Because of the current economic climate our publication has started a series of discussions with professional individuals meant to engage our readers with relevant companies and their representatives in order to discuss about their involvement, what challenges they have had in the past and what they are looking forward to in the future. This sequence aims to present a series of experiences, recent developments, changes and downsides in terms of their business areas, as well as their goals, values, career history, the high-impact success outcomes and achievements.
Adam Torres is an experienced executive with a demonstrated history of turning early stage companies into multi-million dollar businesses. Skilled in IT Strategy, Operations Management, IT Service Management, Project Portfolio Management, and Product Management.
More about Torres Capital and Adam’s experience as an entrepreneur can be found below:
What’s the story behind Torres Capital?
I started a software company when I was 26 years old. As I was navigating the waters of running a tech business that was growing fast and being led by inexperience, I always thought it would be helpful to have completely unbiased assistance.
After selling that company several years later, I decided to take some of the proceeds and invest in other companies. Realizing much of the investment landscape is run by financial people with little business operating expertise, I felt there was an opportunity to offer something different. I thought we could offer capital, operating expertise, and mentoring. I also came to the stark conclusion that women are vastly underrepresented in the leadership of many tech companies. Not only are they underrepresented, they get discriminated against if even in the most subtle of ways. Ways that are baked into HR policy around working hours and child birth. I heard over and over that women with young children felt that they were being average employees or average mothers. I became surprised that most companies do not offer women an opportunity to work fewer days while maintaining important and meaningful jobs with benefits. I came to the conclusion that we needed more companies that were outright run by women. Just having women in leadership was not enough to change age-old ways that held down some of the most talented of leaders. I thought that investing in companies that had women as CEOs and founders would be my way of trying to help change the landscape
With that, I dipped my toe in the water with a mission to make successful entrepreneurs and to promote the cause of women run businesses.
What was the most difficult part of your experience in the early beginnings?
I think when you start anything new you are scared. You are swimming upstream every single day looking for a break in even the tiniest of tasks. Anyone that starts a company has some amount of confidence to take that first step, but they are also a little worried. They think about those that depend on their income, about rent or mortgage payments, and just about how they will be viewed if things don’t work out. There is a collective mountain of challenges and setting down that first foot is success in itself.
I left a well-paying job because I thought I could do something that would fundamentally change the way people worked. Frustration set in early when I realized others did not necessarily see what I saw. But to summarize the struggle early, it was about figuring out how to get our software out into the market. I knew a lot about technology and business consulting, but little about marketing, sales, hiring great people, and telling a story that would make potential customers want to take the journey with me. I also realized that many potential buyers were risk adverse and going with a startup, however good the product fit, was a career risk many were just not willing to take.
We thought having the best offering would be the golden ticket to sales volume, but even that proved to be a challenge. I remember one deal with a large, fortune x company, where they let us know we lost the deal. Because I thought the raport we had built was good, I asked if they would honestly share why we lost. They let me know that we had the best offering but going with a small company like ours posed too much risk for them. I remember getting that news and just feeling like I had been punched in the gut.
For me, getting the first few customers that felt we were a good fit and provided needed cashflow was the most difficult task at the beginning.
What are you most proud of regarding your business?
Before hanging out my own shingle for the first time, I was in a meeting at a large global management consulting firm and heard a piece of information that was clearly not intended for my ears. At that moment, the soldier in me, who had gone to battle to protect this firm, felt deflated. How could such a great company actually operate in the way that I recently learned to be true? How could a company that extolled such values have a cavalier interaction like the one I just heard?
I began to wonder if you could build a business built completely on transparency. I wondered if you could succeed providing every single employee all the details of the business, regardless of whether they were positive. I wondered if all people involved could win, not just ones at the top.
I set out to build that business. We made salary, bonus, and performance data available to everyone. We reported not only to the board but to the employees in the exact same way. We distributed benefits evenly to all, and built procedures and policies that were equitable across all employees. We stuck with employees even as they faced hard times and were unable to work. I could look every single person in the eye and not feel I had anything to hide. I sat in the open and encouraged anyone that had something to add to stand up and participate without concern of rank or status.
The outcome of that were employees who did not always love me or the company, but they trusted me and the company. They stuck with us through tough times and good times. They believed they would get all the information about all that was happening and could make decisions themselves about how they thought about certain situations. They volunteered information if they were going to start looking for a new career rather than find something and tell the company later. They stayed in touch after their careers ended with us and many have started their own successful business. For that I am forever thankful and proud. I came to the conclusion if you build a business with intentions on advancing the careers of its employees, the employees in turn provide a great experience the customers. The customers become like family, and a collective good is reached.
What is your vision for the future of Torres Capital?
Our vision is to take really good and honest operating expertise, combine that with financial fuel, and help companies succeed. Our vision is to find talent, no matter the gender or race, and help accelerate it. To help those business entrepreneurs that had the courage to take the first step realize their dreams. In doing all that good for entrepreneurs, make strong returns that feel really good.
What’s your advice for the businesses that are trying to adapt to this economic climate?
I think the ability to adapt when the climate changes is the most critical piece of advice I would offer.
We have one business that is 8 high-end organic daycare centers. Naturally, when this disaster happened, the parents of these children immediately removed about 90% of them from our facilities. Faced with an imminent economic disaster, we went into overdrive to rethink our business. We knew when this was over families would again need our services so we had to adapt to stay in business until a permanent solution to the virus emerged. We adapted in 3 key ways.
First, we immediately started offering child care services in the homes of those that still needed help but who were scared of in center care. That allowed us to keep almost all of our employees employed. Remember, our philosophy is to always think about the people first.
Second, we quickly approached the banks to seek financial relief on building mortgage payments. We were able to get relief on 3 of our 8 buildings.
Third, we approached a local hospital chain about using all of our capacity during the mandated shut down as first responder child care. The state granted us a pandemic license and we offered small group services for first responders. While we were not able to operate our facilities profitably during that period, we were able to keep all the employees going and mitigated the losses the business would take.
What books do you have on your nightstand?
- Books
How Google Works – Eric Schmidt
Start with Why – Simon Sinek
Tattoos on the Hear – Gregory Boyle
- Podcasts
Freakonomics Radio
Reply All
Startup Podcast
The Moth
- Periodicals
Wall Street Journal
Forbes
Buckeye Extra
