Greg Fadul, Founder and CEO of Grace Digital/ECOXGEAR, on Staying Future Focused

On this episode of Unconventional Genius, I talk with Greg Fadul, founder and CEO of Grace Digital and ECOXGEAR on how he is staying future focused. During our conversation, Greg shares with me how he became an entrepreneur later in life, and the philosophy by which he runs his business. Through all of his success, Greg leads with an eye toward the future.

Greg Fadul started his company in San Diego, California out of a passion for music and a clear vision for opportunity. He developed a consumer electronics company that develops products for music lovers looking for alternative solutions to enjoy their music. Grace Digital is an innovator in the world of internet radios and leading manufacturer of a wide variety of award-winning wired and wireless home audio solutions.

2 brands to expand the market

With the boom of the internet, Greg saw an opportunity to harness the power of the internet for radio. He started his company just before the economic recession of 2008. Realizing that people weren’t just buying the radio, the company leveraged their space in the market by focusing on content aggregation. This helped them to weather the economic downturn.

ECOXGear is the leader in waterproof audio for people with an active lifestyle. Greg started the second brand by purchasing another waterproof audio brand that was looking to get out of the business. They started by selling waterproof mp3 players, but then transitioned to creating a waterproof speaker. Their product launched around the time of the iPhone, which was ideal timing for an ideal pairing.

Staying future focused through technology and innovation

Greg Fadul has led his company to experience great success in a relatively short amount of time. He says that in about 10 years, the company has grown from three employees and $350,000 in revenue to 30 employees and $30-$40 million in revenue. Greg attributes this success to staying future-focused and committing to technological innovation.

Greg sees the cutting edge of the market being through connected audio and smart speakers. They are currently concentrating their efforts on Chromecast and Alexa integration. They are also making solutions that allow you to connect to multiple Bluetooth speakers from your phone by creating universal connection among speakers.

Becoming an entrepreneur later in life

While many entrepreneurs start their companies during their twenties and thirties, Greg was over forty before starting Grace Digital. However, he stayed focused and motivated and used his experience and maturity to make timely and wise decisions. Ultimately, it was the opportunity to be his own boss that led Greg to finally start his own company.

Greg says, “You’re never your own boss, you just have a new boss.” What drives Greg is the opportunity to lead his team toward a goal. He also likes being accountable for his own successes and failures. The company is constantly developing new products, launching 10-12 new products every year. Greg says they want to be on the leading edge, not the bleeding edge.

Staying future focused while learning from the examples of others

Even with his success, Greg Fadul doesn’t take a lot of time to relish in what he has accomplished. He is always looking and driving forward. His main goal in leadership is to maintain balance. He says that rather than constantly swinging for the fences, he tries to hit consistent base hits. Those little achievements compound and lead to even greater success.

During our conversation, I ask Greg about what leaders he admires most. He shares with me the top 3 leaders that he looks up to and why. Not only does he suggest that it’s their success that he has learned from, but also their failures. Each one impacted him in a unique way. Hear all about that and more during this episode of Unconventional Genius.