Many startup companies in the “garage operation” stage want to appear larger and more professional when interacting with customers by phone, but they do not have the money to invest in the hardware required for a conventional PBX phone system.  Other startups have distributed operations, with employees working on cell phones from home or on the road, and want to enable effective communication between employees and with customers.  RingCentral addresses these needs by providing a virtual PBX phone system, which includes multiple extensions, toll free numbers, automated greetings with menu trees, dial-by-name directories, and call and voicemail forwarding.  You can use their online interface to create “rules” that define call routing based upon time of day, number dialed, type of caller, or whether the call was answered.  Your greeting could say “Press 1 for technical support, press 2 for sales”, etc, but all options could forward to a single cell phone!

In this interview, Praful Shah gives a detailed overview of the RingCentral features and pricing, and provides some great examples of both large and small companies that have used their product. He also gives an overview of his own unique role in the company as VP of Strategy, and what responsibilities the position involves.

There have been some great reviews of the product, and it was even recommended in Timothy Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Workweek as a good solution for automating receptionist activities and professionally managing business calls while traveling and working remotely. This year RingCentral closed a second round of VC funding, so I’m sure we’ll hear plenty more about the company in the months to come! Check out a recent post on Expand2Web for a great overview on virtual phone systems and the benefits for small businesses.

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This video focuses exclusively on early-stage startup advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Thomas Stocking and David Dennis at GroundWork Open Source walk through the process of starting a company, step-by-step, covering everything from selecting a winning product idea to negotiating VC funding.

David and Thomas start by highlighting the importance of initially brainstorming numerous ideas, and being ruthless with the selection process. They also emphasize that founders should vet these ideas with experts in the field, and they provide advice on how to find people who will provide objective feedback (this may include calling up VCs, analysts, media contacts…even executives of competing companies!) They mention the challenges of covering initial startup expenses, and discuss strategies for successfully closing your first round of venture capital funding, which involve being prepared with a compelling presentation and answers to tough questions.

Thomas and David also communicate that incredible persistence is required to make a startup company succeed, but at the same time, founders must be willing to continually reassess and refocus their business plan…it’s crucial not to become too attached to one idea! The interview concludes with their advice on the skill set required to succeed as a founder or CEO of a startup, and how to direct your career such that you acquire and develop those skills. If you’re thinking about starting a company, then this is the episode for you!

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GroundWork Open Source is a company specializing in IT and network monitoring solutions. Many excellent open source IT management tools can currently be found on the web, but the challenge lies in the integration of these tools, which is what GroundWork provides, at 20% of the cost of comparable proprietary IT software (or less, in the case of their free community version). The open source aspect also allows their software to be very flexible for unique applications, and they provide highly scalable enterprise packages for growing customers.

In this interview, I had the opportunity to speak with Thomas Stocking, Co-Founder and Sr. Director of Customer Support, and David Dennis, Sr. Director of Product Marketing, and they discuss all about the company’s tech, product features, open source business strategy, marketing approach, and competitive pricing. Stay tuned for Part 2, an episode focused exclusively on advice for entrepreneurs!

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