Executive Vice President of Reinsurance & Risk Capital Optimization, American International Group
Charles Fry On Building Virtual Products And Helping Entrepreneurs Follow Their Dreams |...
Charles "Carlos" Fry is the CEO and Chief Bottle Washer at Code Éxitos, a near-shore product design and development shop ...
About Charles Fry
Charles Fry, who also goes by Carlos Fry, is the CEO and Chief Bottle Washer at Code Éxitos, a near-shore product design and development company. In September 2023, he appeared on the podcast "Entrepreneur's Enigma," where he described the company's public mission as increasing the capacity of digital entrepreneurs and digital creators throughout the Americas. He stated that the team has over 100 staff members, and closer to 150 when including contractors, all of whom are bilingual in English and Spanish. Fry said the company is a B Corporation and that its founding DNA included a goal to "regenerate a little more social benefit in the world." He also noted that the team engages in internal education and community outreach, including speaking at universities. In September 2022, Fry appeared on ibble Studios, where he discussed his approach to entrepreneurship and management. He described his "sweet spot" as building companies from zero to $100 million in revenue, and said he uses three universal management tools: "know the focus, spread the message, keep the faith." He advised that entrepreneurs should expect to get knocked down and must determine to get back up. Fry also recounted that in 2022 he decided to increase his pricing by four times, finding that his previous customers were not the right fit, and instead chose to find customers willing to pay the new price. Earlier material from 2020, attributed to COL Charles H. Fry, describes his use of a spectrum analysis based on Jenkins' five stages of insurgency to classify the security stages of countries in Latin America while serving as a commander.
Transcript (44 segments)
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Narrator0:00
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Seth Goldstein1:06
Entrepreneurs Enigma is a podcast for the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, the wins and the fails that we all face being entrepreneurs, how we learn from adversity. Every week I talk to a different entrepreneur with a story to tell. I'm Seth Goldstein. Come with me on the journey. This is Entrepreneur's Enigma. Let's get started.
Hey everyone, welcome to another edition of the Entrepreneurs Enigma podcast. I'm Seth. Today I'm with Charles or Carlos Frye, depending on I guess your mood, right?
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Charles Fry1:48
Right, Charles, yeah, that's right, Seth. Hey, glad to be here. Yeah, if you feel like throwing a little Latin flair in it, Carlos is fine, but Mom calls me Charles.
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Seth Goldstein2:00
Get over here, exactly, that's right. And you are the President and Chief Puba of Code Exodus, right?
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Charles Fry2:10
That's right. Did I say that correctly? Yeah, close enough. Code Exitos. I can't get that. Yeah, yeah, Exitos is a Spanish word for hits or success, so yeah. And you know, we're primarily a software development shop, so hence the code, encoding excellent sense.
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Seth Goldstein2:29
Yeah, yeah. And so you do nearshore, so still Americas? I mean, because you know us stupid Americans took the word Americans when really we're the United States. Canada, we're all, I mean this whole conglomeration from north to south as Americas, and let's make that perfectly clear. When we last talked to you, I think you were in Honduras or Ecuador. They're Americans, they're just that's right, Latin Americans, or they're you know, Colombia, you're in South America, so you're South Americans, we're North Americans. Or yeah, that's what I say, I said we would be North Americans, but yeah, so that's right. So tell me a little bit about Code Exitos. I can't do it, Exodus.
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Charles Fry3:11
Yeah, there you got it. I kind of came to get the Spanish flair on it, but tell us about it. I mean, you're originally a Wolverine from the University of Michigan, yeah, and you've done a lot. Tell us how you got to this point in time where you're doing like nearshore product development, product build outs, and all that stuff.
Yeah, sure, thanks for asking. Started out as a Wolverine. In fact, I'm talking to the graduate class and the entrepreneurial class there later today, so that's cool, go Blue. Code Exitos is a product development studio, and we help entrepreneurs design, build, and launch digital products.
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Seth Goldstein3:54
Well, that's cool. So that's not physical products, digital?
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Charles Fry3:56
Well, some of them are physical actually, Seth. We do IoT work as well, and so we have a couple projects where people, you know, we love dealing with entrepreneurs. Yes, we do some corporate innovation work as well, but typically we get the stereotypical-eyed entrepreneur who's arm waving and saying, 'I've got this idea and it's going to change the world, and I need a bunch of computer science smart people, designers, experienced people to help me build it.' Yeah, absolutely. And so it's a lot of fun. We work very much in the entrepreneurial milieu, and even the enterprise work we do, people, they are enterprise clients say, 'Hey, I know I'm really part of this 25,000 person company, but we really want to work like entrepreneurs.' More instruments, yeah, sure, entrepreneurs. So that's what we do. And to tie into your geography lesson, yeah, which is exactly right, our team is focused in the Americas. And so we have team members from still in Ann Arbor, Michigan, all the way down into South America. But the key for us, we believe the key is staying in the time zone centered around the Americas, so it's easy for our clients, it's easy for us.
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Seth Goldstein5:17
Yeah, because it's in Colombia, even though it looks like it's West, is actually Eastern Time, or is it?
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Charles Fry5:24
That's right, or Central time. It's one of those. If you look at the map, it looks more West, but it's actually more Central or Eastern. It's very bizarre. And I tell you, sometimes I travel. I'm mostly on the road. My wife and I are sort of nomadic. Our kids are grown and gone, and so we enjoy being on the road, and it can be really crazy when I try to figure out time zones. Yeah, where are you gonna be and I'm going to be somewhere else. And so I remember when we first talked, it was like you were in Honduras and thinking, 'What, we're Central Time?' Central time, but no daylight savings. Oh, yeah, that's what it was. I remember we had to do some calculations when we last talked. It was like, right, you sorted this time. Sometime you can have a guest on that tells me why we switch the clocks in the United States. Very apparently we're changing that, supposedly. Apparently we're not doing daylight savings time soon from right here. We'll see if they have very much passes, but you know, because no one's gonna gripe about anything, but it's a whole different story.
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Seth Goldstein6:27
We're gonna take a quick break here from our sponsors and get right back to the show.
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Narrator6:30
You may know you're listening to this show along the Marketing Podcast Network, but did you know there are other great shows on MPN to help your business? Matt Bailey hosts a fantastic podcast called The Endless Coffee Cup. Matt, tell these fine folks what they'll get when they listen at Endless Coffee Cup.
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Matt Bailey6:44
We go beyond the headlines with a regular discussion of marketing news, media, and culture about our complex digital lifestyle. Of course, with my emphasis on education, I have great guests from all over the world that share their stories, giving listeners unique insights into their experiences and expertise.
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Seth Goldstein7:06
Sounds super useful. Where can people subscribe?
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Matt Bailey7:08
They can go to my website at sightlogic.com or find the show at marketingpodcast.net, or hey, we're everywhere, wherever you get your podcast.
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Seth Goldstein7:17
You heard him, go subscribe. Exodus is so you have people stay inside, you have people in Latin America, your people in South America, and you predominantly help people with digital ideas and products and getting things to market, right?
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Charles Fry7:33
That's exactly, yeah, yeah, that's great. So how did you find your way into this? Well, I've been a tech entrepreneur my whole semi-adult life and my adult life. And you know, it's actually right out of the University of Michigan I started my first tech company. It was a small services company. Over the years I've had some partners, we've done a couple venture-backed companies out in Silicon Valley, which was either a dream or the nightmare, but they're both, it's the same, it depends. I call them my tours of duty. I've actually had three tours of duty in venture-backed companies, and I was wrapping up with the last one, and I knew that I wanted to do something that hopefully regenerates a little more social benefit in the world. We're a B Corp, and that was really instrumental in our founding DNA. And our public mission is to increase the capacity of digital entrepreneurs and digital creators throughout the Americas. Our tagline is 'Brilliant Minds in the Digital World.' Smart people exist everywhere, including outside of the Americas, but I can only take on so much. You're only one person, exactly. Yeah, yeah, but what we find is that you can have the skills, but if you don't have the experience in the context, the skills aren't quite as valuable. So we find people with skills and some brilliant people. All of our team, we have over 100 people in the team now, Seth.
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Seth Goldstein9:09
Wow, you know, yeah, are they all on staff, are they contract, or a mix of both?
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Charles Fry9:12
They're all on staff. If we count contractors, we get closer to 150 or so. But wow, that's incredible. Yeah, but everyone's bilingual, English, Spanish. Yeah, it's unless you go to Brazil, they need to pick up some Portuguese. Yeah, you know, and that's a good reason we stay. Good, a little clearer. Brazil right now is in the Portuguese. I can't hack a third language, just please. Portuguese right here is completely different. Yeah, it's unique. Yeah, exactly. So our team is constantly going through internal education. We do a lot of community outreach in the communities that we're in. We talk in universities. We try to do good everywhere we can. That's bottom line.
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Seth Goldstein10:01
Yeah, and that's what a lot of people I think miss when it comes to entrepreneurship is also the give back, the helping out. And with my home answer, as you give, you give, you give, you give, and maybe you ask and say, 'Hey guys, can you scratch my back here a little bit?' Like even if you need something, but it's all about giving.
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Charles Fry10:16
Yeah, and you know, a lot of your audience that are entrepreneurs, I hope they can appreciate the fact that when you work with us, that in and of itself is a contribution because you give to us. We're happy to share the B Corp certification and talk about the good we do in the communities we work in. So we like it when people feel like their vision and their passion and their treasure all contribute to a greater good. It's just a cool way to live. I think it's the way to live, honestly.
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Seth Goldstein10:48
And so you've been an entrepreneur since leaving Michigan essentially. And so what is the best thing about being an entrepreneur versus working for somebody else?
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Charles Fry11:00
Wow, I don't know if there's one best thing. A few best things. I love the fact of being able to act on the vision you have. And I grew up a farm boy, and so you know one thing about farm music, you go out and you work every day. And entrepreneurship to me has always been one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Oh, there's a lot of perspiration. There's a lot, there's a lot of perspiration. That's right. And it's super rewarding. My sweet spot, Seth, has always been kind of the zero to 100 million dollars in revenue, that zone of nothing to something. It is where I get the most joy, and I think I have whatever superpower I have, and just somewhere in that zone. Once a company gets large and it's formed and it needs stewardship and guidance and optimization, I'm probably not the best guy. But man, nothing makes me happier than walking into one of our development centers to turn the lights on, or walking in and seeing people in there happy and building cool stuff, and thinking, 'Yeah, we did this from nothing.' It's just super.
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Seth Goldstein12:13
Supercharged with that in mind, what keeps you up at night? What's the scariest thing of being an entrepreneur?
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Charles Fry12:21
I don't know. It can be the same thing, honestly. Yeah, that's actually thinking about that. It's you take on a lot of responsibility. We have a responsibility to our clients. Their businesses depend on the quality of our work. We certainly have a responsibility to our team. Their using communities in some cases even depend on us. So I don't think it's so much that you have to stay awake at night. You have to be aware that there's an extra dose of responsibility that comes with building a company.
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Seth Goldstein12:57
Oh, I bet there. Yeah, I mean, I've been doing goals to the media for 14 years and flying by to see my pants, and there's been ups and downs, there's been lefts, there's been rights, but it's fun. It's fun, yeah, but it's scary at times. Yeah, you have to admit sometimes it can be scary. So what is the most important thing you carry with you all the time, especially when you're a global traveler like you are, or at least in Americas traveler?
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Charles Fry13:21
Do you mean physically carrying? It can be both, or you can have both. It can you can do two. I guess physically it'd probably be my passport. I usually need to have it handy. Oh, I think I'm sure you have a lot of stamps in there. Yeah, time to get more pages added in again. And you know, metaphysically I suppose it's I always try to carry a sense of humility. Some people would argue that I don't always have it close enough at hand, but I'm just always grateful for the people I'm in front of and the people that are around me. I try to carry that with me. It keeps me centered a little more than when I was younger and maybe a little more aggressive than I should have been.
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Seth Goldstein14:00
Yeah, age kind of calms people down after time. But I mean, I think there's a place for humility and there's a place for not being humble, because I mean you have created something pretty amazing here. I mean, I've dug into it and I mean you provided for communities, you're providing for people, you're providing for entrepreneurs. It's pretty freaking awesome if you ask me.
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Charles Fry14:22
Well, thank you, I appreciate that.
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Seth Goldstein14:24
Yeah, and plus your website looks really good too, so yeah.
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Charles Fry14:27
You'd be surprised. There's a lot of times the marketing team thanks you for that. They do a very job because a lot of times people are entrepreneurs will focus on so much on the product or so much on everything else and they'll forget about the website. And I sit there and being the web, being a web designer, I'm sitting there I'm like, 'Guys, this is an appearance thing. This is something that you need to make sure looks good so that your appearance that it will reflect on your product.' So a good friend of mine, Don, he's been a creative guy his whole career, brilliant guy, and he tells his clients that their website should be the public version of their business plan. I love it, which is a really insightful way of thinking about it. I think I love that. And it just tells a story about who you are and what you do and how you give back, and I think your site does a good job of that, and it's fantastic.
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Seth Goldstein15:19
So thank you for that, and thank you for being on the show, which is awesome because I know you're a busy guy gallivanting around the Americas. I mean, you're back stateside right now, but when do you head out again?
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Charles Fry15:32
This tour of the US ends at the end of the month, and then I'll be in Mexico for most of the next month, in Colombia.
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Seth Goldstein15:39
Where can people find you? Where's your watering hole online? Where's the place you hang out the most?
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Charles Fry15:44
Well, codexitos.com is the website. And you can always email me. [email protected] is my email. And you can find me on LinkedIn. It's Charles Fry, F-R-Y, on LinkedIn. But I think you have all that, and if you want to post it with this episode, that's cool too. I ask if people connect on LinkedIn, just give me a note so that I know that, yeah, yeah, you know, otherwise it's somebody trying to sell me a car lease or something else.
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Seth Goldstein16:12
So thank you for being on, and we'll see everyone next week. That was a great show. Hey, if you're enjoying Entrepreneurs Enigma, please give us a review on the podcast strategy of your choice. We're on all of them, and these reviews really help others find the show. Also, if you're getting value from the show and want to buy me a coffee, go to the show notes and click on the link to help me stay awake while I bring you more great episodes to your ears. That's in the show notes, and I look forward to the next episode. Take care, guys.
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Narrator17:08
This episode, this podcast is one of the many great shows on the MPN Marketing Podcast Network. You may know you're listening to this show along the Marketing Podcast Network, but did you know there are other great shows on MPN to help your business? Ian Truscott hosts a great podcast called Rockstar CMO. Ian, tell us what these fine folks will get when they listen.
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Ian Truscott17:30
Well, Jason, I'm no rockstar, but I picked up a thing or two over the last 20 years on my meter from sysadmin to CMO, and each week I chat with the true rockstars, my fabulous guests, and challenge and share what we call marketing street knowledge to inspire our listeners in a rockstar way.
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Narrator17:43
Amazing. Where can people subscribe?
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Ian Truscott17:45
Go to rockstarcmo.com, find the show at marketingpodcast.net, or search for Rockstar CMO FM wherever you get your podcasts.
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Narrator17:52
You heard him, go subscribe. This podcast is heard along the Marketing Podcast Network. For more great marketing podcasts, visit marketingpodcasts.net.