Dartmouth firm upgrades online marketing software

December 1, 2011 - 5:01pm BY BILL POWER BUSINESS REPORTER

SimplyCast.com of Dartmouth announced Thursday a major revamp of its online marketing software to be released in January, opening the door for a potential surge in growth and hiring next year.

“This is a major release of our all-in-one marketing solution that will allow us to compete with some of the biggest players in this space,” spokesman Michael Cusden said in an interview.

“We’re including more than 12 different products under one roof for various modes of communications with clients.”

SimplyCast is an online marketing application used by thousands of small businesses around the world.

The company is in Burnside Park and has about 25 employees.

Cusden estimated the system is used in about 175 countries, where small-business operators had checked out the system on a trial basis and then signed on as clients.

There is a free-access zone that provides low-level access to the system.

Version 7.0 of the SimplyCast solution will allow users to reach their audience, regardless of the mode of communication.

“This latest release of SimplyCast is a serious game changer for the business,” said Cusden.

Among the assorted added features is a news release submission application that will allow businesses to submit releases, articles and other forms of media quickly.

“If you are a small-business operator, it is very time-consuming to manage different client lists,” said Cusden. “With SimplyCast, you can easily expand marketing without having to hire additional people or having to pay somebody else to handle this aspect of the business.”

SimplyCast has grown in leaps and bounds in the three years since Saeed El-Darahali, president and chief executive officer, came on board.

Cusden said the company is looking for software developers as it prepared for a “breakout” year in 2012.

The province is supporting SimplyCast’s growth with a five-year payroll rebate to a maximum of $1,008,000 through Nova Scotia Business Inc., the province’s business development agency.

Under this agreement, the company’s plan could see it create up to as many as 100 new jobs in sales, software development, system administration, marketing and client support over the next five years.

(bpower@herald.ca)

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By BILL POWER Business Reporter

Businessman: Place trust in new hires

December 12, 2011 - 4:37am BY MARTHA WILSON

New workers in an organization shouldn’t be doing entry-level tasks, says Saeed El-Darahali, founder of the Halifax-based marketing software firm SimplyCast.
Find someone else to make the photocopies and water the plants; new hires and interns need to be given ownership of projects that are crucial, right from the beginning.

What, what? Major projects? Right from the start?

Absolutely, says El-Darahali, who has seen it work over and over. New employees deserve a lot of respect, he believes. "I report directly to them. If people are committing their life to my company, I’m going to commit to them."

This isn’t optics or make-work, El-Darahali adds. "The majority of projects they start on are actually critical to the company."

And doesn’t that ever pan out, ah, badly? Not really, he says. Careful hiring means that the people who join the company are likely to be a good fit; trusting them and relying on their judgment from the beginning ensures that they quickly become valuable assets within the organization.

He explains, "Taking a chance and making sure that new graduates and co-op students gain experience is a very important piece to the growth of a company going forward.

"There are not enough trained and experienced workers to go around now, and it will only get worse. The solution is to empower youth and overlook their lack of experience, and give it to them.

"Implementing in-house training and giving new hires the skills they need will only help the company, because those hires will most likely love their job."

Ellen Farrell, a Sobey School of Business management professor who specializes in entrepreneurship and venture development, says El-Darahali is doing a lot of things differently from the norm.

"Nobody seems to work for Saeed; they seem to work with him. Or he works to make them productive." One of his consistent goals is to help his employees succeed, she says.

When El-Darahali launched SimplyCast, about three years ago, he says, "I wanted to create a one-stop shop to allow any company to communicate with their customers."

Only large companies have traditionally been able to afford that, he notes, and he wanted to change that equation.

Farrell believes that what SimplyCast is doing is extraordinary in ways that go beyond the hiring and training process. "This is a business that is probably more revolutionary than we give it credit for. It’s not just another site on the Internet. We’re going to be hearing a lot about this company in this area in the future," she says.

El-Darahali, who started his first business at 14, emphasizes the key role of true entrepreneurial thinking in creating a life that’s joyous and fulfilled.

"We don’t need greedy bosses and control freaks; what we need is great environments for people to flourish and grow, he says.

"Being entrepreneurial means you are always thinking of what can be done next and what can you beat the competition to. Loving what you do every day is a rare feeling, and those with the entrepreneurial mindset never feel like they are doing work.

"The brain seems to merge work, fun and adventure all into one and keeps the person wanting more and more."

Entrepreneurial thinking also means a broad definition of success, he says. "There is no final win; there is always just the next challenge. Every roadblock in life creates more questions and solutions, and the entrepreneurial person does not wait for life to come to them."

About the Author

By MARTHA WILSON