September 13, 2023 • 23 mins
Meet Brittany and Andy Bischoff. He's an NFL Coach with the NY Giants and she's an accomplished Graphics Producer. Frustrated with a lack of tools and time-wasting busy work encouraged NFL Coach Andy to push technology to improve in his daily routine. He teamed up with Brittany, and together they dreamed up a Pro Quick Draw, a new technology that is literally a game-changer. Pro Quick Draw is now trusted by teams in leagues across the world. Listen to their inspiring story and get tips for tackling entrepreneurship and building a winning team.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The risk takers, innovators, business owners, and they're a couple.
(00:14):
Welcome to a couple of entrepreneurs, a series about couples who start a business together
without ending their relationship.
Hear their unique stories, get tips, advice, and a secret to their success.
Would you work with your spouse?
Hosted by Mickey and Tony, a couple of entrepreneurs.
(00:35):
Co-founders of Brandy Shorts.
An NFL football coach, a graphics producer, and the unique idea that became a game changer.
Meet Andy and Brittany Bischoff, a couple of entrepreneurs and owners of Pro Quick Draw.
(01:00):
Thank you guys so much for being part of this and participating.
If you guys can just briefly introduce yourselves.
My name is Brittany Bischoff.
And I'm Andy Bischoff.
You guys have a business together.
What is the business that you guys do together?
The business that we have is a software company.
It's for football coaches so they can design playbooks.
(01:21):
So what sparked this idea?
I am a coach.
I work long hours.
I was coming home late into the evening.
This is a few years back.
He's coaching football.
He's coming home late.
And I can't help myself but to say, why are you coming home so late?
He said, you wouldn't believe the things I have to do on a day-to-day basis at my job.
(01:43):
And he went on to kind of explain a little further something I didn't realize which he
was doing the grunt work as an offensive assistant which was copying, pasting, nudging and rearranging
his playbook content.
So if you've got a play written out in a drawing format and you have a different version of
the play, those players on the sheet, the X's and the O's have to be rearranged manually.
(02:12):
And we just thought that was where the busy work came in and he kind of always dreamed
of making something better out of that.
And yeah, and so I mean literally we're in our bedroom.
It's 11 at night.
She's saying, why is this taking so long?
Isn't technology improved?
Why aren't coaches working with technology?
(02:33):
And I mean literally out of her mouth came, isn't there a better way?
There got to be a better way.
And in that moment, we just started to think about a better way.
And so we thought of ideas like if it was an ideal world, how would a software improve
the process?
How would technology improve the process for a coach?
(02:54):
So we made kind of a wish list together.
We were able to bump into a very early find of a software developer early in the process
that was a gift to us.
A guy by the name of Troy Bigelow who's still our only software developer in the company
and he had had a background in the NFL and in development.
(03:17):
And so there was this unique marriage.
And in 2018, we put out our first product and now in 2023, we're proud to assist over
25 NFL teams, over 100 FBS teams, in the thousand range of high school teams nationwide.
(03:40):
And this idea that started in our bedroom with there's got to be a better way, thankfully
turned into a better way.
And really all we're trying to do with ProQuickDraw, which is a company, is really assist coaches
in improving their workflow to a more technology driven platform to help people work faster.
(04:02):
We had no hesitation in starting a company.
We just felt like we had the leadership skills.
And the and when you have an idea, nothing will stop you.
So true.
So true.
Really how we connected with our relationship was Brittany was working on a project focused
(04:22):
on the high school team that I was coaching at the time.
And she was doing a media arts project about our team.
And so it was that collaboration that really kind of strengthened a friendship that turned
into a marriage.
She was doing kind of a highlight of a season of this team that I was coaching.
(04:46):
And I wasn't the head coach, but I was asked basically to kind of you deal with her because
she's going to be around here and shooting footage and she's going to need access to
things and she's going to, you know, have some demands.
The product that she put together was wonderful.
And that collaboration was really, again, the friendship that led to our marriage.
(05:08):
You know, Tony and Mickey, how when you need to get the perfect shot, you need someone
on your side.
I needed to know when the team was going to come out of the tunnel so I could get that
perfect shot.
And he was my point person.
And he's actually the only coach on the staff of that football team that would respond to
me because everyone else is in game mode.
How long have you guys been married?
In April, we just celebrated our 10 year anniversary.
(05:30):
Happy anniversary.
Thank you.
We really hadn't worked together prior to the company.
So did you have any hesitation?
Like, you know, because people would say to us all the time when we talked to other couples,
like, you work with your spouse.
Like, how is that, you know, so did friends talk to you guys?
(05:51):
Hey, you guys are going to work together?
Are you cool?
You know, have you thought about that?
I think if you asked our friends and family, they would say we make a good team in anything
we do.
That's great.
That's awesome.
We had no hesitation in doing it.
The key is staying in your lane.
I have my strengths.
He has his weaknesses.
I have my weaknesses.
And we know what they are.
(06:12):
Not to say we haven't run into some bumps along the way, but for the most part, that
has kept us sane, staying in our lanes.
When you started the business together, you guys were really clear on defining roles and
how you would do that or how did you develop to make sure you did stay in your lane?
The interesting part of the business, and I think you hear this from entrepreneurs often,
(06:35):
is we didn't really start a business.
We built a product really to serve my needs as a coach and a few of my friends in the
NFL tagged along as really early adopters.
And we didn't really know we had a business.
What we were trying to do is make my life easier as a coach.
(06:59):
And some of the best inventions out there, some of the best business models out there,
I believe are those that weren't intended to be a business.
They just organically turned into one.
And so as our business grew and we realized we did have something that someone was willing
to pay for, our roles kind of grew as the company grew.
(07:25):
And I mean, Britt is the ultimate right now at wearing the most hats in our business.
I mean, we're a company with about a 10-person team.
That team is led by both of us in different ways at different times, but she really wears
a multitude of hats because small businesses have to do that.
(07:46):
And as our company grew, her role grew.
She was actually working for a production company.
And Baltimore, as our company was growing, she knew when she was starting to take more
calls about our company at her production job, it was time to stop doing her production
job.
And this is kind of how it organically grew and our roles have kind of grown through that
(08:10):
process.
Yeah, we can identify with that totally.
Yeah, the business, our business started to grow.
We were like, oh my God, we got to do this whole time.
Well, it's interesting.
That's what we liked it.
When we talked to folks about starting businesses together, it's like, what was that?
You always ask, like, what was that jumping off point?
Because a lot of time you're doing something else at the same time, but then you get it.
What was the push, right?
Yeah, what was the push?
(08:30):
And it sounds like you felt the volume of the business was starting to pick up that
you needed to go over full time.
At the start of the company, or at the start of the business, it was just the two of us.
Back to your question about how did you know to stay in each other's lanes?
Well, the moment that something was put on my plate that I felt like I wasn't suited
for or Andy, that's when we knew we needed to make our first hire.
(08:55):
And that's when our team started to grow.
We said, I can't do that.
You can't do that.
Just not try.
It's just hire.
I mean, you know, when you're running a small company, you do have to wear a lot of hats
and you have to think about your financial decisions because you don't want to take on
a larger payroll than you need to.
But in the mini hats that Britt was wearing where she was going down the road of bookkeeping
(09:21):
type areas and those bookkeeping areas are really neither of our strength.
And so it was then when we hired a bookkeeper in a role to kind of move us along.
So that's great.
And then from the perspective of being a coach, you coach with the New York Giants and you're
(09:45):
running this business together, like how does coaching help?
Does coaching, your background help in running a business like this?
My first role is to be the best coach I can be for the New York Giants.
What can I provide this team is I'm living these day to day experiences as a coach and
we're using our software at the Giants with 10 or 12 different coaches.
(10:10):
And those coaches are real life examples of what works and what hiccups we have in the
software.
And so imagine whatever the product is to get that real life field experience feedback.
I mean, that's what being a coach provides our company is that, hey, is this good for
(10:30):
a coach?
Well, why don't we ask the coaches who are using it right here in town?
And all those things that I referenced related to building a team play key roles in how we
build the team at ProQuick Draw.
So that's great.
So it's the team development and it sounds like you have a never ending feedback loop
(10:51):
because of the coach, the industry that you're in and then the products that you guys have
developed.
Absolutely.
Do you guys also try and schedule total separation from business?
Because you're so busy with what you guys do and you're raising a child and you're very
busy with work.
(11:11):
Do you find like, hey, we need to schedule like downtime?
Let's today not talk about the business.
I mean, do you guys go that way as well?
I'd say we actually do the opposite.
I think that we know when to turn it off, but we have to, as a sustaining business, we have
to schedule time together to catch up on what's going on.
Yeah, interesting.
(11:31):
We do not typically bring up work on a natural day to day basis, but we schedule those times
to say, hey, do you have some time tonight to talk about the business?
And I think your point is a good one though.
We did the youth football camp here in Hoboken as a different kind of outreach.
(11:53):
We have a seven-year-old boy that we want to be mindful of him not sitting in the room
on his iPad because we're talking business too much.
And I think we get enough of each area to fill our cups, so to speak, in those areas.
But I think we do a good job of turning it off when needed.
(12:14):
What are the keys to finding the right people from your guys' perspective?
Because obviously, you talked about the right team, but what do you guys look for?
Obviously skills, but are there other intangibles that you look at as well?
For me personally, team members are the most important thing.
People matter.
People make the difference.
And really the number one consistent factor away from Brittany and our developer Troy
(12:40):
has been champions of our product.
And that's really remained consistent with our core team because we can't just hire
any old salesperson who has had success selling.
There has to be a tie-in to your understanding of football and your understanding of the
(13:00):
work of a coach.
And so that's been the most consistent hiring piece for us has been a champion of our product.
What were some of the challenges to launch?
It couldn't have been that easy, right?
I mean, there's always some challenges that you run into trying to launch a new business.
Well, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
(13:21):
So some coaches are stuck in their ways and you just have to convince them that the front
legwork is going to pay off.
We sold pilot pricing to a few of his friends in the league to start off.
And that's when it snowballed, is you just get a few people to believe and to see the
vision and I think the rest follows.
(13:43):
So it was the biggest challenge I think was getting people to switch their ways because
learning a different software is not easy.
Yeah.
And coaches are very, they're just like as Britt said, they're just set in their ways
and technology helps us in all areas of our world, but some are more or less resistant
(14:07):
to it.
And as our product has grown, there is some transitional work to it that comes on the front
end.
And so if a coach gets bogged down in the front end work and says, oh, there's some
work to putting this together and they don't have the vision to see what's going to happen
(14:29):
on the back end.
Now, you know, I mean, we're not perfect.
We haven't kept every customer.
We haven't satisfied every person.
But so those challenges are ongoing in terms of just continuing to educate and teach and
train those that are interested to help them see the time savings that's going to occur
(14:52):
kind of once they cross the coals or cross the fire, so to speak.
What a great strategy.
And do you guys look at this?
It's a football oriented software.
Do you think about this for potentially other sports adapting it?
Yeah.
I mean, absolutely.
So I think most people out there can visualize this.
(15:13):
Okay.
Our software accelerates your workflow while using PowerPoint and Visio.
So if anyone's used PowerPoint out there or anyone's used Visio, which is a subsidiary
product, if you're going along through your workflow and having a challenge, our software
speeds up the work, speeds up the process.
(15:35):
And so to exactly your point, last month in Nashville, we presented in front of the NHL
and last week, incidentally, the Ottawa Senators became our first paying NHL customer.
Congratulations.
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
That's a very natural segue.
You would think you teed that thing up on a tee for me, but you didn't.
(15:56):
But the reality is that our software does have the flexibility to be maximized by those
outside of football in other areas.
And we're starting to see some of that happen, which is very exciting.
It's exciting.
That's great.
That's great.
We can totally see how big this can go.
(16:16):
So do you have any kind of guiding principles for the way you use your business?
Like if you have a disagreement, how do you resolve disagreements?
Do you have any guiding principles?
Or how to work together as an entrepreneur and as a couple.
You guys had mentioned the staying in a lane is a key thing.
There are other things that you guys look at and say, hey, these two or three things
are really key to trying to grow the business together.
(16:40):
In addition to staying in your lane, I'll also add complimenting each other in front
of the team.
I think that's really important to build each other up and to not show any sort of dislike
ness towards something we're doing in front of the team.
Yeah.
I mean, I agree.
I think we're human.
(17:03):
Our team knows we're a married couple.
And I think our team sees the love that we have for one another and that love is also
expressed in our company.
We have plenty of meetings that are led and run by her where I'm sitting in the fifth
(17:24):
seat or the fifth row.
I'm just an observer.
There's plenty of meetings that are run and led by me where she's sitting in whatever
seat.
And I think we just find that balance.
And it's better to have meetings run by each other where he's running one, I'm running
(17:45):
another, we're both not leading a meeting together.
Yeah.
And that's that's been a good formula for us.
And trust and respect.
Trust that I don't need to be involved in every decision.
He doesn't need to be involved in every decision, but we trust that whatever I'm going to take
care of, whatever he's going to take care of, it's going to be done well.
(18:08):
And respect in the workplace overall.
These are great.
No, that's great.
That's great.
And these are great tips for other aspiring entrepreneurial couples.
I often get asked, how do you possibly have time to be an NFL coach and to spearhead a
business with your wife?
And I just point out to people that we all have time.
(18:32):
It's just how we choose to use our time.
I mean, I have close friends in the industry that are baseball card collectors.
And I mean, they spend hours collecting baseball cards, trading baseball cards, involving their
son or daughter or dad or mother.
And I have other friends who play golf as much as Tiger Woods, you know?
(18:55):
And I mean, and all those things.
And I think for us, our life has really revolved around the team that we're working for first,
our company and our family.
And certainly we have social lives.
We have friends.
We do those things.
But I think it's just a matter when you're trying to balance all this, it's making a priority.
(19:20):
And, you know, I might play a few less rounds of golf than some of my peers, and I might
do a little bit less of this.
But as long as we're focused on the team that I'm working for first in our company and our
family next, that's advice that's gone a long way for me to people.
Now, that's great.
That is great advice.
It is about it's like having a plate and like, OK, what do you choose to have on your plate?
(19:43):
What do you choose to not have on your plate?
And it shifts sometimes, right?
It's the same, right?
Sometimes it shifts.
OK.
So, you do other things together outside of running your this one business.
Do you do other initiatives together?
The one venture that we took on recently was putting together a Hoboken youth football
(20:04):
camp, which was really exciting for us because it was something different.
And it was also not with a business mind because it was not for profit.
It was something for our community.
So it used our skills that we have with the business and it translated over to the camp.
Yeah.
(20:24):
And just to add to that, I mean, so we've had experience now working together, building
a plan and executing a plan.
And really over the course of nine months, we met people in Hoboken that helped us to
get to the right people to build a team and have dates and get equipment and get have
(20:49):
registration and order t-shirts and execute the camp.
You know, interestingly for us in town is there were these three dates a year ago when
the school was lighting out one PM, one PM, one PM for three straight days.
And it was our first year in town and there was a one PM dismissal, a one PM dismissal
and a one PM dismissal.
(21:10):
We know it well.
And we're saying, what are families doing with this time?
Because there's all this time and we looked at each other and said, if no one's doing
anything with this time, why don't we fill this gap with an opportunity to do something
locally and run a camp in Hoboken.
And so those pro quick draw experiences and those marriage experiences of a team and working
(21:37):
together certainly served us well as we put together this project for the camp.
How does your son feel about you guys working together?
It's all he's ever known.
Yeah.
He's so interesting about it.
A very cute story with him.
We were recently with family in Minnesota and we had a conversation going on in the
(22:02):
car something about the camp.
And he, I mean, he's seven and he said something related to is that from your camp?
And then he corrected himself and he said, I mean, our camp meaning himself.
And it was really, really neat to just see him take some ownership for it.
(22:25):
And I mean, to me, as a father and as a husband, I mean, that's what it's all about is creating
experiences that your family can be proud of.
And he feels a part of it.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for being part of our couple of entrepreneurs.
This was so awesome.
Thank you so much for your time.
(22:45):
Thanks for listening.
For more info about our guests and their business, visit proquickdraw.com.
For more episodes, visit brandingshorts.com forward slash podcast.
Thanks for listening.
The risk takers, innovators, business owners, and they're a couple.
(00:14):
Welcome to a couple of entrepreneurs, a series about couples who start a business together
without ending their relationship.
Hear their unique stories, get tips, advice, and a secret to their success.
Would you work with your spouse?
Hosted by Mickey and Tony, a couple of entrepreneurs.
(00:35):
Co-founders of Brandy Shorts.
An NFL football coach, a graphics producer, and the unique idea that became a game changer.
Meet Andy and Brittany Bischoff, a couple of entrepreneurs and owners of Pro Quick Draw.
(01:00):
Thank you guys so much for being part of this and participating.
If you guys can just briefly introduce yourselves.
My name is Brittany Bischoff.
And I'm Andy Bischoff.
You guys have a business together.
What is the business that you guys do together?
The business that we have is a software company.
It's for football coaches so they can design playbooks.
(01:21):
So what sparked this idea?
I am a coach.
I work long hours.
I was coming home late into the evening.
This is a few years back.
He's coaching football.
He's coming home late.
And I can't help myself but to say, why are you coming home so late?
He said, you wouldn't believe the things I have to do on a day-to-day basis at my job.
(01:43):
And he went on to kind of explain a little further something I didn't realize which he
was doing the grunt work as an offensive assistant which was copying, pasting, nudging and rearranging
his playbook content.
So if you've got a play written out in a drawing format and you have a different version of
the play, those players on the sheet, the X's and the O's have to be rearranged manually.
(02:12):
And we just thought that was where the busy work came in and he kind of always dreamed
of making something better out of that.
And yeah, and so I mean literally we're in our bedroom.
It's 11 at night.
She's saying, why is this taking so long?
Isn't technology improved?
Why aren't coaches working with technology?
(02:33):
And I mean literally out of her mouth came, isn't there a better way?
There got to be a better way.
And in that moment, we just started to think about a better way.
And so we thought of ideas like if it was an ideal world, how would a software improve
the process?
How would technology improve the process for a coach?
(02:54):
So we made kind of a wish list together.
We were able to bump into a very early find of a software developer early in the process
that was a gift to us.
A guy by the name of Troy Bigelow who's still our only software developer in the company
and he had had a background in the NFL and in development.
(03:17):
And so there was this unique marriage.
And in 2018, we put out our first product and now in 2023, we're proud to assist over
25 NFL teams, over 100 FBS teams, in the thousand range of high school teams nationwide.
(03:40):
And this idea that started in our bedroom with there's got to be a better way, thankfully
turned into a better way.
And really all we're trying to do with ProQuickDraw, which is a company, is really assist coaches
in improving their workflow to a more technology driven platform to help people work faster.
(04:02):
We had no hesitation in starting a company.
We just felt like we had the leadership skills.
And the and when you have an idea, nothing will stop you.
So true.
So true.
Really how we connected with our relationship was Brittany was working on a project focused
(04:22):
on the high school team that I was coaching at the time.
And she was doing a media arts project about our team.
And so it was that collaboration that really kind of strengthened a friendship that turned
into a marriage.
She was doing kind of a highlight of a season of this team that I was coaching.
(04:46):
And I wasn't the head coach, but I was asked basically to kind of you deal with her because
she's going to be around here and shooting footage and she's going to need access to
things and she's going to, you know, have some demands.
The product that she put together was wonderful.
And that collaboration was really, again, the friendship that led to our marriage.
(05:08):
You know, Tony and Mickey, how when you need to get the perfect shot, you need someone
on your side.
I needed to know when the team was going to come out of the tunnel so I could get that
perfect shot.
And he was my point person.
And he's actually the only coach on the staff of that football team that would respond to
me because everyone else is in game mode.
How long have you guys been married?
In April, we just celebrated our 10 year anniversary.
(05:30):
Happy anniversary.
Thank you.
We really hadn't worked together prior to the company.
So did you have any hesitation?
Like, you know, because people would say to us all the time when we talked to other couples,
like, you work with your spouse.
Like, how is that, you know, so did friends talk to you guys?
(05:51):
Hey, you guys are going to work together?
Are you cool?
You know, have you thought about that?
I think if you asked our friends and family, they would say we make a good team in anything
we do.
That's great.
That's awesome.
We had no hesitation in doing it.
The key is staying in your lane.
I have my strengths.
He has his weaknesses.
I have my weaknesses.
And we know what they are.
(06:12):
Not to say we haven't run into some bumps along the way, but for the most part, that
has kept us sane, staying in our lanes.
When you started the business together, you guys were really clear on defining roles and
how you would do that or how did you develop to make sure you did stay in your lane?
The interesting part of the business, and I think you hear this from entrepreneurs often,
(06:35):
is we didn't really start a business.
We built a product really to serve my needs as a coach and a few of my friends in the
NFL tagged along as really early adopters.
And we didn't really know we had a business.
What we were trying to do is make my life easier as a coach.
(06:59):
And some of the best inventions out there, some of the best business models out there,
I believe are those that weren't intended to be a business.
They just organically turned into one.
And so as our business grew and we realized we did have something that someone was willing
to pay for, our roles kind of grew as the company grew.
(07:25):
And I mean, Britt is the ultimate right now at wearing the most hats in our business.
I mean, we're a company with about a 10-person team.
That team is led by both of us in different ways at different times, but she really wears
a multitude of hats because small businesses have to do that.
(07:46):
And as our company grew, her role grew.
She was actually working for a production company.
And Baltimore, as our company was growing, she knew when she was starting to take more
calls about our company at her production job, it was time to stop doing her production
job.
And this is kind of how it organically grew and our roles have kind of grown through that
(08:10):
process.
Yeah, we can identify with that totally.
Yeah, the business, our business started to grow.
We were like, oh my God, we got to do this whole time.
Well, it's interesting.
That's what we liked it.
When we talked to folks about starting businesses together, it's like, what was that?
You always ask, like, what was that jumping off point?
Because a lot of time you're doing something else at the same time, but then you get it.
What was the push, right?
Yeah, what was the push?
(08:30):
And it sounds like you felt the volume of the business was starting to pick up that
you needed to go over full time.
At the start of the company, or at the start of the business, it was just the two of us.
Back to your question about how did you know to stay in each other's lanes?
Well, the moment that something was put on my plate that I felt like I wasn't suited
for or Andy, that's when we knew we needed to make our first hire.
(08:55):
And that's when our team started to grow.
We said, I can't do that.
You can't do that.
Just not try.
It's just hire.
I mean, you know, when you're running a small company, you do have to wear a lot of hats
and you have to think about your financial decisions because you don't want to take on
a larger payroll than you need to.
But in the mini hats that Britt was wearing where she was going down the road of bookkeeping
(09:21):
type areas and those bookkeeping areas are really neither of our strength.
And so it was then when we hired a bookkeeper in a role to kind of move us along.
So that's great.
And then from the perspective of being a coach, you coach with the New York Giants and you're
(09:45):
running this business together, like how does coaching help?
Does coaching, your background help in running a business like this?
My first role is to be the best coach I can be for the New York Giants.
What can I provide this team is I'm living these day to day experiences as a coach and
we're using our software at the Giants with 10 or 12 different coaches.
(10:10):
And those coaches are real life examples of what works and what hiccups we have in the
software.
And so imagine whatever the product is to get that real life field experience feedback.
I mean, that's what being a coach provides our company is that, hey, is this good for
(10:30):
a coach?
Well, why don't we ask the coaches who are using it right here in town?
And all those things that I referenced related to building a team play key roles in how we
build the team at ProQuick Draw.
So that's great.
So it's the team development and it sounds like you have a never ending feedback loop
(10:51):
because of the coach, the industry that you're in and then the products that you guys have
developed.
Absolutely.
Do you guys also try and schedule total separation from business?
Because you're so busy with what you guys do and you're raising a child and you're very
busy with work.
(11:11):
Do you find like, hey, we need to schedule like downtime?
Let's today not talk about the business.
I mean, do you guys go that way as well?
I'd say we actually do the opposite.
I think that we know when to turn it off, but we have to, as a sustaining business, we have
to schedule time together to catch up on what's going on.
Yeah, interesting.
(11:31):
We do not typically bring up work on a natural day to day basis, but we schedule those times
to say, hey, do you have some time tonight to talk about the business?
And I think your point is a good one though.
We did the youth football camp here in Hoboken as a different kind of outreach.
(11:53):
We have a seven-year-old boy that we want to be mindful of him not sitting in the room
on his iPad because we're talking business too much.
And I think we get enough of each area to fill our cups, so to speak, in those areas.
But I think we do a good job of turning it off when needed.
(12:14):
What are the keys to finding the right people from your guys' perspective?
Because obviously, you talked about the right team, but what do you guys look for?
Obviously skills, but are there other intangibles that you look at as well?
For me personally, team members are the most important thing.
People matter.
People make the difference.
And really the number one consistent factor away from Brittany and our developer Troy
(12:40):
has been champions of our product.
And that's really remained consistent with our core team because we can't just hire
any old salesperson who has had success selling.
There has to be a tie-in to your understanding of football and your understanding of the
(13:00):
work of a coach.
And so that's been the most consistent hiring piece for us has been a champion of our product.
What were some of the challenges to launch?
It couldn't have been that easy, right?
I mean, there's always some challenges that you run into trying to launch a new business.
Well, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
(13:21):
So some coaches are stuck in their ways and you just have to convince them that the front
legwork is going to pay off.
We sold pilot pricing to a few of his friends in the league to start off.
And that's when it snowballed, is you just get a few people to believe and to see the
vision and I think the rest follows.
(13:43):
So it was the biggest challenge I think was getting people to switch their ways because
learning a different software is not easy.
Yeah.
And coaches are very, they're just like as Britt said, they're just set in their ways
and technology helps us in all areas of our world, but some are more or less resistant
(14:07):
to it.
And as our product has grown, there is some transitional work to it that comes on the front
end.
And so if a coach gets bogged down in the front end work and says, oh, there's some
work to putting this together and they don't have the vision to see what's going to happen
(14:29):
on the back end.
Now, you know, I mean, we're not perfect.
We haven't kept every customer.
We haven't satisfied every person.
But so those challenges are ongoing in terms of just continuing to educate and teach and
train those that are interested to help them see the time savings that's going to occur
(14:52):
kind of once they cross the coals or cross the fire, so to speak.
What a great strategy.
And do you guys look at this?
It's a football oriented software.
Do you think about this for potentially other sports adapting it?
Yeah.
I mean, absolutely.
So I think most people out there can visualize this.
(15:13):
Okay.
Our software accelerates your workflow while using PowerPoint and Visio.
So if anyone's used PowerPoint out there or anyone's used Visio, which is a subsidiary
product, if you're going along through your workflow and having a challenge, our software
speeds up the work, speeds up the process.
(15:35):
And so to exactly your point, last month in Nashville, we presented in front of the NHL
and last week, incidentally, the Ottawa Senators became our first paying NHL customer.
Congratulations.
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
That's a very natural segue.
You would think you teed that thing up on a tee for me, but you didn't.
(15:56):
But the reality is that our software does have the flexibility to be maximized by those
outside of football in other areas.
And we're starting to see some of that happen, which is very exciting.
It's exciting.
That's great.
That's great.
We can totally see how big this can go.
(16:16):
So do you have any kind of guiding principles for the way you use your business?
Like if you have a disagreement, how do you resolve disagreements?
Do you have any guiding principles?
Or how to work together as an entrepreneur and as a couple.
You guys had mentioned the staying in a lane is a key thing.
There are other things that you guys look at and say, hey, these two or three things
are really key to trying to grow the business together.
(16:40):
In addition to staying in your lane, I'll also add complimenting each other in front
of the team.
I think that's really important to build each other up and to not show any sort of dislike
ness towards something we're doing in front of the team.
Yeah.
I mean, I agree.
I think we're human.
(17:03):
Our team knows we're a married couple.
And I think our team sees the love that we have for one another and that love is also
expressed in our company.
We have plenty of meetings that are led and run by her where I'm sitting in the fifth
(17:24):
seat or the fifth row.
I'm just an observer.
There's plenty of meetings that are run and led by me where she's sitting in whatever
seat.
And I think we just find that balance.
And it's better to have meetings run by each other where he's running one, I'm running
(17:45):
another, we're both not leading a meeting together.
Yeah.
And that's that's been a good formula for us.
And trust and respect.
Trust that I don't need to be involved in every decision.
He doesn't need to be involved in every decision, but we trust that whatever I'm going to take
care of, whatever he's going to take care of, it's going to be done well.
(18:08):
And respect in the workplace overall.
These are great.
No, that's great.
That's great.
And these are great tips for other aspiring entrepreneurial couples.
I often get asked, how do you possibly have time to be an NFL coach and to spearhead a
business with your wife?
And I just point out to people that we all have time.
(18:32):
It's just how we choose to use our time.
I mean, I have close friends in the industry that are baseball card collectors.
And I mean, they spend hours collecting baseball cards, trading baseball cards, involving their
son or daughter or dad or mother.
And I have other friends who play golf as much as Tiger Woods, you know?
(18:55):
And I mean, and all those things.
And I think for us, our life has really revolved around the team that we're working for first,
our company and our family.
And certainly we have social lives.
We have friends.
We do those things.
But I think it's just a matter when you're trying to balance all this, it's making a priority.
(19:20):
And, you know, I might play a few less rounds of golf than some of my peers, and I might
do a little bit less of this.
But as long as we're focused on the team that I'm working for first in our company and our
family next, that's advice that's gone a long way for me to people.
Now, that's great.
That is great advice.
It is about it's like having a plate and like, OK, what do you choose to have on your plate?
(19:43):
What do you choose to not have on your plate?
And it shifts sometimes, right?
It's the same, right?
Sometimes it shifts.
OK.
So, you do other things together outside of running your this one business.
Do you do other initiatives together?
The one venture that we took on recently was putting together a Hoboken youth football
(20:04):
camp, which was really exciting for us because it was something different.
And it was also not with a business mind because it was not for profit.
It was something for our community.
So it used our skills that we have with the business and it translated over to the camp.
Yeah.
(20:24):
And just to add to that, I mean, so we've had experience now working together, building
a plan and executing a plan.
And really over the course of nine months, we met people in Hoboken that helped us to
get to the right people to build a team and have dates and get equipment and get have
(20:49):
registration and order t-shirts and execute the camp.
You know, interestingly for us in town is there were these three dates a year ago when
the school was lighting out one PM, one PM, one PM for three straight days.
And it was our first year in town and there was a one PM dismissal, a one PM dismissal
and a one PM dismissal.
(21:10):
We know it well.
And we're saying, what are families doing with this time?
Because there's all this time and we looked at each other and said, if no one's doing
anything with this time, why don't we fill this gap with an opportunity to do something
locally and run a camp in Hoboken.
And so those pro quick draw experiences and those marriage experiences of a team and working
(21:37):
together certainly served us well as we put together this project for the camp.
How does your son feel about you guys working together?
It's all he's ever known.
Yeah.
He's so interesting about it.
A very cute story with him.
We were recently with family in Minnesota and we had a conversation going on in the
(22:02):
car something about the camp.
And he, I mean, he's seven and he said something related to is that from your camp?
And then he corrected himself and he said, I mean, our camp meaning himself.
And it was really, really neat to just see him take some ownership for it.
(22:25):
And I mean, to me, as a father and as a husband, I mean, that's what it's all about is creating
experiences that your family can be proud of.
And he feels a part of it.
Yeah.
Thank you so much for being part of our couple of entrepreneurs.
This was so awesome.
Thank you so much for your time.
(22:45):
Thanks for listening.
For more info about our guests and their business, visit proquickdraw.com.
For more episodes, visit brandingshorts.com forward slash podcast.
Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.