At no other time in the history of the modern world has risk management been so obviously important. Regardless of the size, sector, or stage of the business lifecycle we’re in, Covid-19 has shown us when things go wrong, how badly they can impact our business, and indeed, entire economies. Our world can quickly fold inwards, reinforcing the need for us all to be more agile, adaptive, and resilient.
Danny Wong, CEO & Founder of GOAT Risk, sits down with SourceForge to talk about his new venture and why it’s one of the fastest growing risk management solutions on the market.
CEO & Founder at GOAT Risk Solutions
What is GOAT and what inspired its creation?
GOAT is a simple, secure, and sensibly priced risk management software tool that helps you track, manage, collaborate and report on your business risks anywhere in the world – all for as little as the price of your daily coffee.
Designed to be quick and easy to use, even for non-risk experts, GOAT’s risk management tool is packed with pre-populated templates, risk tips, explanations and definitions, so anyone can use it without prior training.
The key motivation for launching GOAT back in 2019 was to focus on championing risk management as one of the most fundamental building blocks for business success. As a guiding philosophy, it made choosing the name for our business simple, ‘GOAT’- the sure-footed animal that can safely climb great heights with confidence. The name perfectly reflects our attitude towards the true power of risk management.
The idea for GOAT was born back in 2015 whilst working for a firm of actuarial consultants. I was tasked with setting up a new risk management consulting division and the launch plan involved undertaking a major piece of market research in the form of a risk maturity benchmark study. The objective being for us to really understand how businesses of all shapes and sizes were managing risk, and what risk management capabilities, if any, each had. This went on to become an important piece of research ultimately engaging with the leadership teams of more than 150 companies across the UK over a 3-year period.
The data and insights gleaned from these business leaders during this time meant that we really had our finger on the pulse of risk management practice across the UK and we were surprised by what we discovered. Firstly, only 25% of respondents were using risk management software, with the other 75% still using spreadsheets to manage their risks, despite the obvious shortcomings.
Often those who had bought software were unhappy with their purchases, frustrated by overly complex solutions filled with features and functionality they didn’t need. On the other hand, those still using spreadsheets were considering software solutions because they recognised their manual processes were not fit for purpose. Ironically, many companies
considering software confided that they were still using spreadsheets because they were put off by the cost and complexity of most available technology solutions.
Why do you think that most risk management software solutions fail to help businesses build risk maturity?
When we started to investigate the risk management software marketplace, we were surprised to find that despite businesses clamouring for better risk management solutions, there were already more than 400 software products with a ‘risk management’ label already on the market. However, when we delved deeper, we found that most of these systems were based on best practice standards and risk register templates, but that very few, if any, really addressed the key need identified in our study of helping businesses improve their risk maturity.
Nearly 80% of the firms we surveyed and interviewed had risk registers (mostly meeting best practice standards), but the majority felt they still needed to do more to improve their risk maturity in terms of culture, decision making, value delivery and the overall embedding of risk management within their businesses. Consequently, these established best practices were falling short on building risk maturity, and therefore, software solutions based solely upon these standards and templates were ultimately failing to deliver too.
So how does GOAT differ to help businesses improve risk maturity?
We have many buyers that are seasoned risk professionals and others that don’t have risk expertise at all, but they all have risks to manage. To affect decision making in the boardroom, we need to engage with senior executives. If we want to really embed thinking and activity, we need middle management and even front-line staff engaged around risk too. The common thread across all these groups is that not everyone is, or can be, a risk management expert. But to improve risk maturity, everyone needs to be involved in managing risk.
Understanding this critical dynamic was the game changer for us in terms of solution design.
To be successful, our risk management software interface needed to be as simple and intuitive as possible so that anyone could use it and so that users were able to easily focus on actually managing their actions and risks.
On top of this, we knew users would need explanations and tips, not so much about how to use the system, but more to help them with their thinking about risk, and to demystify some of the jargon that is typically used within the risk management profession.
If users aren’t risk experts, they probably aren’t control experts either. Risk management is a problem-solving tool, so we built a control framework into GOAT’s system to help users operationalise solutions. This drives risk owners and their supporting teams to always think through and conduct a structured gap analysis against the on-board control framework.
Those preferring more traditional frameworks such as ISO3100 and COSO ERM can easily replicate these approaches in GOAT using templates. This flexibility enables users to
configure the system for other types of risk assessments too, such as projects, Health and Safety and even Covid-19.
Why is risk management software so difficult to buy?
One of the frustrations we heard time and time again during our research was that risk management software is too difficult to buy. The market is highly fragmented, with no obvious dominant player. Most providers are coy about disclosing screenshots of their tool and the only way to find the cost is by arranging a demonstration. With hundreds of solutions on the market, how does one even begin to create a short list?
How does GOAT differ from all the other risk management software companies out there?
At GOAT we believe that risk management software shouldn’t cost the earth to do its job. GOAT’s risk management platform helps embed a robust risk management process without breaking the bank so that available budgets can be used to fix the risks and problems identified. We believe in full transparency about our product, our pricing, and our terms.
How does GOAT manage to keep its pricing so affordable?
Modern SaaS (Software as a Service) technology enables multi-tenancy (many customers on the same solution) so everyone benefits from economies of scale. This is how GOAT Risk typically delivers savings of more than 80% when compared with other solutions on the market. We’ve heard buyers say their previous software solutions were over-engineered and complicated, and that they only used about 20% of the functionality at their disposal. At GOAT, we’ve built that 20% and priced it accordingly. It’s flexible enough to match most risk management frameworks and risk register templates, but it’s not a magic wand. If there’s 1-2% of those features a client wants back, we build those for them at cost. It’s not in our business model to earn from custom developments.
Tell us more about GOAT. Is there a free trial? How can I speak to someone about it?
GOAT Risk offers a 30 day, no commitment, free trial, and the entire buying process is frictionless. You can choose a plan to suit your needs without ever having to deal with a salesperson. Prices start from just £30 p/m for a simple, monthly rolling plan with no set up costs.
If you’d prefer to speak with someone, I’m personally available to discuss the system or even just risk management in general. Just click the ‘Request a demo’ button at www.goatrisksolutions.com and you’ll see my diary.
Why should you choose GOAT to help your business manage risk?
Every business has to deal with risk and most are struggling to make the risk management process engaging and useful. Anyone still using manual spreadsheets really needs to give GOAT a try for free.
Our strapline is “Scale risk with confidence” and we deliver this by making risk management simple and easy to understand. We’ve even heard from several customers who say we’re making risk management fun!
The system works straight out of the box, is low cost and low commitment. So there really is nothing to lose and no excuse.
About GOAT Risk
Born out of really listening to the market, GOAT Risk is an exciting business to watch.
It’s been created by risk experts, so you don’t need to be one. Meaning it’s a pain free way to manage risk, leaving you to get on with managing your business.
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