Category: 10 Best Performing CEO’s 2020 Cover story

Knowledge Hub Media, an award-winning data processing and technology service platform found its genesis in 2009 as the brainchild of Dr. Paul Guenther, DBA. It has been a leader in delivering niche blog articles, expert analysis, and the newest and most relevant white papers, webinars, research reports and case studies across all industry verticals for more than ten years.

Based in Pennsylvania, Knowledge Hub Media provides B2B demand generation (or lead generation) services via white paper and content syndication. White papers, webcasts, eBooks, and other assets to generate highly qualified sales leads; based on the specific software and/or service-based solution(s) offered by each of the clients. Each client’s internal salesforce then contacts the leads that the team has generated to (1) gauge their interest in the solution that they are offering/selling, (2) get them into the automation platform and/or sales pipeline, and (3) ultimately close the deal.

THE FLAG BEARER

A visionary and outstanding leader, Dr. Paul Guenther is successfully spearheading the Knowledge Hub Media towards its mission of delivering tailor-made solutions. Paul graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University in 2006 and went on to receive his MBA from Wilmington University in 2010. Eventually, Paul earned his Doctorate in Business Administration, also from Wilmington University, in 2019.

Between 2006 and 2009, he had seven different jobs that some people might consider “careers.” At the end of the day, I didn’t like any of them too much… And being the entrepreneur that he is, he was always bouncing around to new opportunities, chasing a higher paycheck.

Paul was never truly fulfilled career-wise until he started Knowledge Hub Media. And today, as the Founder & CEO of the company, the visionary leader is involved in essentially all internal processes. He is working around the clock most of the time to get things on time with perfection.

THE INCEPTION STORY

Dr. Paul Guenther has been an entrepreneur since childhood. He started his first eCommerce website when he was 14. Before establishing Knowledge Hub media, Paul was working for a company that was in the B2B Advertising industry. He had successfully taken on and worked in several different roles within the company – more specifically, in sales, client services and client marketing –and he felt that he had a pretty good grip on most of the moving parts. So in 2009, he quit his job and started his own B2B Advertising Technology Company.

“Combining what I had learned with what I already knew about web development and promoting content online, which I’d been doing it since I was fourteen, I figured it would be pretty easy. The way I saw it, all I really needed was to find one consistent client, then I could bide my time and build things up from there. And that’s what I did. From an employee standpoint, we have grown year over year ever since the company’s inception. We have also increased our revenue year over year, every year with the except one, where we saw a slight dip,” stated Paul.

DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS

“Educating our userbase with the most up to date and relevant content, Knowledge Hub Media prides itself on enabling users to develop sound business strategies, conduct (their own) relevant research, handle project management, manage their daily workflow, and ultimately, make intelligent purchasing decisions with regards to software and technology solutions,” shared Paul.

• The company has the ability to micro-target campaigns via very specific criteria, and the ability to always meet campaign deadlines.
• It delivers an excellent experience (not to mention excellent ROI) that differentiates Knowledge Hub in valuable ways.
• It offers our demand generation campaigns – providing leads to clients that are made up of very specific job titles, company sizes, and industries and install bases.
• These days, the vast majority of campaigns at Knowledge Hub are company targeted via ABM lists or buyer intent lists, as well.
• It can effectively target every country in the world to engage in lead generation (save Japan), and can promote each client’s offer(s) in the native language of their choice.

Finally, they complete all of the campaigns on time! They don’t ever “over-promise and under-deliver,” and all leads are delivered within the campaign’s agreed upon flight dates!

COMPANY’S FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

The company is already spread across various countries. They have a large global audience (the people consuming our content) and have the ability to reach just over 39 million b2b contacts. In future, it will continue to add new team members, create new products, and innovate new technologies to offer clients a true edge over their competition. Build revenue year over year – every year – and reach $10 million in annual sales by the end of next year.

The man behind the brand, Paul said, “I resist the pressure of approaching growth as a race; I like to let it come organically. Founders often think that they have to grow “this much,” or “this fast.” They don’t have to do either. They can – and often times should – take the time to learn their industry and ramp things up the right way.”

“I equate starting and growing my company to a stone building… The old stone building that has been standing for 500 years – not the cookie-cutter McMansion that’s already falling apart after 10 years. They are both impressive, sure. And having either is probably a hell of an achievement. But one stands the test of time – it weathers the storms (like this current recession), and when everything is all said and done, it’s still there,” he further added.

FEATHERS IN THE CAP

• The company hit $1 Million in Revenue for the first time in 2013
• The company hit $3 Million in Revenue for the first time in 2017
• Recognized as Top 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2016 by The Silicon Review
• Honoured with Corporate Excellence Award for B2B Advertising & Research by CV Magazine
• The company also has been featured in several podcast and business radio programs
• Besides, Dr. Paul Guenther has been featured in a book called “Dynamic Founders of the 21st Century.
• Knowledge Hub Media, an Inc. 5000 List honouree in three consecutive years – 2015, 2016 and 2017.
• Named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Entrepreneur 360™ three years running (2017, 2018, 2019).

THE SECRET SAUCE

Dr. Paul Guenther proudly shared, “We never overpromise and underdeliver, and thus, we never leave anyone hanging. That, and our ongoing customer service is second to none – we’re all about the customer experience. We are also among the best in the industry – if not THE best – at targeting niche job titles and specific countries and/or geographic regions outside of North America. From Latin America and Europe to India, the APAC region and even the Middle East.”

BALANCE IN PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE

Dr. Paul Guenther said, “It is really difficult. But I do it. I do take breaks and hang out with my family in between all of this, of course! But I NEVER work on the weekend. This is a promise that I made to my wife before we got married; a promise that I made to myself before I even started the company. I do not want to be tied to work 24/7, and being a fairly sociable person, I also like doing things with friends and family on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays. Pledging to never work on the weekend – ever has afforded me the ability to do all of this. And, most importantly to spend as much time as possible with my beautiful wife Allison and three-year-old son, Paul.”

SOURCE OF MOTIVATION

“I am responsible for the lives of nine people. Their income and their livelihood depend on the company’s income and livelihood. When you are responsible for ensuring that your people have jobs to go to everyday… Well, there isn’t anything more motivating than that. Because of that motivation, I’ve never had to lay anybody off, and we’ve actually never had any kind of turnover… We have a 100% retention rate, and I’m really proud of that,” asserted Paul.

Keeping the team motivated is even easier. Treat them the same way that you’d treat your family or good friends. When you want to educate somebody that you like, somebody you love…

How do you do it? Are you authoritative? Or conversely, are you more consultative? I try to treat everyone with the utmost respect. My rule of thumb is NOT to “treat everyone the same way you’d want to be treated,” but rather, to “treat everyone BETTER than you’d want to be treated.” That can go a long way. In 11 years, now, we’ve never lost a single employee. Nobody has ever been fired or laid off, and nobody has quit, either. I’d like to – and hope to – keep it that way,” he further added.