Corporate culture is key to the growth of local software publisher Frisco Text-Em-All

Fostering a positive corporate culture is a family thing for Brad Herrmann, president and founder of software company Text-Em-All in Frisco.

Before founding Text-Em-All in 2005 with his business partner Hai Nguyen, Herrmann worked at a company started by his father, which was eventually sold to a larger publicly traded company. After several years, Herrmann began to regret the corporate culture his father had created.

“My dad had a great corporate culture before people really talked about it. He was open and transparent with the numbers and the books, and he shared the profits with the employees, ”Herrmann said. “You were treated with respect and assumed a positive intention; all of those wonderful things that a lot of companies unfortunately miss. I took this for granted.

This missing piece prompted Herrmann and Nguyen to go it alone and launch Text-Em-All in 2005, starting at Hall Office Park and growing steadily over the next 16 years. The company now has over 40 employees and is located across the Dallas North Toll Freeway from The Star, employing a variety of software engineers, account managers and experienced specialists. customer.

“Because we didn’t like what happened after [my dad’s] the company was bought, we said, “Let’s start the kind of company that will be the place where we want to work forever,” Herrmann said.

Text-Em-All’s business model was designed to be simple: self-service mass text messaging and contractless automated calling services and the ability to serve any size of customer, ranging from churches communicating with members, to a company trying to recruit new employees, to online retail giant Amazon. The company also never allows spam messages; no political, marketing or fundraising messages are sent through the Text-Em-All platform.

“A lot of businesses are much more successful through text. It really has become the primary methodology for connecting people over the past five years, ”said Ron Kinkade, Chief Marketing Officer. “98% of text messages are read within 90 seconds, so it’s an incredibly effective tool for reaching people. “

Through the ups and downs of the pandemic – when Text-Em-All saw demand increase tenfold overnight – and the lifespan of the company, Text-Em-All’s leadership is committed to have a positive impact on the community and foster a corporate culture for its employees. Much of this commitment goes back to the founders’ goal of becoming a century-old company, which for them means being employee-owned, profitable and sustainable – a direct contradiction to most start-ups or capital companies – risk. .

“When I think of our culture, it’s not the free snacks, the cool desks or the ping-pong. noted.

This goes back to the company’s manifesto, which was created by its own employees to include phrases and statements about what makes Text-Em-All unique, ranging from “We do the right thing, even when no one is looking ”, to“ ”You should fire us if we suck.

“If we stink, going somewhere else is a funny line, but there’s a lot behind it,” Hermann said. “Not only do we think we have to win your business every time you use us, but we’re also just the ‘give us a chance’ people. Give us a chance and we will blow your mind.

When it comes to employee retention, Herrmann said it can be great to have an engaged workforce, but the other part is asking people’s family members if they like where they are. working.

“Sometimes a person loves their job, but their partner hates it. Here we celebrate work / life integration, ”said Hermann. “We think if you’re really really happy they should work together and complement each other and that’s a better indicator. When you take care of people, they take care of the customers, then the customers are happy and it’s a wonderful cycle.