Steve Edwards is the founder and CEO of Premier Virtual, a virtual platform where recruiters can host online job fairs from the comfort of their own home. A self-proclaimed sales guy, Steve worked various roles in the sales industry and moved his way up to a VP of sales before starting Premiere Virtual. Steve is also a veteran and credits the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division with developing his discipline and his approach to leadership.

Episode Notes 

Who is Steve Edwards, and how did he start Premiere Virtual? [1:02]

Transitioning to an entirely-virtual environment and the benefits of virtual recruiting [5:22]

How does a platform differentiate itself from other platforms? Developing ways to tackle problems is key to creating something that is both unique and useful [7:40]

Improving user experience by actively seeking out user feedback and continuing to evolve your product [13:33]

A founder’s nightmare — building a tech platform as a non-technical founder [18:33]

Steve’s advice for founders: Have a software engineer on your team to help navigate the technical aspects of founding a company [24:45]

How much did it cost to develop your MVP? [28:27]

Steve’s tip: You can’t talk to developers like you talk to a sales person [32:00]

How do you know when to go all in? Making tough decisions and the importance of finding an entrepreneurial mentor group [33:28]

Why Steve choose to bootstrap his company rather than raise venture capital funding [37:26]

Resources available to veterans looking to start their own company [40:27]

Experiencing rapid growth as the world moves to remote work [43:30]

Building a work culture that supports and elevates team members [47:45]

Finding employees that will stick around and weather the storm can be difficult. Hire talent based on attitude and drive [49:15]

Using employee feedback to become one of the best places to work [54:30]

Servant leadership and the benefits of playing to your team’s strengths [57:54]

Coming full circle: Steve recalls having the US Army reach out to him in order to use Premiere Virtual with their new recruits [1:02:24]

What does future growth look like for Premier Virtual? [1:03:30]

With technological advances, industries are always changing. Take advantage of this to become the next industry leader [1:10:23]

Need some startup advice, or looking to grow your company and hire new talent? You can reach out to Steve at steve@premiervirtual.com [1:14:00]

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