The First Customer
The First Customer
Jay Aigner
The First Customer - Turning a Professional Low Point into Opportunity with Co-Founder Joel Reed
24 minutes Posted Feb 4, 2026 at 2:00 pm.
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Show notes
In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Joel Reed, CEO and founder of Open Arc. Joel starts to unpack the long, nonlinear journey of building a software consulting company that’s lasted more than 20 years. Joel shares how a career plateau, the 2008 financial crisis, and a humbling professional low point ultimately pushed him to start Open Arc. From working four 10-hour days to fund the business on the side, to landing their very first customer through trusted relationships, Joe...