As CEO of SpendBoss, Scott Schneider leverages his previous experience of starting and running a high-growth consulting company to expand SpendBoss’s horizons into a company that designs customized spend management and procurement platforms for multiple industries.
In 1997, Scott Schneider – originally from New York – chose to relocate to Charlotte from New York City. He was familiar with the Carolinas as he went to Clemson for his undergraduate degree. In moving, he decided to settle in the Ballantyne area, which at the time was nothing like the bustling, business host that it is today.
“[I] got friendly with a neighbor of mine and in ’98 we formed a company called Ballantyne Consulting.”
The main offerings were large Oracle financial implementation, data warehousing, and custom development type work – all technology related.
After three years of growth and expanding to Raleigh and Atlanta, they sold that business. There, he learned the ins and outs of starting and running a high-growth company as Ballantyne Consulting grew to over 100 employees in three years.
“So after I exited that, I did a couple of different things but [all] outside of technology.
In 2014, he was approached to be an investor for an innovative idea – SpendBoss. At the time, the company was in the concept phase – “they hadn’t even formed their articles of organization yet.”
“I was looking at it as an opportunity to get involved with a SaaS-based software from the ground up. But then once I started talking with the folks I ended up taking an executive role and managing the day-to-day operations.
Simply, SpendBoss digitally connects mid-size retail companies with their vendors to optimize their indirect spend. “We focus on multi-location companies.” This can be anything from apparel retail to large franchisees to even regional banks. Typically a SpendBoss customer has 20 to 500 locations.
“So it’s all of those items that you’re not really thinking about as a consumer when you walk in the door.” It’s all around you when you shop but not necessarily what you are buying – think hangers, shopping bags, displays, etc.
“We’re a spend management, e-purchasing software that wraps controls and analytics around what we’re doing.”
Schneider sees it as implementing their customers while integrating their vendors.
After loading a vendor’s master item list into the SpendBoss platform, they create a location specific, custom catalog with categories for the location employees.
So users that run purchasing at individual locations can easily login to a one-stop shop, view a custom catalog that includes every vendor for that store, and make purchases similar to doing so on Amazon.
This platform also limits stores’ shipping costs. “You can get the same item from a different vendor in California as you can [in] NYC.”
SpendBoss additionally provides analytics to the corporate office. Over time, corporate can leverage analytics to gain insights as to trending items. “[Management] can be proactive rather than reacting to what’s going on. We’re cutting down on average spending, we’re keeping people in budget, we’re putting controls in place, so that [store managers] don’t have to constantly call up to the corporate folks to get approval for things.”
As for the controls, top-level management can put budgets in place, limit order quantities, designate high-priority items or categories, etc.
Looking to the future, Schneider mentions healthcare as an industry that SpendBoss is considering. They also recently tested the market for asset management capabilities and will be adding that functionality in the near future.
As a proven, successful entrepreneur, Schneider has a wealth of quality advice.
First, he explores every idea. “Every idea is a good idea until it’s not.” It’s openness that potentially yields opportunity. “I don’t know who I’m going to meet and what opportunity is going to be there when I wake up in the morning.”
Secondly, he stresses the importance of a quality team. “Surround yourself with great people and listen more than you speak.”
“[Also] create some type of board of advisors with a group of individuals that are diverse in what they do and what they bring to the table.” He highly suggests getting them all in the room to talk amongst themselves. “Help facilitate the conversation [to] get them talking to each other – then great things happen.”
Most importantly, he consciously thinks about company culture.
Many entrepreneurs will look for a certain ‘x-factor’ that allows two-plus-two to equal five. Well in Schneider’s case, culture is that extra something. He’s quick to mention that through a laid back, honest, and focused culture that for SpendBoss hopefully – “two plus two [can] equal ten.”
