Welcome to Corporate Examiner’s exclusive realm of insights and inspiration. Ray Blakney, a trailblazer with over 16 years of experience in the business landscape, unveils the tapestry of his accomplishments and introduces us to his brainchild, Kairos Venture Studios, born from the culmination of his visionary pursuits.
Within these pages, you’ll discover how Ray’s journey has been punctuated by the creation of nearly 20 profitable companies, each a testament to his resilience and innovative prowess. His most recent conquest, a monumental exit, opened the door to a new chapter – the genesis of Kairos Venture Studios.
Delve into this captivating conversation as Ray shares his philosophy, where sustainability intertwines with innovation. Learn about the ethos behind Kairos Venture Studios, as it sets out to transform SaaS and digital product ideas from the United States into thriving entities within the dynamic Latin American (LatAm) market.
Join us as we explore the contours of innovation and business acumen, guided by the wisdom of an entrepreneur who continues to shape his legacy with every venture.
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Ray Blakney: “I have been an entrepreneur for 16+ years, and during that time I have bootstrapped close to 20 profitable companies. ‘Profitable’ means anywhere from a few hundred to a few hundred thousand in revenue a month.
I recently had my 4th exit, and my largest to date. The company that bought us approached me after the sale was done to see if I would be interested in continuing to do what I have been doing for the last decade and a half, but this time do it with significant funding. It sounded like a fun opportunity, so I said ‘yes’. That is how Kairos Venture Studios (KVS) was born.
KVS is a venture studio focusing on bringing SaaS and digital product ideas from the US to the LatAm market. We launch multiple new ‘experiments’ per year and decide within 12-18 months if there is a product market fit. We then spin the companies out, hire a leadership team and retain majority ownership in them. Internally, the team that built the MVP then goes on to start on the next project.
KVS allows our team members to combine the best of two worlds: we provide a stable place to work like working in larger companies, but combine it with the excitement and fun of constantly growing and working on new projects offered by a start up.
KVS distinguishes itself in two ways. First, it is one of the few venture studios focusing on the LatAm market. It then distinguishes itself further by focusing not on building the next Unicorn company, but by focusing on building solid ‘boring’ online businesses that generate about $5M ARR per year within 3-5 years.
Nobody playing in our space is focusing on creating companies of this size. This area is usually the space for successful bootstrapped companies.”
What advice do you wish you had received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Ray Blakney: “The advice I wish I had received is ‘you are not as good as you think you are. Hire help, and hire them as fast as you can.’
What I hope to improve on next quarter is exactly that. Hiring even better people. However, as the CEO, that is what I focus on every quarter.”
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Ray Blakney: “I expect that online usage will only grow in the future, but it will do so more in markets where the penetration is not already high like in the US and Europe. We plan on capitalizing on that by focusing on the growing market of Spanish-speaking Latin America.”
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Ray Blakney: “It is, as it has always been, hiring good people. The market forces change from being an employer’s market to an employee market, and that means some of the key people we need to hire have a lot of choices.
The challenge is, and the goal is, to become the most attractive place for people to work so you can bring in the best people.”
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Ray Blakney: “As the CEO who runs your company, your main job is to think. If you are like me, you bootstrapped your business and worked hard to get where you are, so that is a hard transition to make.
The transition from doer to thinker is, at least for me, the most underestimated and least talked about part of running a company.”
What does “success” in 2023 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Ray Blakney: “Kairos Venture Studios is not actually projected to make money for another 3 years due to our business model, so success for me for 2023 is simply having the right people in the right seats and have the proverbial business bus moving in the right direction.”
This interview was originally published on ValiantCEO.
