Strategic Growth: John Ragsdale on The Rialto Podcast
November 2024 | Irving, TX
In a compelling episode of The Rialto Marketing Podcast, hosted by Tim Fitzpatrick, John Ragsdale, Founder CEO of TAP Innovations, shared his insights on fostering strategic partnerships and driving innovation. Part of the podcast’s Revenue Acceleration Series, this conversation showcases how TAP Innovations helps businesses overcome inefficiencies and achieve remarkable growth.
TAP Innovations: Eliminating The Operational M.E.S.S
Under Ragsdale’s leadership, TAP has become a leader in Digital Integration, Analytics, and App Solutions. The company addresses gaps in business systems that often lead to inefficiencies. Instead of relying on Manual Efforts and SpreadSheets (aka MESSs), TAP’s Digital Tools streamline workflows and optimize operations providing key ‘Digital Glue’ between business systems.
This approach has earned TAP a reputation for solving complex operational challenges. By focusing on mid-market companies, TAP eliminates the common “MESS” that hinder growth. Ragsdale’s ability to simplify these issues with innovative solutions has been key to the company’s success.
The Power of Strategic Partnerships
A significant part of TAP’s growth strategy lies in building meaningful alliances. Ragsdale explains how partnerships with industry leaders like Paycor and Paychex enable TAP to deliver value at scale. These collaborations not only help TAP secure consistent referrals but also make software solutions “stickier” and more Effective for these partners.
Learn more about TAP’s customer success stories here.
Core Values Driving Success
TAP’s achievements have been heavily influenced by its strong culture, per Ragsdale. A key component of that culture is TAP’s core values. These are: Ownership, Thoroughness, Communication, and Closure (aka OTCC). Ragsdale notes that these are not just nice words on the wall in the office, but these are intentionally and strategically woven into all business discussions, decisions, and activity with all team members daily.
Another key component to TAP’s culture is TAP’s “Circle of Growth” model (a model Ragsdale learned and adopted from mentor Paul Spiegelman). Uniquely, this model places TAP team members at the top of the priority hierarchy. When team members are put into positions of success, and provided key tools, encouragement, and support, they then deliver exceptional customer outcomes. As a result, revenue is received from customers, and then profits from the revenue are reinvested back into the team members, creating a sustainable ‘circle of growth’.
Lessons in Leadership and Progress
Ragsdale also shared valuable lessons from his entrepreneurial journey. One mantra he lives by is: “Don’t let perfect get in the way of progress.” He believes this mindset encourages innovation and helps teams adapt to changing business environments.
Additionally, Ragsdale highlighted the importance of mentorship and learning from others. His partnerships with trusted colleagues and mentors have shaped his leadership style. They’ve also helped him navigate challenges and celebrate successes along the way.
An Inspiring Blueprint for Entrepreneurs
John Ragsdale’s appearance on The Rialto Marketing Podcast is a must-listen for business leaders. His journey from founding TAP Innovations to leading a $3 million company in just a few years demonstrates the transformative power of partnerships. It also offers a blueprint for achieving growth through partnerships, collaboration, adaptability, and a clear focus on value.
About TAP Innovations
TAP Innovations, a minority-owned business certified by Texas SBA®, delivers cloud-based solutions to eliminate Manual Efforts and SpreadSheets (MESS). TAP Innovations…THE Integrated Digital Toolbox™ automates manual processes, greatly reduces spreadsheet sprawl, transforms data into actionable information, and performs intelligent content organization across people and entity enterprises. A growing set of Digital Tools (aka Digital ‘Glue’) for HCM, CRM, Business Intelligence, Integrations, and more are web and mobile-enabled, filling data interoperability gaps with core business systems. TAP Innovations solutions streamline business processes for leading organizations with 50-15,000+ employees. Visit http://www.tapinnov.com/ to learn more.
About The Rialto Marketing Podcast
The Rialto Marketing Podcast is a go-to resource for B2B professional service firms. Hosted by Tim Fitzpatrick, it explores strategies for overcoming revenue roadblocks and accelerating business growth. Each episode features interviews with industry leaders who share their challenges, successes, and valuable insights. Visit here if you would like to listen to more full-length podcast episodes. Visit www.rialtomarketing.com to learn more.