Premysl Pech, entrepreneur at Innovatrs and founder of Binarynow tells us how he started up and converted a local software vendor into an international supplier with customers in 200 countries.

Binarynow was founded in 2009 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida as a multi vendor, online software store offering essential software tools for everyday use.

Innovatrs: What made you do it? Why did you take the plunge, became an entrepreneur and give up that cosy corporate job opp?

Premysl: Although I worked at my previous employer for 17 years I never got that “cosy corporate job opp”. As co-owner and founder of 2 subsidiaries I had to find new business opportunities, set up branches and expand into new countries. I got to develop as an entrepreneur while working under an extablished brand – enjoying the benefits of a bigger corporation. But I needed more so I set up a new company. I think I was born to be an entrepreneur. My personality type forces me to take risks and work hard – even if the return is not guaranteed.

Innovatrs: What does your venture do?

Premysl: BinaryNow is a digital content distributor. We partner with a load of software developers who need to promote their software and distribute it over the Internet to the masses. We generally work with unrecognized software authors and titles trying to make them more popular. We also partner with well recognized brands that want to outsource their online distribution and reduce company expenses. Our partners are from all over the world, including China, Czech Republic, Israel, India and other countries. Our titles are available in 14 languages and our customer base spans 200 countries.

Innovatrs: What was the original @ha Idea?

Premysl: Original @ha idea was to create a digital only, one-stop distributor for lesser known software titles. Each title we offer gets evaluated by our experts. We only add titles we believe to be good quality and value. Our goal is to provide the best applications from multiple, non-competing vendors.

Innovatrs: And when/where did it hit you?

Premysl: We started in April 2009. We kicked off with a relationship with the largest software manufacturer from China helping them place their products into consumers hands in the US and other Western countries. Other vendors followed.

Innovatrs: Is this your first business? What past experiences helped you take this fast route to masochism?

Premysl: No it’s not. My previous experience opening the US branch of a Czech software vendor was invaluable. It got me to start this venture and offer our skills to others.

Innovatrs: What was running through your head when you started up? What crises hit you early on?

Premysl: There was an unlimited amount of the work that needed to be done and only limited resources. I split my workload into 3 categories: tasks that must get done, tasks which I love doing and those which should get done. I still make daily decisions on that basis. I guess an entrepreneurs life gets easier if he has partner(s) who loves doing what should get done.

Crises? Not really, but the hardest part about our business is building trust with new vendors coming from foreign countries with different cultural and ethical backgrounds. We quickly learnt that it takes time to earn that trust.

Innovatrs: What are the long-term goals for your company?

Premysl: Once we complete our software application catalog we want to enter the entertainment and gaming sector, then electronic books and beyond. We also want to dive into retail distribution with download cards.

Innovatrs: Have you felt pangs of fear or anxiety when building your business? If so, over what and how did you deal with them?

Premysl: Not yet, we’re still in the early stages, growing cautiously and loving what we do.

Innovatrs: What big ol’ failures have you had in the past and how have they helped you get to where you are?

Premysl: As a minority partner in a previous venture I failed to convince other partners to invest in my new model. Thanks to that, I’ve ended as a majority partner in this venture.

Innovatrs: Have you looked for investors? If so, how?

Premysl: No, not yet. We’ll seek outside investors down the road if we need to expand our portfolio and can’t finance it from our own growth.