On a Monday evening in April 2003, Jay Myers read an article in INC. magazine titled “A Thief Within.” The article told the story of a pair of brothers who owned a business in Chicago and eventually discovered that one of their most trusted employees was stealing from them for years.
Myers, the founder and CEO of Interactive Solutions, Inc. (ISI), could not get this story off his mind when he was coming into work the next day. “What happened next was divine intervention,” Myers said as he spoke at Start Co.’s Founders’ Dinner. “I kept thinking, how could someone steal from ISI? Then, I remembered I had not checked our payroll in a long time.”
As noted in his book Keep Swinging – An Entrepreneur’s Story of Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Small Business Success, Myers discovered that one of his employees had been stealing from him since initially hiring her. He brought in a Certified Fraud Examiner who revealed that the employee had stolen more than $240,000 over the course of her career with ISI. During his talk to the founders, Myers stressed the importance of keeping a keen eye on all employees.
“As you’re getting your company off the ground, you cannot be too careful with your money. You cannot go to sleep on it,” Myers said.
Founded in 1996 by Myers, ISI is a Memphis based firm that specializes in video conferencing, distance learning, telemedicine and audiovisual systems sales and support. Myers has built ISI into a $20 million company with 55 employees. ISI has also been named to INC. magazine’s list of the fastest growing private companies in the US seven times. ISI is headquartered in Memphis with remote offices in Nashville, Knoxville, Little Rock and Oxford, Mississippi.
It’s no secret that as a founder you have to be able to take a punch in the mouth and then be able to quickly get back on your feet. Myers received another punch in 2007 when he lost four employees in a short time period and also saw the beginnings of the Great Recession.
Instead of sulking about the employee turnover and declining economy, Myers decided to hire millennials that would give a fresh outlook on the company.
“I convinced the new employees that they shouldn’t need to come here if they just want to add something to their resume,” Myers said. “I said that we want them to join a cause bigger than themselves. If you’re successful, then it’s a story you can tell your grandchildren. They got fired up from this.”
ISI managed to increase sales from $11 million to $14 million during 2008 and the Recession. Three years later, the millennials helped to take ISI to $25 million. Myers believes that a big part of this was bringing in employees with a growth mindset who wanted to take the company to the next level.
If there is anything to take away from our Founders’ Dinner with Myers, it’s this: you have to expect the unexpected. Be prepared for anything because you never know when something is going to come up and smack you in the face.
“No matter what happens to you, if you believe what you’re doing and believe in the fact that your business can be successful, you will never give up no matter what happens.”
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In 2007, Myers published his first book Keep Swinging – An Entrepreneur’s Story of Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Small Business Success and was awarded the 2010 Ethan Award for success as an entrepreneurial author.
In 2011, Myers was inducted into the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame.
His second book, Hitting the Curveballs – How Crisis Can Strenthen and Grow Your Business, was released in January 2014. In 2018, Myers was inducted into the Society of Entrepreneurs. In 2011, he was inducted into the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame.
Myers and his wife, Maureen, split their time between Collierville, Tennessee, and Holmes Beach, Florida. They have two children – son Jordan and daughter Kaitlin.
By Jonah Baer