In this ongoing series, we share advice, tips, and insights from real entrepreneurs who battle daily business struggles. (The answers have been edited and summarized for clarity.)
dr. Gia Wiggins, founder of Auditocity
Who are you, and what is your company?
I am dr. Gia Wiggins, founder of Auditocitythe HR compliance audit platform that is changing the way business leaders assess the practices that affect their most valuable asset: their people.
And as strange as it may sound, I live and breathe HR. In fact, my passion for the field rivals any sports fan’s love for their home team. I have been a leader in the field for 20 years, both in-house and at the time with a much sought-after space consultancy. I’ve seen it all, which led me to build Auditocity. The platform answers the age-old business question: “How do I know what human resources should do?”
What inspired you to start this company?
I believe that a perfect business idea goes hand in hand with passion and skills. Once I came to the realization that I would never sing like Whitney Houston and a record deal was off the table, I leaned on my natural affinity for my skills in HR.
Looking back, if I had dared to share with a previous employer that I wanted to create a SaaS platform to help build and fix their HR functions, they would have thought I was crazy. It is a big task, but one that is crucial in my field.
After years of building long-term relationships with my clients, I was lucky enough to have a waiting list of companies wanting my 1:1 service, but ultimately there weren’t enough hours in the day to provide that level of service to everyone. Automation was of vital importance to me. I had to find a way to provide every potential customer with the same high level of engagement and service, but make it available to a wider audience. Human Resource professionals and entrepreneurs have a huge burden on their shoulders. If we can ease that burden on both companies and help employees have a better workplace, we will fulfill a dream come true for millions of people.
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What has been your biggest challenge, and how did you make the switch to overcome it?
It was impossible to scale up my consultancy business. It’s a problem that many small businesses experience.
My way of scaling up HR audits and remediation was to build something that trained, guided, and assessed companies’ HR programs. I needed to feel like we were solving a critical problem while also growing my business to its full potential. Auditocity arose from that need.
The biggest challenge came from the fact that I’m an HR nerd, not a tech expert.
I knew I had a program that would make HR auditing feasible for countless companies, but a platform wouldn’t build itself. I woke up at 4 a.m. one morning with a voracious desire to make a plan. I searched my network and colleagues for a development partner and arranged meetings with a couple. I found the most wonderful development group that told me the truth and showed me how it could work. He believed in the vision early on and thought it would be a game changer in my industry. Today he is part of my team of experts.
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What advice would you give entrepreneurs seeking financing versus bootstrapping?
While I am proud and constantly brag that Auditocity is usually a bootstrap business, I recognize that seeking financing is often a necessary way to get your business in front of the people and companies you designed it for.
My advice is, don’t let pride get in your way. Organize meetings, talk to people about what you are building and sell potential investors about the possibilities.
Pitching your dream and sharing it with people who are also dreamers is romantic. Building a relationship based on a common interest that can change the lives of investors, founders and clients is perhaps the most important relationship one can enter. Ultimately, we recruit people to invest in us and expect a fruitful return.
Where should entrepreneurs look for financing?
As a strong believer in mentorship, I advocate building relationships with parenting experts and asking them to take you under their wing.
Fundraising experts have the unique ability to provide objective advice and find funding sources that fit your needs by removing the emotional equality from your ability to raise money. My skill is HR, so I leaned on someone who had fundraising as their superpower.
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What does the word ‘ukbusinessupdates.com’ mean to you?
In an early incubator program, my group was asked to dream about what we would do in our company if there were no boundaries. Our guide said that if people who heard it didn’t think we were crazy, we weren’t dreaming big enough.
ukbusinessupdates.com means chasing an “outside your head” dream until you can no longer chase it. My mission is to live boldly, take risks and follow a passion until others see the magic and join the journey.
I decided that the life of an ukbusinessupdates.com meant to me that I had to build a team that shocks themselves on a daily basis with what they have achieved together. We are working on innovation that has no rulebook. We make our own rules along the way.
What is something many aspiring entrepreneurs think they need that they actually don’t need?
Every company doesn’t need a co-founder. I’m a solopreneur, but I’m not alone.
By the time multiple sources said I needed a co-founder, Auditocity was almost ready for alpha testing. While meeting with co-founders, I met a great guy who had just completed an exit. After a series of questions, he asked, ‘why do you think you need a co-founder?’ I answered honestly that everyone told me I did. His advice was great. He told me that I had built a solid and skilled team of experts who did an excellent job and that I didn’t need a co-founder; I’ve already set up the platform.
Early on I discovered what I could do and what I wanted to outsource. There is not one right way. Do what’s right for your business based on the needs of the business. I have a team of experts that is a mix of full-time team members and outsourcing partners. I find that working with companies that are experts in their field is best for me. I will pit my team against every other team!
What is a quote or saying that you use as a personal motivation?
Fear can prevent the best idea or company from moving forward. Doubt and fear of failure that paralyzes innovation is a lie. My faith has been so important to me during my business trip. That strong faith in God has helped me understand what is real, power, love and clarity. That is what I seek and desire.
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and soundness of mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
