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Why Tech CEO Satish Gaire Enforces This Office Rule: 'Don't Come to Work Unless You're Ready to Give 100 Percent' Everything that's worth it in life takes hard work.

Satish Gaire

In this series called Member Showcase, we publish interviews with members of The Oracles. This interview is with Satish Gaire, CEO and founder of LogicXY, which operates hundreds of SaaS platforms like WooAgents and DirectPay. It was condensed by The Oracles.

Who are you?
Satish Gaire: I migrated to the U.S. from Nepal when I was 12 years old and started my first business selling website architecture when I was 14. I bought a sample website template, modified it, and then resold it.

Today I am the CEO and founder of LogicXY. We have founded and acquired multiple software companies in various industries. The most well-known is WooAgents, a customer relationship management platform for real estate agents in the U.S. and Canada. We are also the team behind Podmio, which helps people create and distribute podcasts, and payment transfer software DirectPay.

I founded most of our software companies to fill a major gap in the industry or because I didn't have access to something I needed.

What are you more skilled at than most people in the world?
Satish Gaire: Many people assume that I know how to write computer programs, but I don't. I have learned a lot from my team, but I haven't actually coded anything from start to finish.

My job is to find the problem in a specific industry and fill that gap with something that is better than what's already out there. If a solution doesn't exist, we create it. But my work doesn't end there. We might have the fanciest software with many features, but it won't sell unless I can show value and persuade the market to use it.

What excites you the most about your business right now?
Satish Gaire: If you want the easy route, go to school to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. You are pretty much guaranteed a good income and a decent life.

When I started as an entrepreneur, I was not generating substantial income. I could have gotten a job in biotechnology with my biochemistry degree and easily made $300,000 a year. But I opted to make much less in the beginning — because the business would be mine. It would take years, but I knew that if I kept at it, I wouldn't have an income ceiling.

I didn't get into business for money. I got into this because I get to meet and work with the brightest minds on this planet. I get to enjoy the rollercoaster ride that most people only see in movies. I sleep like a baby every night knowing that our software is helping someone pay their mortgage or send their kids to college.

What did you learn from your favorite mentor?
Satish Gaire: In my first year pursuing my biochemistry degree, I really struggled with organic chemistry. One day I went to one of my professors, Mr. Greenwood, and told him it was too difficult. His response was, "Satish, everything that's worth it in life takes hard work."

That has stuck with me ever since — throughout college, my initial days in business, and when I was at rock bottom. Everything that's worth it takes years of hard work. I don't just apply this in my business; I also apply it in my personal life to build better relationships with my family and friends.

What was your biggest, most painful failure?
Satish Gaire: I started a magazine business when I was 19, and it wasn't doing well. Everyone, including my family, told me I should quit and focus on my studies. But I kept at it.

In my free time, I would drive to businesses attempting to sell advertisements. One day, I pulled into a gas station after being rejected by businesses all day. When I swiped my card to pay for gas, it was declined. I thought it was a mistake. But I called the bank, and for the first time in my life, I had a negative balance.

I called a few friends to ask for help, but they disappointed me. I couldn't call my family, because it would prove that I was just wasting time with my business. I walked almost 26 miles from Irving to Frisco, Texas. I got home, stole money from my dad's wallet, and took a taxi back to the gas station. That day, I learned who my true friends were — and that while money might not bring me all the happiness in life, I certainly wanted a lot of it.

How do you define great leadership?
Satish Gaire: A great leader doesn't sit back and demand things. A great leader joins his team to do the dirty work and treats them like family.

One of the most attractive qualities of a good leader is how they treat their lowest-performing team member. As long as the team member is willing, a great leader will always find their strengths and see what they cannot see in themselves. They will then use it to leverage their performance.

How do you identify a good business partner?
Satish Gaire: Finding the right business partner is the most difficult part of starting a business. And it's important because you will probably spend the majority of your time with them. One of the factors I consider is how quickly they can recover from an argument. I have had nasty arguments with my business partner, but in the end, we shake hands, hold no grudges, and continue with our shared goals. The debate or argument ends there.

What's your daily routine for success?
Satish Gaire: I don't have any crazy routines where I wake up at 4 a.m. to work or read 100 books a year. I sleep until I am ready to wake up on my own, without an alarm. Then I don't go to sleep until I finish what I planned for the day, even if that means I stay up until 4 a.m.

Many people say "the early bird gets the worm" but maybe I like to wake up for lunch! We even have a rule at the office: don't come to work unless you are ready to give 100 percent.

What would you like to be doing in five years?
Satish Gaire: Within the next five years, I would like to triple our revenue and take our company public. I would also like to have more SaaS platforms in our portfolio.

What do you want to be known for, or what do you want your legacy to be?
Satish Gaire: I am a simple person at heart. I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks about me — except my parents. I value them and want them to be proud of me. I am a product of them and their love lives in me. It's my duty to use that to uplift humanity.

I want to be remembered as someone who helped others realize their dreams and supported them at both their lowest and highest points.

Connect with Satish on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, or visit his website.

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