep reflecting on it.

Speaker 2: 13:49

So that kind of stage, your dream board.

Speaker 1: 13:51

Absolutely Okay. So because we do get pulled in a lot of different directions. I mean we have clients of ours right now who come to us and say, hey, why don't you build this idea? We're outside of our kind of guard rails that we've set and we don't think it fits most of our clients, but we probably could make a little bit of money off you. But I don't know that explaining this as part of the portfolio a year or two from now makes a lot of sense. So we're trying to stay very focused. I think focus is super important. I think a lot of people get distracted and you know, i know a lot of startups who have started with the vision of, you know, maybe building a piece of software, and they get sucked into easy revenue with consulting And two or three years later they've got two or three consultants and that's that's all they're doing. And when you look back at that trying to sell a business, that's, you know, two or three consultants versus a software business the valuations are very different.

Speaker 1: 14:46

So I think focus is important And the, you know, I think it's the simple things. That is really what counts today. Just like I said, I think it's focus, I think it's coming up with a simple plan, a kind of one pager, and hopefully sticking to it, making some modifications when needed. But I don't think you should ever be forced to stick with a plan. It's okay to pivot We surely have had to do it a few times in several of my businesses that I've had But the that's.

Speaker 2: 15:20

I think that's probably I've been discussed. I've been discussing lately kind of like, and I'm kind of listening about. You know, people ask me about the goals of you know, connection crew and all that stuff, and like it's kind of a simple goal. It's like just kind of bring people together and figure it out. You know they ask me, you know what you know. So what's the goal of the company? What's the goal? I don't have one. I've never really written one down because I've been kind of in a place of survival, right, and kind of what you're talking about is kind of something that I've really started reflecting on lately. It's it's it's plans versus processes. I feel like and obviously I want to get your viewpoint on this I feel like you know, starting your own company or starting a new endeavor, whatever that, whatever that is it's.

Speaker 2: 16:03

I always say trust the process, not the plan, Because, for example, when I first started, connection crew was completely different. It was going to be a lack of a better term a social media manager, right, and that's. I was like wait, i'm kind of saying that in different words, i don't want to do that. So rather than stick to my plan of taking that, i trust the process of growing, of connecting and all that stuff. So I'm always trying to follow the process, you know, kind of accurately and whatever that looks like. But I feel if I put, if I, if I kept to my plan, i've had my blinders on my head down, i wouldn't be able to see all these other opportunities that pop up.

Speaker 1: 16:38

No, i think you're right on that. I think you have to be aware of what's what's out there and make you know great decisions but also not get pulled in every direction possible. So you know it's tricky and you know I don't know that there's ever a right answer and how you do it, especially if you're in survival mode. I mean, you got to do what goes and gets the revenue quickly.

Speaker 2: 16:57

So what's, what's going into it? I mean, obviously you know you're starting to bid out and know it's you and Tyler Tyler's awesome dude to check him out as well. I'd love to have him on the podcast as well, but you'll start this company, It's, it's. There's so much to do, right? Where do you kind of understand or where do you realize, okay, well, there's only two of them, There's only a certain amount of time in the day, There's only a certain amount of energy and effort we can put into this. Where do you start kind of understanding the value of your time, the value of your energy and the value of your effort? Because I find myself sometimes the reason why I'm saying this and kind of talking more, so I'm giving you a little time to think. I find myself that if I, let's say, I get done with my revenue generating task by like 10 am that morning, I'll still be buying the computer to like 3.30 or 4 doing just extra work and it doesn't really contribute to anything.

Speaker 1: 17:48

Yeah, you know, i think I think it's important to focus on what the goals are. And if the goal is, how do we get? I mean, i think for us, our initial goal was how do we build a minimal, viable product that we could get our first client to sign a deal with? And you know that's where we're focused on How do we get this off the ground? And then, once we start getting some feedback from from our initial clients, let's keep moving, kind of keep moving forward and progressing. So we're very focused on that.

Speaker 1: 18:16

You know, i have a lot of friends of mine who I try to reply to all the emails I get, Do you really? But I have friends of mine who are business owners and they ignore 90% of them just to lead them And they're like from customers, they're from prospective customers. Maybe they forward them to other people to handle. But you know, i think for some people like that, they're so focused on what their individual goal is they ignore everything else all the administrative work, everything else that needs to function properly. But I think it's important and that might be where you were at on spending the whole rest of the day on doing other stuff that doesn't affect your business at the end of the day.

Speaker 2: 18:52

Yeah, so so you obviously it sounds like you obviously encourage entrepreneurship, you encourage start in your eyes. It might not be for everyone, but if that itch is there, i mean where are you? I guess in the times right now we are at the current environment and all that stuff. I mean, if someone's out there listening kind of has that itch, what would you tell them currently?

Speaker 1: 19:11

Well, i think you have to be willing to operate lean And you know I think avoiding investment capital, avoiding avoiding investors initially, is one of the best things. I was super fortunate enough that you know I've sold enough assets in the past where I could live a comfortable life rest of my life, you know, in perpetuity. But you know I think for me I'm still a super wing tightwad on everything I do, so the now I was fortunate enough that with Tyler he was in a position to that he was able to get super wing and live without you know needing investors for a long period of time.

Speaker 1: 19:50

So but you know, i know that both of us went a long period of time before we had our first paycheck, you know, probably almost a year, and so most people I know have a lot of friends of mine who talked to me about these struggles. I mean, they couldn't go a few months and their executives at you know companies and but they they've moved their lifestyle up to a level that it's hard to support. Going out on your own, starting your own business. And you know, i think, that when you, when you look at generating wealth, when you look at having a large exit event, you know, generally only the founders are the ones that are ultimately going to reap a lot of those rewards.

Speaker 1: 20:24

You know, it's very hard, i think, for an employee, long term, to have a nice exit, the. You know there's obviously good scenarios that can, that can work out. But you know, i think if you're willing to invest the time, make the sacrifices, live a lean life, i think you can build a solid business. So you can build it without you know giving up all the equity to an investor or to an investor group, and I think that's something that was really important for us And you know, i was fortunate that we didn't have to go out super early on and raise capital. We we since went out and raised some strategic investors, brought on some key guys that have key partnerships. That made a lot of sense. But we did it from a position of control, we did it from a position of strength, We didn't do it from a position of weakness, and I think that was really important.

Speaker 2: 21:09

So Okay, So I want to kind of get into kind of like obviously you discussed, you know, as a career entrepreneur. You know someone that starts and I like to say serial entrepreneur, serial killer.

Speaker 2: 21:23

Dude, I hate using the first off. Entrepreneur is first off. It's a tough word to spell, It's a tough word to say Like I don't. For me it's probably can't spell it For well thank you, spell check for this but like it's such and also it kind of rings. Rings.

Speaker 2: 21:36

Things like the early 2000s, like where everyone says, yeah, I'm an entrepreneur. I was like, what do you do? I'm nothing, I just say I am, you know, I mean so, but it is a. It is a fun, dynamic, exciting atmosphere to be in. I want to talk to you real quick about your failures, If you don't mind, if you don't mind sharing that with us, because I think that's going to be a perfect segue to discuss what your what bid out is and what you're working out now and kind of what the key to y'all's success. I know you talked about it a little bit too, but just kind of kind of executive. So let's get, let's get into kind of the failures a little bit and kind of what you learn from those fails.

Speaker 2: 22:08

I guess also like being in the being, if you can reflect back to kind of being in the middle of that feeling, because there's been several times in the past year and a half where I've been in the middle of something and it's like the entire skies falling, the entire worlds collapsing, all this and stuff. But it was, I've realized I had to shift my mind. I had to stop focusing on one thing and focus on creation, For example, like if it gets financially stressed and I was like, oh shit, I got to make money, I got to make money, I got to make money. That just adds to stress. I'm not productive, I'm not efficient, I'm not effective And I'm more doing things out of survival mode.

Speaker 2: 22:39

But then when I stop and take a step back and I switch that to okay, JP, create something, You dig. Once I switch it to that, the anxiety shifts. It's more motivating for me. So that's been kind of something that I've learned is to kind of pause whenever, whenever I have that anxiety, take a step back and realize you're you like creating. If you create stuff, the finances will come. So in your previous, I guess, endeavors and all that and your failures or I guess times that were challenging for you personally, what are some of the stuff that you kind of learned in the thick of it and also kind of looking back and reflecting, You know, I think a lot of it's been failure of timing.

Speaker 1: 23:19

And so in 2014, I made some sizable oil and gas investments in the summer and the you know, six months later, prices crashed. And some period of time in 2014, I was able to meet Boone Pickens in Dallas and talk to him briefly, And he was kind of talking about how the Saudis need $92 of barrel to maintain their social entitlements and kind of the way that they're doing it. And so I said, look, you're never going to see oil under 90 in the rest of your life. And I remember vividly driving back from Dallas thinking, gosh, I bet he's right. You know, I think there's a floor there. It makes sense. It makes sense. They have to pay their kind of their welfare or whatever.

Speaker 1: 23:58

Why would they let it go below that if they can control it? So me and a group of folks went out and made a really public hostile takeover of an oil and gas company that was on the NYC. I tried to buy them and the price just fell off the cliff and we lost a sizable amount of money, and that's kind of where I decided to transition back into. On the tech side, i was fortunately still kept all of my minerals and so forth that I owned throughout the country And you know, with time that's all played out well with the price of oil. So I think there was a. There were some bad timings. For sure There's been other investments that I've made. That legal structure could have been a lot better on the front end And the with time those things worked out.

Speaker 1: 24:51

But you know, I think, looking back, you know all the failures that I've made, or maybe some missteps that I made. I've been fortunate that I've been able to do that. The failures that I've made, or maybe some missteps that I've made. I've been fortunate that I've made them, because I think they've helped me.

Speaker 2: 25:08

When did you realize that they were actually? you were fortunate to make these mistakes Way later, because that takes time.

Speaker 1: 25:15

Yeah, four or five years after So. But that's you know, i would say that's probably the most important thing.

Speaker 2: 25:25

So, if your passion is building businesses, your passion from zero to one, which is I love because it is fascinating, it is challenging And you do realize how much that you don't know, like, when it comes to like you know, like, like you have to surround yourself with like knowledgeable people, whether it's a CPA, whether it's a bookie, whether it's this, whether it's that. But that's a lot of stuff that, like, i had no idea about. I'm learning now, Right, a year and a half later. I'm learning now. That excites you the most about Starting a company is it? is it the the potential selling of the company? is it Connecting with people? is it just kind of like a personal pride, like, wow, i built what. What's, what's, what's your motivator?

Speaker 1: 26:06

You know, ultimately I want to make money, right. That's not the soul, right. I don't have, you know, these grand visions of owning private jets or massive ranches one day. That's not what I care about. I mean, i've never been a car guy. I could buy a watch. I want that. I mean, who cares? It's more about the. It's more about Ch-ch-ch-uh. It's more about solving the challenge. I find it so fascinating of solving complex problems, figuring out Sell strategies, figuring out those types of things. Part of the reason I do it and part of my passion is also for my kids. I grew up. I had an entrepreneurial father, built and sold a gas company. So I saw that coming along the way and You know I made a me and my wife talked about this probably ten years ago. It's like, you know, i had enough money where I couldn't like yeah.

Speaker 1: 26:52

I have to work through my life But I didn't want my kids to grow up thinking all my dad did was play golf and sit at home all day and Play golf, and with a 20 handicap. Still, i did. I did play golf for about a year in my. I didn't get much better, but I really don't have an interest anymore. So The I really want to do a lot of it for my kids to, for them to grow up and see that and see all that. That. I worked hard Tyler and I, great co-founder, wouldn't wouldn't change or replace them or anything.

Speaker 1: 27:24

We both get up here. We office at the cannon been up here almost three years and we probably get up here 5 36 every morning and It's not because we're forced to do it, it's because we want to and we enjoy what we're doing and, phil, we can get ahead of the day early and I like You know I like showing that to my kids that I'm not not lazy. I don't want to. I don't want them to grow up thinking that's the normal and I want them to grow up thinking You know the normal work Ethic is, you know, getting up early, working hard, getting the job done building some things Yeah, yeah, treating people ride building something Yeah, yeah, being proud of your work Yeah, i love all that stuff that you're kind of instilling on.

Speaker 2: 28:00

On the future, that's right, the future, so what? okay, so let's, let's, let's kind of talk about this. So let's talk about the success of a bit out. I mean, this is a. It's obviously something that probably had to take a different approach from your previous Startups maybe, maybe a little, because I mean it's different, different customers, different days, different that. So I guess let's talk about, let's talk about what bid out is and kind of talking about, kind of like, everything you've learned from your past companies, your past success, your past failures, what you applied to bid out, and kind of how that's translated to where you're at today. So let's, let's talk about, let's talk about bid out and kind of more of the entrepreneurial spirit of bid out, kind of where you're at today.

Speaker 1: 28:41

Yeah, so bid outs functionally a procurement platform for oil and gas operators, service companies, midstream companies to purchase per cure. Bid out Capital projects, commodities, pipes you know, etc.

Speaker 2: 28:53

So what would be the benefit of utilizing bid out?

Speaker 1: 28:56

It's really more Speeding their workflow up. We have a reverse auction format that kind of forces some price competition along the way saves them Substantial amount of money.

Speaker 2: 29:06

So it's not a stag thing what you submit. It goes to this black hole and it's like correct Yeah so it's not.

Speaker 1: 29:13

It speeds up things from the buyers and the suppliers. It allows them to discover and source additional vendors. We've got almost 4,000 service companies on the platform. So I mean we have majors thousand? Yeah, absolutely We have. We have. We have large majors that come to us and say, hey look, we're procuring chemicals, our Pipe or whatever it might be, and we've got our five, six incumbent suppliers that we're gonna send this out to. Can you add anybody else? Okay? And so it allows other service fighters to get exposed to who had no idea about it I did not have.

Speaker 1: 29:44

I mean, we've had companies went 30 million dollar contracts because We got them on the bids that they would not have been invited to otherwise. So there's a lot of value on both sides of the equation there. But, you know, functionally to procurement tool and we're growing on to that, but we're staying within the confines of procurement. You know we're not building a you know, reservoir analysis product. You know anything outside of that. So we're very focused on the procurement lifecycle, the ninches and riches. It's, it's we've. We built it incredibly simplified for the supplier. We didn't want to build this complex tool that they have to feel like they need trained. You know, maybe trained on, etc.

Speaker 1: 30:24

Yeah, that's probably been. The beauty of getting the suppliers to work with it is how simple it is for them and the And that's essentially it. So, instead of spinning some of our operators in the past, what's been four or five hours creating an RFP and sending that out they're able to do Really the same thing in 60 seconds now and send those out and not worry about any of those communication, are checking to make sure everybody got it, are going to respond to it, and our engine really handles that entire process and Once all the bids are in, they're able to very easily and quickly analyze and award these suppliers. So That's essentially it, you know, coming from. You know, going back to my first company, we had a ton of software to be developed.

Speaker 1: 31:13

I developed a lot of it myself back then, but we were a beta Yeah, c product. So we were selling to consumers. We were selling, you know, services for 10, 15, 20 bucks a month. We had 100,000 plus clients when it was sold. But You know, there was no sales process involved. I would wake up in the morning and we would have had, you know, 10 signups overnight and it was just all of our marketing generated. Oh, it was very inbound everything. All the marketing generated the Customers, and so I didn't know anything about sales after I sold the business because I had never really done. You know, long sell cycle.

Speaker 2: 31:48

Etc, so I didn't need to.

Speaker 1: 31:49

So my my previous business before bid out, we were an enterprise cloud company, so we were selling cloud services to kind of mid-sized companies and the sell cycle was much longer 6, 8, 9 months and so that's where I really learned and was able to, you know, learn a lot of the sales processes and that's had a great team around us to help on that. But That's where I really had to figure out a lot of things there and that's a lot of those efforts have now Transitioned into us getting a lot of our initial clients, because initially Tyler and I Ran all the sales. I was founder led sales team and we've since have hired a VP of sales to really take over and Really lead that entire process. But early on, like I, going back, said earlier, i mean we were Swiss army knife, so we were doing everything trying to figure it out.

Speaker 2: 32:34

trying to figure it out and run, Yeah and it was we, you know we were.

Speaker 1: 32:37

It was very We had to pivot a lot. You know, initially we tried to make it for free for the operators and one of the charges service providers a small amount didn't work out that well. We were getting a lot of pushback from different folks and it was hard to get the operators to buy in and actually use it when they weren't actually paying for something.

Speaker 2: 32:57

Okay, was that like a value perception? Maybe?

Speaker 1: 33:02

a little bit, maybe. Maybe it would have worked more with time. There was a lot of different nuances involved to a lot of our original decisions and, you know, looking back, i think any of them probably could have worked with time or could have worked with the right customer.

Speaker 2: 33:22

But 2020 to 2022 is not a lot of time. It was a different way.

Speaker 1: 33:26

It was a difficult time for him to get in touch with people. But also, we're not selling to hundreds of thousands of operators, we're selling to three or four. So it's you know, i think if we had a much larger audience maybe we could get different results, different ways. But we have to keep our ear to the ground and listen to what the customers needs and wants. Are I?

Speaker 2: 33:49

would assume this would be probably beneficial, Like if I've never operated in any county of New Mexico and I don't know any suppliers out there. there's probably something like a kind of fine like who operates in that area.

Speaker 1: 34:01

Oh, absolutely Yeah, So we have. I mean we have. we have great example. We are a private equity backed company, the. you know they've probably got six, seven on the operations team and they all come from larger majors but they've never actually purchased anything in their lives because they've always had a procurement department that had contracts established and they were able to call out to work. So they come to us and almost look at us as like a supply chain, as a service for them And almost helping them with the entire process of procuring things, because while they're great operations engineers, production engineers, et cetera they actually don't know how to build the bid or even you know what unit of measurements to buy certain chemicals in. So so I think on the smaller guys, we're able to really help them a lot there. on the much larger operators that have very well established, supply chain departments were really more of a workflow tool for them that allows them to do their job a lot more efficiently and a lot faster.

Speaker 2: 34:57

So yeah, you can always check that. It was at wwwbidoutcom. It's a bidoutapp, bidoutapp. We did not buy thecom. So, yeah, so entrepreneurial. I mean, that's how he knows, that's how he knows entrepreneurial. Actually, thecom for a connection crew is bought by a buddy of mine who's an operator side.

Speaker 2: 35:15

Really, dude, you can't be going around because I think I'm trying to extort you for it. No, i think so. I think it was one of those things. Do you want this?

Speaker 2: 35:21

And he's like you know, he gifted to me like awesome dude, you know Keith Ogdie, but I thought it was just so awesome of him to do that, just, but that just goes, show you the relationships in the industry. But so I guess let's, let's wrap this up with any tips or tricks out there or kind of like insights that you may have when, when it is something that you're kind of like curious about jumping out or maybe start your own company or just kind of pursuing a hobby or a passion that you just kind of want to get dive into a little bit more From from someone that experienced this since you were 1817, so whenever you started this, your first company, i would assume you probably know a lot. You probably have a couple tips, a couple, a couple insights that people can kind of benefit from. What do you, what do you think? I mean, we talked about it, but if you want to summarize it, go ahead and summarize it.

Speaker 1: 36:08

Well, i think it's just important to start now. It's important to start and fail than to never start at all.

Speaker 2: 36:13

And um, but what does starting look like? Because a lot of times for me it's like I always tell people if you're going to start, take 15 minutes at something. Take 15 minutes to see what that looks like. For example, the podcast. Take 15 minutes to design a cover art even if you never.

Speaker 1: 36:25

Well, i mean, maybe it's as simple as you actually have an ideal. You're afraid to kind of leave your current role and go start that. Maybe it's. Come up with the ideal, put something together and talk to a few potential clients that you could have on day one And maybe you could find a client that would be willing to pay you. You know, a third of what you're making right now and a third of what you're making right now in terms of your income or salary is enough that you can scrape by for six, eight months while you get things figured out and find that second client and find that third client. And uh, the um. I think that's the way to look at it. Um, i've never been the type of person that you know wants to go out on day one and go raise five million bucks and have a board of directors on day one. That's telling you what to do. And um, but the uh. I think that's uh, that's important to uh.

Speaker 2: 37:15

Um, kind, of figure out, but also like your approach to to keep it simple. I mean, you know what you're saying, you know when, when, when, when there's a service company on an operator, they, they log on a bit out. It's simple for them. Like the goals, one sheet simple, the the plan simple. Uh, hey, can you do this for us? Yeah, but it's kind of not in our realm, it's just, it's a bit. Let's keep it simple. Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 1: 37:35

I mean I've, uh, i've, i've worked with a guy, um, in the past who, uh, really didn't work with him, but knew him and he was analyzing doing some online advertising and he spent a month asking me questions and had spreadsheets and proformas and all this stuff And at the end of the day I said look, how much are you willing to spend on on your budget for the first month? And it was like a thousand bucks And I said just go spend it, like stop analyzing this and just jump in and do it Okay.

Speaker 2: 38:01

So let's talk about analysis paralysis Do you deal with that?

Speaker 1: 38:04

Um, at times I think, uh, you know, definitely at times. So how do you make a decision? Um, it depends if it's an urgent decision. I think if it's something I have to make today, then I'll just make the decision to move on.

Speaker 2: 38:16

Is it based off of gut or what?

Speaker 1: 38:18

No, I think it's definitely based on making a well-informed decision based on the data that I have, the potential outcomes of each decision, Um, but yeah, sometimes I think you have to go with the gut. but you know, sometimes maybe the decision doesn't have to be made today, Maybe it can. it can actually be made in a week from now.

Speaker 2: 38:34

How do you determine that?

Speaker 1: 38:36

Um, i think it depends what the uh, what the decision is. So, um, i'm trying to think of a good example Cause.

Speaker 2: 38:42

I was cause I was cause I was. You know, a lot of times, you know, you know your your email inbox starts getting full, full, full, um. And I actually just started reading a book called stillness is the key And pretty much like you know Napoleon or all these great leaders, but get news and they wouldn't even like open it for a week And if it was still important they'd address it. You know, obviously, in the time we live now, I don't know if a week is a good idea, but at the same time there's a lot of things that pop up that seem to be priority, that seem to be this, and you've kind of them cool off a little bit out of the oven and let them cook.

Speaker 1: 39:11

So I'm, i'm a I'm a Twitter junkie. I love the news And uh, so I do use a plugin on my Chrome that blocks Twitter from seven AM to seven PM. Okay, and uh, so I, uh, i try to stick by that. That's actually great advice, actually Keeps me focused And I figure if there's an urgent news event, somebody's going to text me anyways. Um, but uh, the I don't need to see what zero hedge is posting every five minutes.

Speaker 2: 39:34

That's a great tip and trick to kind of like if you know your distraction, set a boundary.

Speaker 1: 39:39

Yeah, i would say that's probably been my biggest distraction in the last 10 years is, um. I used to trade oil futures quite a bit in a lot of its news based and uh, you know it's very uh all over the place, but um, yeah.

Speaker 2: 39:53

Well, i dig that. So right now I want to. I want to thank you for coming on. I think we're coming to 40 minutes right now.

Speaker 2: 39:57

Uh, uh, i obviously appreciate kind of your time doing this and your eagerness and willingness to do this and what you've shared with us. I think you know you and Tyler, you know seeing y'all first off make a splash. I remember seeing you know bid out on uh on LinkedIn and seeing that I was like what is this, what is this? And then, uh, you know, just through time, going to know you, going to know Tyler and all that stuff and just kind of seeing uh, 4,000. That's, that's pretty impressive. But, uh, just seeing y'all grow has been very inspiring. And, uh, i love connecting with other. You know founders and other, you know co-founders and just kind of learning and just learning that their struggles uh, first off, i can learn from them, but second off, the struggles that y'all face at where y'all are at is something that a lot of people probably face too, and also the the decision to kind of take the plunge a bit on yourself, right.

Speaker 1: 40:42

Well, i appreciate coming on the show. I mean, it's uh, i've been, you know, a friend of yours, follower of yours for several years now and glad for what you do for the industry. I think it's great to build these connection events, um, those are very special. I know we've been to several of them and, uh, your podcast and I think really your live streams during the early days of COVID were key. I mean, people were um not going to any conferences, any events.

Speaker 2: 41:06

They got tired of bad news. Man Just got to bring people together on a different life. But uh, yeah. So so why don't you, why don't you let everyone out there know where they can find uh, find you, find Tyler, and find uh to learn more about uh, to learn more about BitOut. Then we'll kind of wrap it up?

Speaker 1: 41:18

Yeah, absolutely So. um, our website is the best spot. bitoutapp, where I'm LinkedIn. We're just simply bit out. Um, i'm on LinkedIn as well. Rodney Giles And, um, you know, if anybody has any questions, feel free to email me anytime. just rgiles at bitoutapp And I'd be more than happy to meet with anybody, talk to anybody, whether it be about entrepreneurial journey or questions or, um, anything related to BitOut as well.

Speaker 2: 41:42

I love that All right. Well, thank you everyone out there for tuning in. We hope you enjoyed it. If you enjoyed it, please, uh, you know make sure you subscribe. do the uh lia, whatever you got to do to kind of promote it. that way we kind of get the the passion of other entrepreneurs, the passion of other leaders out there And maybe it might inspire uh people out there to kind of take the step out and say you know what I'm going to bet on myself. So, thank you for tuning in to Energy Crew Podcast and we'll see you soon.