Adam Farrar

CEO of Help.com

7 March 2019 6 Min Read

Adam Farrar: From Entry-Level Support Tech to Respected CEO

Meet Adam Farrar, an entrepreneur, and CEO of Help.com, a company that provides a platform for Product, Support, Sales, and Marketing teams to communicate with customers personally.

Adam studied General Studies and Business at Dallas College, then Technology Management at the University of Houston. Before being the CEO of Help.com, he worked his way up from an entry-level position at the company to becoming the CEO of HostGator, one of the best web hosting providers on the market.

Adam believes a solid and united team is the key to a successful business. He shares his advice on building a successful enterprise with one such group. So, join me in hearing about his story and how he got to where he is today!

Meet Adam Farrar, an entrepreneur, and CEO of Help.com, a company that provides a platform for Product, Support, Sales, and Marketing teams to communicate with customers personally.

The Logician

Hi Adam, thank you for being a part of this mission! Can you tell us more about who you are and what you do? Why did you choose the career you have today?

Adam Farrar

Thanks for having me! I am the CEO of Help.com.

I have always been an entrepreneur at heart.

I started a couple of different companies right out of high school working to solve the problems I saw around me.

The problems were generally centered around my passions for technology.

In 2009, I joined HostGator as an entry-level support tech. It was a big risk at that time in my life; I had a kiddo, home, and family to take care of, and I took a hefty pay cut to join the team. But I was super excited about the company and its mission.

When I started, I dove in and focused on working hard and delivering a great customer experience. I moved up through multiple different roles ranging from night shift supervisor eventually to CEO three years later.

We ultimately took the company through an acquisition. I stayed on to lead the brand and gained quite a bit of experience and exposure with different brands and larger enterprise customer service software.

During my time at HostGator, I worked closely with in-house developers, creating our internal tools such as multiple live chat systems, phone systems, and so on.

We tried different off-the-shelf solutions but never found anything that really fit our needs or could scale with our growth. In 2018, Brent Oxley (the previous owner of HostGator) reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in joining Help.com. And that is how I got here.

The Logician

What is the vision behind Help.com? Why is it important?

Adam Farrar

We believe doing business online should be personal.

Help.com builds a customer communication platform for Product, Support, Sales, and Marketing teams to communicate at a personal level to their customers at the right place and time.

The product, support, sales, and marketing teams have shared goals.

Centering those goals around real conversations with customers and building intelligence around it helps companies learn more, make better data-driven decisions, and cultivate lasting relationships with their customers.

The Logician

This is not your first time being a CEO in a company, am I right? Regardless, being a CEO does not sound like an easy task. What did you learn from your previous experience? What is the secret to good organization and communication with the team? Do you have any management tricks you would share with the audience?

Adam Farrar

That is correct, HostGator.

I learned so much from HostGator.

I made a lot of decisions, some better than others, but each was an opportunity to learn personally and professionally.

I would say one strategy is to build the best team you can.

I enjoy surrounding myself with people that challenge me every day.

At the end of the day, I strongly believe in building a business around transparency and approachability.

Everyone in the company has an opportunity to mentor each other, so I like to encourage everyone to be approachable.

Maintaining a constant stream of communication is important, and it is important for leadership at all levels to have an intimate understanding of how the entire team feels day to day.

The Logician

What do you think are the best team-building strategies? How would you describe the working atmosphere in your company? What are you most proud of?

Adam Farrar

It might seem silly, but eating together I have found is one of the best ways to bring people together.

People tend to open up and relax over a meal, which is needed to build a bit of unity.
I would describe our culture as fun but driven.

Being able to create a work environment full of diversity, openness, and transparency has been extremely motivating and humbling.

I am most proud of how much we’ve grown as a company since I joined.

We have made significant changes in our hiring process to ensure our hiring is fair and uniform.

Since implementing these changes, we have quadrupled the number of women on our team, as well as gained a strong array of talent from a variety of different backgrounds.

The Logician

What would it be if you could change only one thing? Why?

Adam Farrar

That is a hard question! I don’t know if I would change much really. I live in Houston and commute to Austin during most weeks, perhaps making Austin a suburb of Houston would be a nice change!

The Logician

Your working position must be stressful at times. How well do you manage stress? According to you, what are the best stress relievers?

Adam Farrar

I handle it pretty well. I consider myself a pretty level headed. Best stress relievers?

Really anything you enjoy works wonders. Sometimes for me, that could be working with customers directly or watching a new movie with my wife and kids…

Cooking is also a favorite stress reliever of mine.

Find something you love and lose yourself in it for a bit.

The Logician

Who is Adam Farrar outside the office? How do you spend your day? What brings you joy in life? Can you define happiness?

Adam Farrar

I am a family man. I also love spending time with my friends and eating good food. I personally believe happiness is a choice.

Life does not always go the way we planned, but we decide how we respond.

Conversely, I think adversity is just an opportunity in disguise.

The Logician

What was your ‘’I made it’’ moment in your life? What does success mean to you? What is most important in business?

Adam Farrar

I think every day when you can wake up (or go to bed) and know you did everything you could to be better and get the job done is a success.

The Logician

Where do you see yourself in the next 5–10 years?

Adam Farrar

I see Help.com successful and growing. I see myself surrounded by family, friends, and smart, driven people I admire.

The Logician

Finally, yet importantly, what is your life advice for everyone reading this interview?

Adam Farrar

Assuming your idea is good, If you can surround yourself with talented, good-natured people who share your goals, and you consistently put in the work, success is inevitable.

Don’t give up on yourself. And don’t give up on your team either!

The Logician

Thank you, Adam, for sharing your inspirational story about how you worked your way up from an entry-level position to being CEO of two different companies. Your advice on creating a diverse and united workplace is hugely inspiring. Hearing how you balance your family life, stress, and work has also given me a lot of ideas on how to implement those strategies in my life. I look forward to hearing more about you and your endeavors in the future. And from what I have learned for you, you are full of ideas, so only the sky is your limit. Good luck!

The Logician

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Adam Farrar

Adam Farrar: From Entry-Level Support Tech to Respected CEO

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