Transcript: Penny Power - Ecademy.com
Ecademy.com founder Penny Power talks about the inspiration behind the business networking site.
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Interviewer: Dave Harries, BizView.tv
Interviewee: Penny Power, Founder, Ecademy.com
Dave Harries (Introduction)
One of the biggest phenomena to hit the web in recent years has been the social networking site. Facebook, Beebo and MySpace have plugged an entire generation into the online world. But long before these social networks had been dreamt of a few of the more savvy members of the business community had already spotted the potential of the internet to put business people in touch with one another. Ecademy was one of the first websites to exploit this idea and it was dreamt up by an entrepreneurial couple over a pizza. It's now huge with thousands of members all over the world but what exactly is it and what's it for? We went along to meet one of the founders and find out how it works.
Penny Power
Ecademy is a social business network for business people, connecting business people all around the world. We're in 220 countries now and I say social business network because people build relationships on Ecademy and they do business with one another, so we attract business people to Ecademy who want to connect with people but fundamentally we say it's about relationship first, commerce second and so it's about forming deeper relationships, it's not just about creating a list of contacts.
Dave Harries
You started in 1998, you must have been one of the first if not the first social networking site, how did you get the idea for Ecademy?
Penny Power
It's interesting that, because at the time I was at home with my very young children who were nought, three and five, and hadn't worked in the IT industry for 5 years and so wasn't using technology at all but my husband Thomas Power who's our Chairman he has always been very emerged in the IT industry as well, we met in the IT industry, he had sold his business that he had to a larger organisation, worked his notice and then came home one day and said "I know this is a great time to tell you this when we've got 3 young children but I've just gone freelance and I'm going to start my own business". He's a tremendous networker, amazing connector of people so we were always seeing people coming through and he was talking at the time about ecommerce, helping American businesses come across and find partners in Europe. So I asked him about this internet thing and I said isn't there a way of us creating a community online for business people, people like you, that we could distribute your brand online and connect you with people and also rather than you needing always to be the hub for everyone, because people contacting him saying "do you know anyone who can...", they can actually create the peer-to-peer connections. He liked the idea, he went off to America for a meeting, reading the Economist on the aeroplane and looked at the 'E' and said Ecademy! And he came home and said "I really like the idea, let's start Ecademy".
Dave Harries
For the new user, it can be quite a daunting world, the world of networking, does Ecademy ease that process do you think?
Penny Power
I would hope we do, we have processes in place, looking at it as a machine, we have processes in place, messages that we will send out to help people guide them through the process and I think it's like any new subject, you cannot expect to learn this without diving in and you have to be willing to click on the buttons, click on the tabs, ask people for help and the thing I love about the Ecademy community is that they welcome new members because they're more connections and they do help one another.
Dave Harries
When new members first join Ecademy they often communicate with you, they email you and you reply, but is it really you who's writing to them?
Penny Power
It is! I know I get asked that question a lot actually is it me who's replied. It is because I'm in my flame as a business person when I'm connecting with people and I really like to understand people and also they are the most important asset of Ecademy, is the members. So we've organised and I run the business with Glen Watkins, our CEO, to ensure that is the one task I do have time for. I think the sad fact in industry is sometimes the larger an organisation gets the further away you get from your customers and I think that's horrendous. So yes it is me who will reply.
Dave Harries
So finally Penny, in 20 or 30 years time, what would you like your legacy to be, what would you like the legacy of Ecademy to be?
Penny Power
What a lovely question. My personal legacy in the world which I suppose will be reflected through Ecademy is that I want people to understand that the kinder you are to your fellow human beings the better your own personal life is going to be. If you live in a world which is all about 'me' your life will become very small. If you live in a world where it's about 'us', life changes. And I think if you increase your emotional wealth in your life, your financial wealth will improve dramatically. So my legacy would be 'winning by sharing', it would be treat the world as you want to be treated as an individual, all the clichés that everybody hears, but I would hope that I get remembered for Ecademy being a place where that has changed the business environment for the good.
Date Filmed: 4 April 2008 Interviewer: Dave Harries Camera: Matt Murdoch Editor: Paul Dunn
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