"The right team dynamic and culture can make managing the company much easier."
One might say the seas are in PredictWind Founding Director Jon Bilger’s genes. The son of a triple Olympian sailor, Jon set sail at the age of eight, traveling with his father to attend regattas around the world.
Jon carried the family legacy forward, sailing on to become an Olympian in his own right as well as a two-time America’s Cup winner and New Zealand National Champion in multiple classes.
As a lifelong competitive yachtsman, Jon knows how dangerous sudden weather changes can be. A seemingly benign thunderstorm event forced Jon and his crew to sail with a jury-rigged broken mast for the final 10 days of a Transpacific race, underscoring the importance of reliable, accurate, and remotely accessible weather forecasting.
After spending 10 years on America’s Cup scene, including serving as Weather Team Manager for the Swiss team and Navigator for the TAG Heuer team and utilizing the best forecasting technology in the industry, Jon was determined to make this private technology available to the public at large to help prevent dangerous, potentially life-threatening situations at sea.
PredictWind is a passion project driven by Jon’s desire to keep sailors of all ilks as safe and prepared as possible. Thirteen years in the making, PredictWind provides the most accurate and reliable wind and marine forecasting tools available at a price every seaman can afford.
Today PredictWind serves nearly a million users and Jon considers his company the lighthouse keeper of the world, offering accurate forecasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to anywhere on the planet.
Jon holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Auckland. When he’s not working, you’ll find him Wind foiling, Kite foiling or Wing Foiling with his wife and two daughters.
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Table of Contents
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
Jon Bilger: We have had an amazing year with record growth, but most of all we love to innovate new features. Some of the highlights include the following
Extreme Weather Warnings – https://www.predictwind.com/news/extreme-weather-warning/
Integration with the Iridium GO! – https://www.predictwind.com/news/go-exec/
Automatic Wave Routing – https://www.predictwind.com/news/automatic-wave-routing/
AIS Vessel Data – https://www.predictwind.com/news/ais-vessel-data/
Extended 10-day forecast – https://www.predictwind.com/news/10-day-forecast/
PredictWind DataHub – https://www.predictwind.com/news/datahub-track-blog-save-broadcast-all-your-onboard-data-sources/
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, are an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle keeping talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are adapting to the current shift we see?
Jon Bilger: The team at PredictWind feels strongly about their work! We have an open and honest discussion in our flat management structure, considering all staff opinions before making decisions.
Although we aren’t perfect, our team loves what they do and goes the extra mile. To keep up this spirit, we choose to reward them generously at the end of every year. We put our money where our mouth is to truly show our appreciation for the work and dedication of our passionate staff!
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?
Jon Bilger: Despite the current economic uncertainties, we remain committed to growing our online business and SAAS product for weather subscriptions.
We believe our product provides a valuable service to offshore sailors by keeping them safe from the elements, so we are dedicated to continuing to innovate and invest in this product for our customers.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Jon Bilger: The main obstacle we must face is challenging the idea that recession is unavoidable.
Instead of being timid and not investing, we should take calculated risks to take advantage of the opportunities that are still present in both good and bad times. This is an undertaking we must take on if we are to become successful entrepreneurs.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Jon Bilger: It is essential when running any business to ensure that your team is supported and empowered to do their best work. The right team dynamic and culture can make managing the company much easier.
However, when there is no unity and harmony within the team, the culture can become detrimental and can eventually lead to the demise of the company.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Jon Bilger: Empoyee people with exceptional ability, that were a great fit for the team. Nurture these qualities.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Jon Bilger 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 Jon Bilger or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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