An odd title I know; but I needed to grab your attention.  I have been through numerous startup ventures with other folks in my career; although, Ambit is my first ownership situation.  But, I have had the same question posed to me over the years.  "How big is your company and what happens if you go away?"  This question has perplexed me everytime.

  All companies start out small.  Size is not an indicator of longevity; simply ask Merrill Lynch, AIG, GM, and hundreds of others these days.  At the end of the day people purchase based on two criteria.  One, the product solves a problem.  Two, the individual or entity selling the solution is someone the customer feels comfortable with doing business.  A friend of mine that teaches graduate level marketing would cringe at this over simplification; but, this has been my personal observation for over 25 years.

The result of this business paradigm is a focus on relationship building and not products.  I am a software developer.  I understand that products are short term.  Relationships, if developed properly, are long term.  In fact, they should be lifelong.  Like products, relationships will have problems along the way.  It is how these rough patches are handled that determines the long term success of the relationship.  Therefore, the question that should be asked in the sales process is not "How big is your company and what happens if you go away?" but "How will you handle problems that arise along the way and will you be there to help?"

Everyone that I have hired for the past 20 years has heard the same speech at interview time.  The real determining value of your career path is not annual salary but preservation of relationships.  Most of the relationships I developed 25 years ago I still have today (even though I have moved through four companies during that time).  If you value the longevity of relationships then you will always put the other party in the relationship first!