Owner/CEO's Name & Business's Name
Thoryn Stephens, Syncopate International
Year Established
2007
Current Year Revenue (Optional - please include year)
$250K
Next Year's Projected Revenue (Optional - include year)
~$300K
Why is your business unique and what's your pitch?
Syncopate is the only team building company that uses the universal language of music to transform the performance of teams as large as 10,000 in as little as 90 minutes. Teams develop new musical compositions and assume roles in marketing, project management, DJ-ing and music production. Clients including Google, Yahoo! & The Gap, choose Syncopate to accelerate communication and help realize lasting improvements in morale.
What led you to start the business?
I was previously a published scientist in the fields of molecular/cell biology, where I worked in infectious disease drug development. On a daily basis I would clone genes and test compounds on cells to see if they were efficacious or not.
Also a drummer and music producer, I had a recording studio in San Francisco, where I began teaching night classes in DJing and music production. After quite a bit of press regarding our novel approach, i received a call from a woman at Nike who read about us in the New York Times, asking if we could do corporate training using music and DJing.
Ultimately I quit biotechnology in 2005 and created Syncopate, where we developed a team building program. The CEO of our first engagement, a pharma startup, stated we "saved his company" following an event with Syncopate at their critical juncture. I knew we had the elements for success.
Since then we've led engagements for executive teams at Yahoo!, Google, Gap, Microsoft, etc., and most recently SunPower. My roles are in sales/business development, and I also facilitate for events. At a recent gig with SunPower I facilitated a team of 500, where we taught 70+ teams how to remix their company jingle - in 90 minutes. It was amazing - and possibly the largest group remix in history. (here is a slideshow - http://www.transformyourteam.com/music-team-building-exercises)
We have also done pro bono music team building events with non-profits such as the Reciprocity Foundation in NYC, where we taught a dozen inner-city youth how to produce music. Arguably some of the most rewarding work we've done.
I ultimately believe in following one's heart and passion, and while its not an easy and often lonely road, with perseverance and dedication success will manifest itself.
Lessons Learned
- Focus on core market --- we had opportunities to franchise throughout the US and in China - which ultimately drew down resources
- Keep a low debt load -- early investment and interest was crushing to the company. We've learned to operate nearly debt free
- Don't use craigslist for new hires/contractors. I can't say we've ever met anyone we've retained through CL, and generally have not had great experiences. Partnerup is a better resource.
- The strength of guerrilla marketing and social media -- with small budgets, SEO and social media were crucial in our early stages of growth