Mike Ford on startups
From Founder Mike Ford on why he began SiteMinder · · SiteMinder
“Often when you're a startup and you're quite small you're calling the shots and people are always looking to you to say 'what do we do next' — as you scale well you start to see people pick up the ball and run with it; you go 'wow, it's an engine and it's working.'”
On , Mike Ford, Cofounder at SiteMinder, spoke about startups during Founder Mike Ford on why he began SiteMinder on SiteMinder.
About Mike Ford
Mike Ford, cofounder of SiteMinder, stated that the company was created to help hoteliers sell rooms online. He said he recognized a gap in technology adoption after holding a shareholding in a backpacker hostel in Sydney, noting that traditional methods like motel signs were no longer effective. Ford described SiteMinder as an easy-to-set-up, easy-to-use turnkey platform that has rapidly advanced independent hoteliers' capabilities. Ford also reflected on the company's growth, observing that as a startup scales, team members begin to take initiative independently. He described this shift as a moment when one realizes the organization has become "an engine" that is working.