Richard Tang is the founder and CEO of Zen Internet, which is consistently rated as the top internet service provider in the UK. Founded in 1995, Richard’s initial plan was to capitalise on the popularity of a new technology. Today, they provide broadband services to mainly business users. He tells Richard Tubb how he’s built a culture of success.
An Interview With Richard Tang
Zen’s Approach to Customer Support
The key difference, Richard explains, is right at the core of the culture. “So, we have these three most fundamental long-term objectives: happy staff, happy customers, and happy suppliers. And in that order.
“Because we’re all about putting people in the environment first and money second. And this is different to most of our competitors. Yes, they might do good for the environment. But at the end of the day, they’re driven by maximising financial return, which creates a certain culture.
“However, our focus on people and environment first creates a culture of success. We make decisions both strategically and day to day that have people at the core. And what matters is to us is what’s best for our staff and customers, and building better supplier relationships.”
Building a Strong Business Culture of Success
Richard acknowledges that he must have got the company culture right, because over a quarter of the workforce (150 people in total) have been with the business over 10 years.
“And some have been here more than 20. They say, ‘I never expected to stay with Zen for so long. But I believe in what it’s about, in its values.’ They know that we want to make a positive difference in the world, and that inspires them to stay.
“But we’ve put people and the environment first, and grown every year since 1995. And I hope that demonstrates that you can have a financially successful business without putting the finances first. I want to lead by example.”
Why B Corp Certification Leads to a Culture of Success
The B Corp movement began in America in response to businesses putting a focus on profit to the detriment to people and the environment. So the founders decided there had to be a better model and created B Corp. Richard explains more:
“Essentially, you change the articles of association to give your company directors a legal responsibility to take into account people, community, environment, alongside profitability. They have to be equal. And you have to publish a social responsibility statement along with your annual accounts.
“And we took it one step further to say ‘people in the environment are the purpose of the business.’ We have an environmental steering group to decide what we do as a business and the impact that we have. We strive to constantly improve.”
How Zen Helps help MSPs and Resellers Help Their Clients
The key to helping their suppliers and building a culture of success is all about the partnership. Zen know that MSPs want a rock-solid service with great support. And so that’s what they offer.
Says Richard: “We have a great API and portal for partners. They can manage everything themselves, and there’s a help team. Plus we can support with more complex projects an MSP might otherwise not be able to deliver.
“I see us as reliable building blocks MSPs can build their businesses on top of. So it’s a huge responsibility to make sure those blocks are robust. Yes, we want to make some money, but we want that for all of our partners too. They rely on us for long-term success.”
Why Making Charitable Donations is so Important to Zen
Richard says it’s really important to him personally, and also aligned to the company values. “Each year, we pick one or more charities, and do a whole range of fundraising activities for them. And then at the end of the year, we double everything we’ve raised via our profits.
“We do all kinds of things. For instance, we spent a day in the garden of a local hospice. My job was to varnish some benches, which took ages! But it’s important that all the staff go out and do things.
“Plus we try to do things with local schools and colleges. Because we want everyone, especially girls, to see tech as a viable career option. And maybe some of them are future Zen employees.”
Where the Zen Motto comes from
The three most fundamental objectives for Zen (happy staff, happy customers, happy suppliers) has a surprising origin. Richard explains that he was inspired by a policy introduced by the King of Bhutan.
“I was there on holiday and learning about the country. And I found out that the King had said: ‘All these other countries focus on growing their GDP (gross domestic product).
“’Instead, I want to look at how happy our country is. So we’re going to focus on Gross National Happiness (GNH).’ And that struck a chord for me. I wondered how I could apply that to a business, and decided to make it our long-term aims. It became a new purpose.”
How MSPs can Adopt the Zen Mentality and Build a Culture of Success
From conversations he’s had with other CEOs, Richard knows that people struggle to balance doing the right thing for people in the environment and making money? “Because they think it’s one or the other. And that’s simply not true.
“Zen is the living proof. We’ve grown to a £120m business and we grow every year. We make a profit by focusing on people and the environment. Zen has a loyal workforce who believe in our purpose. We have customers who value our services because we look after them. And we want to build long-term partnerships with them.
So my advice would beL build your business, do the right things for your people and your customers, and you’ll earn more money in the long term. You’ll see greater success than if you just look for quick wins.”
How to Connect With Richard Tang
- Zen Internet
- Follow Zen on Instagram
- Like Zen on Facebook
- Follow Zen on X
- Connect with Richard on LinkedIn
How to Connect With Me
- Subscribe to TubbTalk RSS feed
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- Follow @tubblog on Twitter
Mentioned in This Episode
- Peer group: SBSC Northwest
- B Corp certification
- Podcast: Richard’s interview with David Brereton
- YouTube: Richard’s Three Peaks video
- Cloud marketplace: Pax8
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Richard Tubb is one of the best-known experts within the global IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. He launched and sold his own MSP business before creating a leading MSP media and consultancy practice. Richard helps IT business owner’s take back control by freeing up their time and building a business that can run without them. He’s the author of the book “The IT Business Owner’s Survival Guide” and writer of the award-winning blog www.tubblog.co.uk
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