Our Team
John Shaver
I fell into technology and business management software almost by accident. Back in the mid 1980s I was working for a CPA firm in Myrtle Beach, SC. During that time, the partners at the firm decided to move into the 20th century from a technology perspective. The question, however, was who in the firm would take on that task. So, being young and eager to prove myself, I raised my hand and volunteered for the job.
In those days, there weren't many options in the area of accounting software so a new company called State of the Art was selected. Little did I know that some 25 years later I would still be working with MAS 90 and that State of the Art would evolve into Sage North America. I guess there's something to be said for consistency.
After working for a few years in both the public and private sectors of accounting and finance (yes, I have been an end-user of MAS 90 so I look at software from a user's perspective), I decided to jump into the entrepreneurial world. My father had owned his own businesses for many years and he gave me the inspiration to take the risk.
We were quite content for a while from helping customers troubleshoot technical issues, write reports, installing upgrades and teaching customers how to get the most out of the software. The whole time we were filling out timesheets and billing based on our time because that was just the way it had always been done.
Over the years, we began to notice quite a bit of negativity in the industry, both for our customers and for us. Our customers asked us questions that we couldn't answer which frustrated us and made us wonder what was wrong. The questions were not technical; rather they were focused on who bears the responsibility for software and on why there are so many unknowns about the price of projects and support. Here are some examples:
- Why should I get a bill every time my software breaks? I didn't break it. Should I have to pay for something I didn't break?
- Why is it that every time we have you install an upgrade or write a report, we never know how much it will cost? I don't care how long it takes you, just get it done.
- I like you guys but I've told my employees not to call for support or anything software related unless it is a dire emergency. The problem is that I don't know if I'll get a bill for $100 or $10,000. How do I budget for that?
My belief is these are the types of issues that have always driven a wedge between customer and software partner over the years. It creates unnecessary stress on both sides. Since our passion and mission is to help customers use their systems to the greatest effect, it bothered us that customers perceived the software and the software partner to be a necessary evils and as unknown costs to be avoided. We knew for an absolute fact that applying our knowledge and experience to our customers' businesses provided great value. The question was: how do we price that knowledge so our customers can clearly see the value?
Inspiration struck in the form of very forward thinking and encouragement from two people at Sage. Bill Hammer, who had been our partner manager at Sage for many years, understood that we were looking for ways to eliminate the negative aspects of the customer/software vendor relationship. He told me that I needed to meet Ed Kless, the partner development manager at Sage, and that I needed to attend one of Ed's conferences. Ed's message was incredibly simple and incredibly enlightening: Customers hate billable time, get rid of it! Give them guarantees on everything. So we did and it has been the most positive part of our business since we opened our doors in 1996.
What a concept, a software and consulting company who actually talks with all of their customers about how the customer wants to do business with us. Everything we do for a customer is custom tailored for their business.
On a personal note, growing up in the Carolinas (Charlotte, Gastonia and Myrtle Beach) should have led me to embrace NASCAR from a very early age. However, I came to racing via my true passion, hockey. While living in Greensboro, NC in the mid 1990s, my dream came true: an NHL hockey team was actually going to play in the city where I was living. The Hartford Whalers packed up shop, became the Carolina Hurricanes and moved to Greensboro to play for two years while their new arena was being constructed in Raleigh.
During one of the Hurricanes' open houses to introduce folks to the new team, there was a NASCAR show car on display. The idea was to draw in racing fans to give this hockey thing a try. What caught my attention was that there was a Hurricanes logo on the car. Well, here's a race car driver who likes hockey. I'll have to jump on the NASCAR band wagon. That driver was Jeff Burton, that car was his rookie car and I've been following Jeff ever since. In 2006, the 'Canes won a Stanley Cup, now let's see if Jeff can win a NASCAR championship.
If you're interested in seeing the more traditional, resume-related information about me, please visit my LinkedIn and Twitter profiles below.
Amy Shaver
Before I became a part of Aries Technology Group, if anyone had asked if I was interested in technology, the answer would have been an unequivocal 'no way!' Then, I did not consider myself 'technological' in any sense of the word. In fact, the word technological implies logic. Ask anyone who knew me then; technology did not apply!
At the time, before I met John, my husband and business partner of 15 years, I was considering a career as a pianist. Once I left for college, I continued with my musical studies but quickly discovered that good pianists are a dime a dozen, and truly great pianists had to practice at least 8 hours a day, seven days a week! As often happens in college or shortly thereafter, real life intervened. I met John and our life together began. While he was pursuing what we both thought would be his calling at a public accounting firm in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I worked at several different, fun, and mostly worthwhile businesses. At some point during our years in Myrtle Beach, we discovered public accounting was not the area in which John wanted to spend the rest of his life! While there, though, he did discover that he had a knack for understanding and implementing accounting software, and helping customers understand the software. So, we took a plunge and moved to Greensboro, North Carolina in 1996. I began a position as a commercial lender at RBC Centura Bank, while John moved forward in his software consulting career.
John founded Aries in 1996, and I helped him out here and there when I could while still working at the bank. I enjoyed the aspects of the business that I was involved in, and we formulated a plan for me to go to work for an end user of one of the Sage software packages that we currently offer. I would gain practical, day-to-day experience with the software. After I worked there for a few years, we took a plunge (again!) and I joined Aries full time. The rest, as they say, is history.
John and I have eaten, breathed and slept Aries since 1996. Ups and downs, wrongs and rights, for richer and poorer, we committed ourselves to our business and our passion: working with our existing customers and finding new customers and helping them move their businesses forward. Just check out the rest of the website and you'll see what I mean.
In our business, our family and the ideals that you see in the content of our website, I can truly say that we are committed to helping our customers realize the greatest gain from their business software.
On a more personal, note, I enjoy collecting hardcover, first edition books. Although it is becoming less frequent due to entities such as Amazon and eBay, one of my favorite activities is to scour used bookstores for great bargains. Usually in the form of a hardcover first edition in prime condition at a non-inflated price. John and I also cook quite a bit and enjoy trying new and different recipes. Its fun to experiment with ingredients to discover how textures, flavors and color can come together to produce a great meal!
If you're interested in seeing the more traditional, resume-related information about me, please visit my LinkedIn and Twitter profiles below.
Adrian Montgomery
My customers describe me as a results-oriented, creative, full-of-energy relationship builder and a great business developer.
I started my career in the mid-1990’s as a media-planner for one of the largest advertising agencies in the US. I planned and executed millions of dollars worth of media purchases. In the beginning of my career, I worked primarily on the buying and planning end of the business. My true passion, however, is interacting directly with customers. So, I decided to take the leap, move to the “other side”and dove head first into sales.
It was not until several years later that I was offered the position of Regional Account Manager at Sage. I was so thrilled to work for the mid-market leading accounting software firm. I felt as though I found my calling. While at Sage, I had the pleasure of assisting channel partners achieve marketing and sales success in their businesses.
Several years into my career at Sage, I developed an interest in contacting potential customers and cultivating relationships on behalf of the partners. It just so happened one of my closest Sage partners agreed it would be a good idea to roll this effort out independent of Sage. Several years after winning and retaining new customers working with that partner, I teamed up with the folks at Aries. And today, I assist Aries with developing and executing marketing and sales strategies.
I was attracted to Aries by their unique approach. Rather than focusing their company on selling software, they decided to provide value and knowledge to their customers. Any project they and their customers decide to undertake must have proven value for both the customer and Aries. The option to simply say "No" is always on the table.