Chris Elmore
Founder, sales guru, and all around nice guy, Chis Elmore engages and inspires audiences on topics like startup success, innovation, entrepreneurship, culture, sales, technology, and automation.
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Tags: Automation, Business Innovation, Corporate Culture, Entrepreneurship, FinTech, Sales Strategy, Unicorn startups
FEATURED VIDEOS
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
Chris was a millionaire at age 28…For six weeks. The first tech company he started fell like a lead balloon. He dusted himself off and with four other guys started a tech company that went from $0.00 in revenue, three product failures to thousands of employees and a $1.4 Billion-dollar value. His out of the box approach of putting people first and concentrating on selling value has helped thousands.
Called a “Startup Hero” by North Carolina Business Magazine and a maverick and mold breaker by SouthPark Magazine, Chris has written 8 books, and is a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UNC – Charlotte and Queens University of Charlotte. Chris serves on the board of four startups and as a strategic advisor to Kingsmen Software Products. Chris travels the country speaking on the topics of startup success, innovation, entrepreneurship, sales, technology, and automation. Chris started AvidXchangein 2000. AvidXchange, a business unicorn with a $1.4 billion value and is the 9th largest fintech company in the country with 1400+ employee.
Chris has been on a journey to prefect a message that resonates and motivates audience since he was 18 years old. “My dad had me read the book, See You At The Top, by Zig Ziglar. I fell in love with the ideas and with making improvements in my life.” “The best testimonial I can give you to hire me to speak is my wife still loves me, loves being around me, and still thinks I am funny, and we have been together since 1992”.
Chris Elmore's Programs
PERFECTING A GREAT IDEA
If failure is a great teacher, Chris Elmore must be the wisest person on the face of the earth. Starting a software company, the day the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and having two years of product failure only to land on a good idea that led to an idea that created an industry. Chris will give you a unique perspective on idea creation. People try to be safe and some don’t try because of risk. Chris has always said, “great innovators and entrepreneurs are not risk takers, but they are experts at managing uncertainty”.
People will leave your event knowing how they can use common setbacks as an open door(s) to brilliant ideas as well as a usable definition and understand what it means to be innovative.
BOOTSTRAPS TO BILLIONS
Chris started with nothing… no software, no funding, no plan… just an idea and four business partners. The first pitch the only feedback we got on our idea was on the name, which he said, “I guess all of the good names have been taken.”
Starting a tech company on the day the dot-com bubble burst wasn’t the best, but it was all we had. Bootstrappingis the practice of only spending the money you make. One of the great outcomes of bootstrapping a company is if you stick to it and do a few key things it will create a genius idea. That’s why years later Chris’s company raised $577 million-dollars in funding and is worth $1.4 billion-dollars. Not bad for a company where all the good names were taken.
Want to know how Chris and his partners did it? That’s the point of this session. Your audiences will be entertained, because some of the things Chris did to survive and educated because what I learned from the journey. (And) Everyone will have a good time as they dream then achieve entrepreneurial success.
SIMPLE ISN’T STUPID – IT’S BRILLIANT COMMUNICATION
The problem with smart, complex people is the rest of the world has no idea what they are talking about. Simple not simpler as Einstein said is a philosophy, that if mastered, will give new light to your idea, project, division, department and/or company. Take it from someone who’s job was to explain automation to risk averse corporate accountants. This session combines real-world stories of trial and error (mostly error) to prove how simple can be understood by slow and fast people alike and is the GREAT communication equalizer. Folks will get the idea that simple isn’t stupid, but brilliant communication.
THE 5.0 SALESPERSON
The purpose of the salesperson is the have and hold information that the customer needs to make a good decision. With the creation of the internet, the idea of “information” and where to get it has changed, thanks to Google. The problem is, the sales professional hasn’t changed. This event will call out the 2 major things salespeople do wrong in a modern age that drives customers crazy as well as help you understand that the new age of selling is educating customers.
THE POWER OF THE NETWORK
Have you ever wondered why CEO get paid incredible sums? Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, one year got paid $166,000 per hour. The reason… every CEO is paid in direct proportion to his or her network. CEO’s don’t have problems that can be solved by a simple Google search. They must rely on their networks to find the right people to help with their problems. This event is dedicated to explaining the power of a network and how to grow your personal network. Your audience will leave inspired to grow their networks and benefit from it greatly!
Chris Elmore's Books
