Every quarter, AvidXchange CEO Mike Praeger takes his executive team away from the Charlotte headquarters for two days of planning and introspection. The first day off-site is spent reviewing trends from the previous 90 days. The second day is dedicated to the coming quarter and future strategy.
“I am shocked that we have never cancelled the meeting and have done it every quarter for 22 years,” Praeger says. “That’s one thing that is a key to our success, to get out of the daily firefight and focus on the business. It helps me organize the chaos.”
AvidXchange (NASDAQ: AVDX) automates payment processes for middle-market companies. It has more than 8,000 customers and connects with 825,000 companies in those clients’ supplier networks. The firm has seven offices outside of Charlotte, but most of its 1,600 employees are here.
The eight days out of each year spent huddled, addressing problems and generating the next good ideas, helped AvidXchange grow to become one of Charlotte’s unicorns — a privately held company valued at over $1 billion. Then last October, AvidXchange became a publicly traded company.
Praeger's comments were part of a discussion with Dan Roselli, co-founder of RevTech Labs, during the Generations 2022 conference held this week at the Charlotte Convention Center. AvidXchange was the title sponsor of the conference, aimed at thought leadership for fintech and insurtech professionals.
Praeger shared his insights on being the first company to draw the NASDAQ to ring the opening and closing bell outside of New York, the value of creating rhythms at work and his desire to be a leader in change.
AvidXchange CEO Mike Praeger developed his own business rhythm to keep the fintech company aligned
AvidXchange has averaged 30% growth each year for the past 10 years. It’s an astonishing rate that brought its own share of stress for the leadership team to manage.
To keep the group attached to the mission, AvidXchange created a Monday morning broadcast at the start of each week. AvidXchange “news anchors” share information about new product releases or achievements with key customers.
“That was a critical touchpoint teammates had over the last couple of years,” Praeger says. “It keeps everyone aligned when business is moving so fast. People take safety in these rhythms in how you run the business and how you connect.”
Praeger says he has found success with his own business rhythm, which includes regularly scheduled conversations with advisers and company leaders.
After a day off on Saturday, Praeger spends Sunday evenings preparing for the coming week. He has a standing phone call at 9 p.m. with a favorite investor — a phone meeting they have repeated each Sunday since 2015. He also talks with other key people in the business ahead of upcoming meetings.
“To me, it’s a lot of fun work related to getting ready for the week, and it makes the execution of the week easier,” Praeger says.
On Mondays, Praeger has a standing meeting with his leadership team.
Strong communication is a necessary part of leading a fast-moving company, Praeger says. He’s also learned to share vulnerabilities to help his team rally around the mission.
“As a leader, there is a fine line between portraying a positive image about the business and sharing all of the stuff that you can’t sleep at night about,” Praeger says. “The more vulnerable you are about sharing the things you are struggling with, it surprises me how many people want to come help solve the same problem."
AvidXchange was built to be a company that embraces change — including its journey to an IPO
Praeger says that even when he started AvidXchange, he dreamed of one day making it a public company. As AvidXchange grew, it became more driven toward that purpose. The Covid-19 pandemic helped the business perform even better as companies turned to automate payments in remote and hybrid work environments.
AvidXchange, as it clarified the path to an IPO, requested the NYSE and NASDAQ consider letting it ring the opening and closing bell outside of New York. The NASDAQ’s leadership liked the idea, and last October, AvidXchange’s leadership did just that from its Charlotte headquarters.
“Looking back, we could not have timed it any better raising $700 million at the peak of the market,” Praeger says. “We have a massive balance sheet that has prepared us for the future.”
Moving ahead, AvidXchange is focusing more on cross-border payments and looking to go deeper into the media industry.
Praeger admits, however, he was not always willing to be on the cutting edge himself.
He once deleted his Facebook account, concluding that if he wanted to communicate with someone, he would pick up the phone. He then began to see how his personal resistance to social media was similar to CEOs and CFOs who didn't want to give up paper checks and manual accounting processes.
Leading by example, Praeger has since embraced Instagram and now regularly posts “Monday insights,” where he shares his thoughts, photos and videos on entrepreneurship and leadership.
