Cultivating Entreprenurial Spirit with Eric Green

A tale of how following your curiosity and saying yes to opportunities – even if it involves spraying an anti–mold solution in your mouth – led to a thriving company culture.

If you’ve stepped into the Askuity office, you know it’s not just the tasty snacks, coffee, or exposed brick that gives the place a warm charm. It’s the full lunch tables, the laughter you hear throughout the day, and the afternoon migration to happy hour.

As a new employee, I wanted to learn more about the history of this inviting culture, and I knew I had to start with leadership. To uncover the story, I sat down with Eric Green, co-founder and now General Manager of Askuity.   

Moulding the Future of Askuity

Sometimes the brightest ideas begin in the darkest and dampest of places.

It all started with getting rid of mold.

Eric was introduced to an inventor who had created a product – an anti-microbial solution – that was effective against mold growth. He was impressed with the product, and together they launched a business. Eric passionately reminisced about his days selling mold killer that was safe enough to drink. 

“I went to retailers pitching the solution – actually spraying the solution in our mouths to prove how safe it was – and our first customer was The Home Depot Canada. At the time, I didn’t know much about retail but quickly learned the industry – and The Home Depot remained a main channel.”  

At this point in our conversation, I was a little lost – wondering how Eric went from mold killer to data analytics. Turns out, it was through selling their product to retail stores that he realized that suppliers didn’t have access to much data. 

 “We knew what we were selling and shipping, but from that point on we were blind. We didn’t have information to better understand our business to improve and grow – and help our retailers.”  

Eric wondered, if his company was struggling with sharing and understanding data, what were other suppliers doing? After interviewing merchants and suppliers, he quickly realized retailers and suppliers of every size, and in every market, had the same problem. 

During this time, Eric was using Google Analytics to track website traffic. The idea struck him that it would be great to have similar analytics to track business performance for suppliers.  

“I wanted to build Google Analytics – but for point-of-sale (POS) data. The idea was to sell the platform to retailers who would then make it available to suppliers, so everyone wins.” 

 From marketing to in-store service to weather factors, he recognized there was untapped potential for using data to gain insights to guide business decisions. 

For Eric, that person was Neal – his old friend from summer camp. 

Eric called Neal to tell him about the idea, and together they started Askuity. Their vision was to bridge the data gap between retailers and suppliers.  

“We did particularly well in the home improvement and beauty industry. We always joked we had a lipstick and lumber strategy.”  

 Askuity was doing well, but what led to The Home Depot acquisition?  

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