We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christopher Brandsey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

CHRISTOPHER, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?

Like many kids after graduating high school I didn’t know what steps I needed to take in my life to keep moving in a positive direction. There were so many unknowns and too many directions to take. I already had a year of college under my belt after taking advantage of a stellar program in Minnesota that allows students to enroll in college early, earning college and high school credits. Those college courses exposed me to so much with my German professor Dr. de Jung making a real impression on my life. He was someone who had been everywhere and had a story for every situation. His lust for life was infectious and he kindled my desire for travel and learning languages. I wanted experiences and a life like his.

It’s safe to say my entry into adulthood was a rocky one. Like many families we had drama – a divorce, moving to a new home, an estranged parent. Because of this I felt I needed a course set for me – a plan that helps me pay for college, travel, and learn languages but also bides me some time. That plan was joining the Marine Corps. and attending the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, CA. After taking the DLI aptitude test called the DLAB (short for Defense Language Aptitude Battery), I was set and everything seemed like it was in motion. I was to head to bootcamp in 7 months and the rest would be history. Except now I had 7 months to think through my plan and 7 months for different forks in the road to appear. Something we don’t realize when we are young is that opportunity knocks when we allow ourselves to be open to that opportunity. To be open to opportunity means you have to think outside of your plans and learn how to adapt, learn how to be flexible.

During my 7 months waiting period before my ship date I was open and relaxed knowing that I had somewhere to be and something to achieve. It was during this time that a friend visited from Germany and we traveled all over the US in my car, a Chevy Beretta with bad breaks and a sensitive sports clutch. We were in the car for weeks together and as people do, talked endlessly. It was during these talks when I realized that the path I had chosen for myself was not the right path for me. There were other options and additional forks in the road to consider.

What followed was incredible. My German friends parents offered to take me in, help me through school in Germany, and give me some spending geld (money) in exchange for editing research papers that the father published in the University of Chicago Press. It was and still is the most incredible thing anybody has ever done for me. Their kindness and willingness to bring me into their family changed the course of my life. I’m forever grateful to them.

CHRISTOPHER, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Most of my career has been in technology but within Food and Beverage, QSR, and manufacturing. I’ve worked for some amazing brands like Nestle, where I was working on automation and mobile operations, and Starbucks where I deployed technologies supporting Product Innovation, Supply Chain, and later mobile ordering. Additionally, I have helped build and exit startups.

Today, I work with a merry band of professionals solving technology and strategic problems within Food and Beverage. As part of this we help companies invest in the right technology to solve their problem at hand. We do by shoring up their vision, strategy, and execution for technologies like PLM, MES, ERP, and more. We love getting our hands dirty, diving into the problem at hand and guiding our clients toward the best solutions.

What sets us a part is our industry experience and our desire to build lasting relationships. We have automation experts, specifically within Food and Beverage production, that have run skunkworks like programs for some of the largest companies within industry. We have PLM experts that have not only configured the software but have actually put it into place within organizations. We know about and have relationships with startups servicing these sectors allowing our clients to experiment, learn, and excel.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I’m scaling my 4th venture now and I’d like to say I learned a thing or two along the way. I’m able to see around most corners and am less brazen with my maneuvers, which tends to be the folly inexperience. During my second startup we were building a technology in support of a specific manufacturing sector. We had a good amount of investment, a supportive board, and, unfortunately, a product that wasn’t sticking in the market.

We did a ton of research – interviewing our target customers, testing price reductions, packaged product options, etc. We looked at the effectiveness of the product, reducing the time to value to a few clicks. Our conclusion: our problem wasn’t a product problem or a pipeline problem. It was a disruption problem. The product we were pushing into the market was very disruptive to the normal ways of working within our target industry. In order to be successful we needed to establish years of trust, which we didn’t have. We decided to tack into a SaaS model where the value was significantly reducing risk across one’s supply chain. It was tangible, sellable, and potentially solved a major industry problem.

We leveraged and went after the same industry, the same markets, and the same organizations. We offered additional products one being a hardware solution that unlocked a unique data set for our customers.

Strategic pivots like this are hard in so many ways. You have to convince your customers that you can do this new thing. You have to keep your team together to build product and grow the message. You must also continually manage the expectations of your board, which have a stake in the success of the original idea and perhaps not so much of a stake in the pivot. Drawing parallels between your original business and your pivot will keep you in good shape with your investors.

As Oscar Wilde so famously said, ” Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” Navigating a pivot is tough, requires skilled hands, and is not for the faint of heart.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

This one is easy. Be known for your integrity, quality of work, and always deliver what you say you will deliver. Be great.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.frameandflight.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbrandsey/

Image Credits

Drazen Zigic – Woman Smiling Reading Label