In this ongoing series, we share advice, suggestions, and insights from real entrepreneurs who fight the battles of business every day. (Answers have been edited and condensed for clarity.)
Martin Seidl is the CEO Austrian soundmaker of high-end headphones and microphones for musicians, content creators, and on a regular basis individuals who want every song they play on Spotify to sound its best. Here, he explains the company’s growth and how being a musician helped drive innovation to deliver exactly what customers want.
Image Source: Austrian Audio
Tell us the story of how Austrian Audio got here to be.
I could start with Adam and Eve, but I’ll keep it short. Austrian Audio was founded in 2017 by a team of completed audio engineers, each with a long time in the industry – that’s why I at all times confer with Austrian Audio as the first start-up company with over 400 years of experience in what we do. I have over 35 years of experience and started off with the goal of “fortune and fame”. I attempted to grow to be a very famous singer, songwriter and musician. I did that for 20 years and then I made a decision it was time to do something serious!
So you have been your individual client for about 20 years. What have you learned from that?
It taught me what customers are looking for. And that is where we get to what separates Austrian Audio from the big 400-kilo gorillas in the industry. There’s a very long tradition in skilled audio. Analog is a big word. Digital has long been associated with toys—not the real thing. We’re bridging that gap. Our equipment works for traditional producers and young, up-and-coming artists who make their music in the lounge or bedroom, where 80 percent of music is recorded today. We’re bringing this contemporary workflow to this very traditional technology.
What was the response?
The feedback is normally a two-step process with recent customers. First they say, “I’ve never heard of you.” Then they fight the product and go into post-production, and then they understand the difference. We’ve implemented a plug-in in your recording system where after you’ve finished recording, you possibly can change the direction that the microphone is listening. You can make it omnidirectional, you possibly can make it cardioid—you possibly can change the sound of the room long after the event is over. “Wow!” is a very, quite common piece of feedback that we get when people come across this. They didn’t know it was possible and they wonder why no one considered this before?
What has been your simplest marketing method?
Word of mouth. Products that have come out and these famous sound engineers pass them on to their colleagues and say, “You’ve got to try this.” I used to be recently at the biggest venue in Austria, an open-air stadium that holds over 50,000 people. AC/DC were on stage and I noticed our microphones on the guitar amps. And I know the sound engineer from the Rolling Stones really useful it to the sound engineer from Muse, and now Muse uses Austrian audio all over the place. When you look at bands of that caliber, price is not a factor. They just want the best. They can select whatever they need. So if they select my product, they’ll select it because it does exactly what they need it to do. I’m really honored and I totally admit that with the soul of that musician that may at all times live in my chest, I look on stage and I see our stuff and I think, “Oh, I should stand there too!”
Is there a difference between “Artist Martin” and “Business Martin” in terms of decision-making and running a company?
Sure, it’s pretty easy. There’s Artist Martin, who facilitates brainstorming sessions across all departments and disciplines at Austrian Audio. He works hard to expand the product range and get some really cool features into every single product, irrespective of what goal customer it’s being built for. Then – sometimes fortunately – Business Martin steps in. He brings some boring rationalism and some systematic decision-making to the process. Business Martin (along with the management team) is a reality check and evaluation of goal groups, product mix and internal resources.
Do you suspect a CEO must be passionate about products to achieve success?
They at all times say that a good salesperson has to give you the option to sell all the pieces. I might disagree with that. I think especially in the skilled audio industry, if you do not love the products, you do not know that you simply’re not attempting to improve every day. If you’re keen on music, you need to hearken to it, and you need to make higher records. About 50 percent of our employees do something outside of the company, making music. So yes, that is necessary.