This week on The Merri-Cast podcast, we had the privilege of speaking with Richard Barkey – Founder and CEO of Imparta, the global leader in performance improvement for customer-facing teams.
I met Richard almost 20 years ago and he’s since gone on to scale a business in a traditionally fragmented sector.
How has he done it?
Through an ability to reinvent, with curiosity, resilience and innovation to the fore.
In our conversation, Richard shares his incredible journey and valuable insights that every entrepreneur can learn from, including:
• How an engineer’s mindset helped him found and build the fledgling Imparta business.
• How early investment and a dash of serendipity gave him the springboard to build something that would last.
• The need for reinvention, several times over: from the dot-com bubble, through the 2008 crash to pivoting early during the pandemic.
• His forward-looking approach on the use of AI in sales and coaching, including both its potential and his views on the pitfalls of “cognitive offloading”.
• How he managed to break into the US market and scale globally, in a sector where many others have failed.
• His practical advice for entrepreneurs including ‘not getting stuck in the lab’ and engaging customers early and often.
Richard’s story is one of persistence, vision and adaptability. And if you’re navigating reinvention and even existential challenges in your own entrepreneurial journey, this episode will inspire you.
🎧Listen to the full episode HERE.