Congratulations on your time with Digitain and SportGenerate. You were there for five and a half years. When you first joined Digitain, what did you hope to achieve? Was C-suite something you had your sights on?
I met with Mr [Vardges] Vardanyan, the Founder of Digitain on Thursday (10 October). It was the first meeting we'd had in full English with each other. I said to him when I joined, Digitain was Europa League. I wanted to get them Champions League. I wanted them to win titles. I didn't do it myself. We did it as a team and they've won [several awards]. We achieved what we set out to be – to become a top-tier iGaming solutions provider.
Did I intend to go to C-suite? I don't ever think about job titles. Everyone who knows me knows that – again, that was part of being successful. But I think the most successful thing is that we elevated Digitain to a top-tier gaming provider. It was challenging at times. Everyone who worked with me knows I can be challenging and I'm always pushing for the level of perfection that promotes us to the next level.
As they say, there's no I in team.
No, there's not. There's responsibilities within team, but no I in team. I said this to Mr Vardanyan. I may not have always done direct sales for Digitain, but I was a football manager and Mr Vardanyan has a football team now. The football manager doesn't score goals; I wanted to develop people and I think that's one of the biggest achievements I take from Digitain.
As I said to Mr Vardanyan, I had the happiest times in my career. But sometimes things come to an end. I said to him, there's a past, present and future, and if I'm the past, I'm the past. It's not a problem and I wish you every success today and in the future. Digitain doesn't stop operating because I left and I don't stop being Simon because I've left. I couldn't give any more and I wanted to go in the right way.
I gave everything I could for five and a half years and I couldn't give any more. I don’t want to disrespect Mr Vardanyan by staying and taking money that I haven't been able to deliver
What would you say were your favourite moments working with Digitain?
The people. Covid was a difficult time for the world, but honestly, it was the best time of my career. We expanded the team from five to 30 salespeople. We developed an aggressive commercial strategy and we delivered it. That time, 2020 – 2022, my time as CBO with Digitain was fantastic.
It was difficult. It was learning to manage a team remotely, not being able to come to Armenia. To form a team remotely with people I've ever met – I didn't meet the team till January 2021 – and we were already smashing it. So, I think the happiest memory is building that first iteration of the sales team.
I had some great times at SportGenerate as well, building a team there, developing two new products in 12 months... something that doesn't come naturally to me. I found my wife at Digitain as well. Digitain and SportGenerate, it's been an all-consuming passion for the last five and a half years. It's been weird today because my phone's been quiet. I took my phone off silent for the first time in five years because it's not going off.
Conversely, what would you say were the biggest learning experiences for you in those five years?
Managing cultural differences. I'm very direct; I'm very honest. I'm very open and nothing I do is personal. In UK business cultures, you can have a big argument with someone, but it's not personal. It was learning to manage in a different culture, one that takes things personally. [I was] empowering people to make decisions. Guys would come and say, you're the manager. I say, I'm not always going to be the manager. If I do it for you, you don't learn.
Everyone's scared of making mistakes. But I had to tell people, don't be scared of making a mistake, because I'm not going to let you make a mistake that's catastrophic. But, at the end of the day, if you don't make a mistake, you're not going to learn. That was challenging at times. Also, allowing people the freedom to develop. I'm very detail-oriented, and as I always say, Alex Ferguson demanded that every day. Sometimes you have to step back and you can't push people every day.
Managing in a different environment has been challenging. I've not always got it right. I put my hands up. When I've got it wrong, I've said sorry. I've also learned how to manage different business cultures which is interesting. Hopefully, I'll take those lessons forward to the next chapter of my career.
Mr Vardanyan has empowered a whole new class of people in Armenia, so fair play to him
In terms of working for Digitain, what would you say were the best aspects of it?
That came from momentum. It might be challenging, managing in a different environment. But, I’ve been here for five and a half years. The people are amazing. Mr Vardanyan is amazing; Armenia is amazing. The momentum we delivered to Digitain to go to that next level as a provider, to spread the news, to bring a level of recognition to who Digitain is, wasn't easy at times.
It was a perfect harmony of my reputation and industry standing and the product. We meshed together very well. It was very powerful. I was proud to be an ambassador at Digitain.
You were the CEO of SportGenerate. They never teach you how to be a CEO. But, for anyone in that position (or stepping into that position), what would you say is the most important skill you can work on to lead effectively?
Be calm, decisive and time solves everything. Don't panic. There are times when you want to panic, but you can't. When you take five minutes and step back from the crisis, it's not as bad as you think.
You've also got to be empathetic. Everyone has their own challenges. As CEO, you might not always see them but you need to be aware of them. You need to know when to step in. You need to know when to allow people the freedom to develop, because you don't want to micromanage them. At the same time, you need to guide them on the path of the business. Because you’re the CEO, you're responsible for everything. Being Chief Business Officer was easy. When you're CEO, that's a different world.
You mentioned momentum as something that was key for you. What does momentum look like when running a team?
That saying, momentum, comes from a good mate of mine. He's an ex-Sheffield United player. Sheffield United went from League One to the Championship and I was saying, 'I'm not sure how they're going to go this year.' He said: “Simon, they've got momentum. Never underestimate momentum.” Digitain was about empowering the team, removing excuses and trusting them, showing them. My job was to remove barriers, make them feel special, lead them and protect them at times. Salespeople, when they do well, get a little bit above themselves. You’ve got to manage and temper that.
A person told me once when the car's cold in the morning, getting it started, going from 0 to 10, is when the car works the hardest. Going from 10 to 20 is not that bad for the car. That's what momentum is for me... Once it started, it was exciting. When people are engaged and salespeople are earning commission, I used to say guys, I want you to be the richest people in Armenia.
That's another thing. I am digressing a little bit, forgive me, but that's one thing I have to also give Mr Vardanyan and the technology sector here in Armenia great credit for. They are creating a new social class, the middle class, as the society's developing. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. I was the guy on the ground trying to make things happen. But Mr Vardanyan has empowered a whole new class of people in Armenia, so fair play to him.
Managing culturally in a different environment has been challenging. I've not always got it right. I put my hands up. When I've got it wrong, I've said sorry
Were there any challenges for you as CEO that you weren't expecting? How did you navigate those?
There are always surprises. I don't think there was one in particular. There were daily surprises at the start, forming a new company. You're doing a lot of administration.
I wanted to be a hands-on CEO. But at the same time, I didn't want to micromanage because I hate being micromanaged. So I learned to be calm: I didn't always get it right. But I wanted to be decisive and in my decision-making, I would always explain to people why I made that decision. When you lose communication, that's when it all dies. Some people didn't always agree with my decisions and they don't have to. But I always explained my reasoning and logic. Because if you don't make a decision, you get inertia. Nine times out of 10, no decision, if you get it wrong, is catastrophic.
I've been grateful to have been brought to SportGenerate as CEO. It was something Mr Vardanyan had to convince me to take because I loved being CBO. But the skill set I've developed over the last 18 months has been fantastic. Sometimes the people above you have a vision for you and you have to trust them. I trust Mr Vardanyan and thank him for giving me that experience.
You're giving yourself a break before you head into your next adventure. Is there anything in particular on the agenda?
Honestly? Sitting in my dressing gown watching the England-Pakistan cricket test. Hopefully they last five days, so that keeps me busy... Joking aside, I'm exhausted, but in a good way. I need to reflect on things, and I'm honest enough to say I didn't get everything right all the time. I need to learn the good lessons and bad lessons.
My wife said to me the other day: “There's no good that comes without an element of bad to get to the good, and there's no bad that comes without an element of good to get to the bad.” So it's going to be a time of reflection, doing what I enjoy and relaxing.
There's no plan. A lot of people can't believe I've not got my next job. There's no secret. I’ve not even interviewed. I gave everything I could for five and a half years and I couldn't give any more. I don’t want to disrespect Mr Vardanyan by staying and taking money that I haven't been able to deliver.
You've also got to be empathetic. Everyone has their own challenges. As CEO, you might not always see them but you need to be aware of them
Everyone needs time to look after themselves. And I think you don't have time to pause when you're in the middle of something. When you're out of it, you can look back and reflect.
Totally. It was five and a half years and I've only been working 19 years or so. Over 25% of my professional career has been with Digitain. I need time to reflect. But I also need time to understand the success because, as you say, sometimes when you're involved in it, it's monotonous because the momentum is growing.
I know you said you haven't got your next role lined up. But, when you do make your return, what do you hope to gain or achieve in your next role?
That comes down to the opportunity. I've got to work out what I want to do, where I want to go. Because, when I joined I made a sizeable contribution to the success of Digitain. Now, do I want to go to a company like Digitain again where I can add 20%, 30%, maybe more in value? Or do I want to go to a big one where I can add 1% or 2%? That's the decision I have to make.
Number two, do I want to go back into commercial or do I want to stay as a CEO? I think time solves everything. You know, I never thought I'd be with Digitain. I never thought I'd be in Armenia. I never thought I'd be married to an Armenian. I never thought I'd be here for five years.
So I'm not going to plan too much. But, at the same time, I'm not going to relax too much. Because if you don't stay relevant in this industry, everyone forgets you and, at some point, I do want to go back to work. Within two weeks, I'm going to be bored. I know that of myself. I've got a lot of things going on personally to focus on as well. So let's see the opportunities that come my way. Hopefully I'll make the right choices.
