AccMan never knowingly under opinionated

Xero – a new contender to watch?

Last evening I fielded a call from Rod Drury, CEO with Xero, a New Zealand based vendor that is hoping to make it big in the UK. I’ll be meeting the company next week for a full briefing. In the meantime, he provided some insights into the company’s strategy that are worth sharing.

• The company IPO’d early on the theory that credibility through public ownership matters and in order to lock in value. Both ideas play directly towards vendor viability, a key element in any software buying decision
• They kicked off by looking to attract accounting practice partners. They homed in on forms with particular characteristics as a way of validating the market. Today they have about 100 in NZ including some international brands
• They then backed that by partnering with local banks to provide host-to-host connections that could be used by Xero to change customer behaviour through auto uploading of key data. Those banks are now an important source of referral.
• Developing a strong vertical market strategy that allows them to quickly understand and develop markets based on need.

Rod has an infectious quality to the enthusiasm he exudes. As a founder he’s not lost any of the gung-ho crazy spirit you need to make a business like this fly. I’ll be taking a peek under the covers and will share more of what I learn about this company that hails from what Rod describes as: “This tiny rock from somewhere in the South Pacific.” If the first impressions are indicative of the company’s DNA then it will be an interesting and entertaining day. You don’t often get to say that about a software company.

In the meantime – check out the company blog.