Sales at Overdrive Brands to exceed $13 million in 2016

There’s no right or wrong plan for business success. Kurt Lind says the strategy for his Fayetteville-based startup might be corny to some. 

Whatever the approach is, Lind believes in it, and the results speak for themselves. Sales at Overdrive Brands LLC are expected to top $13 million in 2016, up 333% percent from 2014 revenue of $3 million.

“Our secret sauce has been to focus on creating and maintaining the right kind of culture, then finding people to fit the culture,” said Lind, CEO of the business. “The wrong culture and people will ruin good strategy and tactics, and good culture and people will make most strategy look good.

“That’s business cliché, but we really do believe and try to practice this stuff every day,” Lind said.

Overdrive Brands is an e-commerce platform that sells after-market auto parts. Manufacturers are able to sell directly to consumers through the major marketplaces and their own websites.

The business was formed through the partnership of Lind and Jack Sanders, who founded the operation in Illinois in 2011 and is now COO. The two men partnered in 2014 and rebranded the business to Overdrive Brands, now a portfolio company of NewRoad Capital Partners of Rogers, one of the largest private equity firms in Arkansas and the surrounding region.

Unlike most e-commerce companies growing at a triple-digit rate, Lind said Overdrive Brands doesn’t require constant capital infusions. In fact, Lind said the business is profitable, although he didn’t provide specific numbers.

“All business is tough, and e-commerce changes at such a rapid rate that I think some companies end up investing too much in the wrong things way to aggressively, and it’s hard to change course when necessary,” Lind said. “I really think it goes back to culture and people being the driver.”