Founder Of The Week: John Cheney

• John Cheney has over 25 years in software, founding Workbooks as his third business after successfully selling two previous software companies.
• Frustrated by siloed tools, he created a single CRM and business application platform giving mid-market businesses a 360-degree view of operations and customers.
• Overcame post-financial crash funding challenges via angel investors, expanded into the US market and drives long-term success by developing talent and prioritising customer relationships.

Tell Me About Yourself 

I’m John Cheney, CEO and Founder of Workbooks CRM, we are a leading provider of CRM and Business Application software to the mid-market. Personally, I’ve been running Cloud software businesses for the past 25 years, before we even called it cloud. Workbooks is my third business, following the successful sale of two previous software businesses. Fun fact: I grew up in a pub, which taught me the value of hard work, people and community from an early age!

What Inspired You To Start Workbooks, and What Problem Were You Trying To Solve?

Having run two previous software businesses, I became frustrated with the business tools that were available at the time. Everything was siloed, customer information scattered across CRM, accounting systems, helpdesk platforms, and marketing tools, making running a business far more complicated than it needed to be.

Workbooks was founded to change that, unifying all of this information in a single platform and giving businesses a complete 360-degree view of their operations and their customers.

What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge So Far, and How Did You Overcome It?

In the early days, our main challenge was raising capital to fund the business. We launched Workbooks just after the financial crash, at a time when securing venture capital or private equity for a UK software business was virtually impossible.

Instead, we turned to angel investors through the Government’s EIS scheme, which offers tax incentives to individuals investing in growing businesses. I’m extremely grateful to our early supporters, who collectively invested £9 million to help Workbooks get off the ground.

Can You Describe a Pivotal Moment That Significantly Shaped the Direction of Workbooks?

Expanding into the USA has been a pivotal milestone for us. Landing several major clients early on gave us the momentum to accelerate growth and ultimately attract private equity investment, which we’ve used to strengthen our go-to-market strategy and drive product development.

How Do You Define Success?

As a business: Happy customers. If we deliver real value, our clients continue to use and renew their licenses with us. Currently, we operate at 110% Net Dollar Retention, meaning our customer revenue grows by 10% each year. Retaining customers is far easier than winning new ones, so our focus is always on delivering measurable business value. It’s at the heart of our core Workbooks value: “All about the R”, where R stands for Relationship.

As a founder: I find the most satisfaction in developing talent within the business. When our team grows, learns and thrives, the business grows with them. Investing in people isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the most powerful driver of long-term success.

What Advice Would You Give To Someone Thinking About Launching Their Own Startup?

Be prepared for hard work and late nights and make sure you hire people who are smarter than you. Your team is everything.

What’s next for Workbooks? Any exciting developments we should watch out for?

AI is set to be a game-changer for our sector. We’ve just launched new AI tools within our CRM platform, designed to make teams more productive and help businesses work smarter, not harder.

Want to be featured as TechRound’s Founder of the Week? Find out more about this weekly feature and how to get involved here.

Founder’s 5 with John Cheney

Here’s TechRound’s exclusive Founder’s 5 with John Cheney.

Favourite business tool

ChatGPT.

One lesson you learned the hard way?

Not investing enough in developing talent within the business. People drive growth, so nurturing them is critical.

One future trend you’re watching?

AI. I’ve seen technology transform industries, but I’ve never seen a change happen this fast and I was in IT when the Internet launched.

One quote you live by

It’s all about the R – our core Workbooks value, which means it’s all about the customer relationship. Happy customers are the lifeblood of a business.

One book/podcast you recommend

“Trailblazer” by Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce.com. A brilliant read for any entrepreneur.

Want to be featured as TechRound’s Founder of the Week? Know someone who deserves to be recognised as a founder making waves in the startup landscape? Find out more about this weekly feature and how to get involved here.