In this instalment of our 'Meet the Founders' series, we sit down and chat with Ryan Egnos.

Tell us about yourself

My name is Ryan Egnos, I am from Jo'burg originally but have had the great fortune of living all around South Africa. I currently live in beautiful Cape Town which suits my active lifestyle and my wife's family lives close by.

My role within Cue covers sales, account management and finance. I feel fortunate to have a role that allows me to work with such talented humans. I assist with the onboarding and management of new clients. I also work very closely with the company's financials to ensure our going concern. My role in all of this is to enable the various teams to smash their KPIs whilst ensuring we deliver best-in-class service and relevant solutions for our clients.

How did you find your way to Cape Town?

I went to school in Kwa Zulu Natal where Stellenbosch University was a popular destination amongst my peers. After completing my studies I began applying for jobs and was very fortunate to receive an offer from Investec based in Cape Town. It was a big decision at the time as I am from Johannesburg and always thought I would head back there. I can safely say that I am beyond happy with my decision to stay in Cape Town and look forward to many more years here.

What inspires you?

I find inspiration in people who never take the easy road but rather the right road, no matter how difficult the path in front of them is. I tend to gravitate towards individuals who are motivated to tackle any challenge and work their hardest to make a success of their situation. Our team at Cue fits this bill as we have highly motivated individuals who are always striving for the best. I find huge motivation in the effort put in by those around me which drives me to give my absolute all to the company.

What do you get up to in your spare time?

I am a bit of a jack of all trades, a master of none. In my spare time, you will probably find me playing golf, working in the garden, running with my dog or spending time with family and friends.

What would you be doing if you weren't building Cue?

We have been working on this business for nearly 8 years so it is very difficult to imagine what I would be doing if I wasn't building Cue. I know that I would like to remain in an entrepreneurial environment that is making a great product and solving real-world problems.

I have great respect for individuals trying to build something from scratch as I resonate with the daily struggles and effort required to build a business. I love seeing people taking the difficult path and overcoming what lies in front of them so I would like to believe I would choose to be in an entrepreneurial company that is pushing the envelope.

What's it like building and managing a remote sales team across multiple time zones? 

When the COVID lockdown forced us to turn remote I was initially very sceptical of remote work however I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well this has worked out for our company. I have found the more you trust people, put in place a great process and give clear KPIs the more significant the output is per person. We believe that each employee should be treated in a professional manner and we allow them to flourish within our guidelines. This has paid great dividends to us as a company.

Where do you see Cue in 12 months' time?

We have so many exciting things on the horizon. The next 12 months will see us competing more so on a global stage taking on some of the biggest names in our industry.

What are the biggest customer pain points you and the team have noticed?

All companies need to speak to their customers and provide the best experience when those customers engage. Putting in place the right channels and automation on the right platform continues to be a challenge for these businesses.

This is one of the reasons that we are seeing great success as we allow for the greatest amount of flexibility in set-up so that clients can build truly unique customer experiences. Leveraging this with our industry know-how allows our clients to resolve this pain point and implement best-in-class solutions.

What sets Cue apart from its competitors?

We are the most flexible customer service platform that is set up and ready to go live in the shortest amount of time.

Tell us about the Cue philosophy for building client relationships

We try to focus on three key ingredients (1) Accuracy of work (2) Speed of service (3) Friendly customer support.

Above all we focus on accurately dealing with our client's needs and delivering the right outcome for them, secondly, we focus on getting the job done in the shortest amount of time and thirdly we focus on giving our clients the most pleasant customer experience imaginable.

What makes Cue special as a company?

It is a great experience coming to work every day with highly motivated individuals. It is the cumulative effort of the wider team that has led to our success and will continue to drive our success into the future.