We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kyle Aulerich. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kyle below.

Kyle, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think as a good rule of thumb it’s important to recognize that success doesn’t come easily. That truth is hard for some high achievers to recognize and accept. It’s hard for me. One of the most crucial qualities you need to succeed is resilience. Whether you are climbing a mountain or building a business, it takes time, strength and help from others around you. It’s also inevitable to recognize that you’ll hit setbacks along the way. Having a mindset of resilience will ensure that you’ll look back and see just how far you’ve come. I found that it’s harder than I expected it would be, and you need to handle being uncomfortable for periods of time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My wife and I had our first child in high school. So, I officially had to grow up when I was just 17 years old. I attribute much of my drive and success to these early years when I was trying to navigate what being a father was and how I was going to provide for my young family. I got my GED or Good Enough Diploma, as I like to call it, and started working full-time. Shortly after, I enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves and began six years of reserve service. My time in the reserves culminated in a deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom in early 2003. Prior to being activated and shortly after returning home from Marine Corp boot camp, I started looking at potential career options. At the time I was working as a security guard for a large computer distributor. This was the early days in the tech industry, and I could clearly see that’s where the future was heading. I enrolled in a technical college and quickly earned an associate degree in computer technology.

I first worked as a network technician. Then took a position as a PC specialist, eventually moved into sales technology with a focus on delivering solutions for sales and marketing teams. Thanks to the GI Bill, I was able to return to school at night and earn my Bachelor of Science in information systems. In 2005, while working and going to school, I decided to start my first company with a business partner. At the time my focus was on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems developed in Salesforce for large field-based sales teams. We were specifically and focused on the life sciences industry. This was the start of a six-year run and a run that saw significant growth year over year. The company growth and success positioned us well for an exit. After selling the company, I took some time off to spend time with my family and to contemplate my next step. In 2011, I founded ApostleTech. Building on my previous experience, ApostleTech specializes in integrated CRM Solutions for companies and organizations in homebuilding, construction, financial services, and nonprofit sectors.

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

I think it’s primarily how we approach our partnerships with our clients. We believe in doing the right thing and recognize how it directly reflects our reputation as a company. We also understand the importance of being flexible when it comes to our customer engagements. If we make a mistake, we make it right, and we realize that our clients’ reputations are also on the line. Our job is to make our clients look good.

Have you ever had to pivot?

ApostleTech was founded in 2011 as a traditional Salesforce SI partner. At that time, it was ok if we specialized in all of Salesforce products across all industries. Over time, the space became more crowded. We needed to decide to either focus on a single product offered by Salesforce or a specific industry to become experts in. We decided to focus on the homebuilding and construction industry. After we completed a few projects for national homebuilders, we determined that the market sector was a good fit for us. We understand their business and we are passionate about developing solutions for companies in this space. It was a positive move for the company; focusing on this industry allowed us to become the go-to experts for integrated CRM solutions. We also entered the market at just the right time – as the homebuilding and construction industry was starting to modernize their technology stack to improve their sales and marketing process and overall customer lifecycle.

Contact Info:

• Website: apostletech.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ApostleTech
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/apostletech
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ApostleTech

Image Credits
ApostleTech