"Scaling a startup is not just a job, it is a lifestyle."
Welcome to our exclusive interview with Joe Tolzmann, CEO of RocketPlan. As a seasoned entrepreneur with years of experience in the property restoration industry, Joe saw the need for a streamlined and intuitive SaaS platform to address the challenges of miscommunication and lack of digitization in the field.
This led him to found RocketPlan, a platform that connects field teams with office staff for efficient data capture, documentation, and report automation.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Joe Tolzmann: I’m Joe Tolzmann, CEO of RocketPlan. It’s a SaaS platform for property restoration management. The idea for my company came to me after I experienced the challenges caused by miscommunication and lack of digitization during years working in the property restoration industry. I knew there had to be a better way, and when I couldn’t find one, I built one.
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, services, or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Joe Tolzmann: Warren, if you’re reading this, let me tell you that RocketPlan solves the pain points of a very niche, and very recession-proof, growing market. So long as mother nature and accidents exist, there will always be properties requiring restoration services. We provide one very simple platform for property restoration teams to capture, document, file, photograph, and report all necessary documentation on the go.
And it’s built to connect field teams with the office staff so data can be accessed in real-time for efficient estimating and billing. If you can’t process project documentation efficiently, it results in a costly and prolonged project life cycle, leading to employee burnout, which directly impacts the bottom line.
What makes us different from our competitors is that our product is intuitive — anyone with a smartphone who can take a selfie can learn to use it within minutes.
RocketPlan’s biggest strength is that we built it knowing exactly what pain points to solve because we experienced those pain points ourselves. We worked in the restoration industry for years. With RocketPlan, we’re streamlining data capture and report automation in one place.
What advice do you wish you received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Joe Tolzmann: To be honest, I’ve never had that ‘wish someone had given me this advice’ moment. Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, I knew my goal. I focused on my product, and didn’t let distractions derail me. I had worked in the industry I was attempting to disrupt. I knew the problems restoration field teams experienced on site, so I knew exactly the problems I wanted to solve.
A lot of people talk about entrepreneurial burnout. For myself, I don’t actually think of ‘burnout’ in its typical definition. I don’t think that kind of burnout exists for entrepreneurs who have that innate drive to succeed. The way I interpret the word ‘burnout’ when I hear it from others is tasks, activities, goals, and a sense of moving forward, complaining about it is just irresponsible.
We’re the youngest company in this space but have already established ourselves in our particular niche.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Joe Tolzmann: SaaS products are highly scalable, especially in a specialized industry like property restoration management. In the coming year, I expect more and more companies in this industry will look to SaaS products to streamline their business operations and cut costs.
RocketPlan is capitalizing on the tidal wave of online business by constantly improving product features to attract new customers, and provide added-value for existing clients. We listen to client input, evaluate our offerings, and determine where we can improve. If your product remains stagnant, it very quickly gets outdated. RocketPlan was built in this era for the current needs of the people in the industry. We want anyone with a smartphone to be able to use our platform without a tedious learning process.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Joe Tolzmann: The challenge right now in business is two-fold: for the company that’s offering a product, the challenge is to get the product in front of the right people. And the challenge for companies searching for a particular product, it’s weeding through the noise to find the tool that solves their needs.
This goes for pretty much any business. Because our market is so niche, we have the additional challenge of distinguishing ourselves from the established players. Startups tend to face this obstacle, which is why startup leaders need to offer unique features that just aren’t available from their competitors. It really is about setting yourself apart.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?.
Joe Tolzmann: The time that it takes to build the team. For a company to be successful it needs to have a diverse group of dedicated professionals. There is more than just that, the team needs to be aligned and coordinated in its efforts; personality matches, the drive and determination – these need to align to achieve the common goal.
Scaling a startup is not just a job, it is a lifestyle. It’s not a ‘9-to-5.’ I found that many people get into it for the glory without knowing what it really takes to make it happen, and when they realize it they leave or you have to ask them to leave.
When I started I was lucky that I had three co-founders who joined me. We all worked in the restoration industry together and understood the challenges. That was extremely valuable. We worked intensely through COVID to get to the next stage, which enabled us to be more attractive to a wider pool of talent who thankfully don’t have to go through the 24/7 grueling hours we put in.
What does “success” in the year to come mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Joe Tolzmann: Success in the coming year would mean amplifying my brand within my industry. RocketPlan is unique in that it’s built for the users – not the executives. Property restoration contractors and insurance personnel on site know it’s a painstaking and tedious process to capture data accurately in the field.
But we’re removing certain obstacles – no more multiple platforms, no more lack of integration, and no more lengthy learning periods. RocketPlan is an intuitive, user-friendly platform for documents, photos, reports, bills, estimates, time-tracking and more. It’s all captured in real-time so the right people have access to necessary documents right away. We want to be the brand industry professionals recognize and respect for the value they receive. That’s our goal.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Joe Tolzmann for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Joe Tolzmann or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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