At A Glance

Xebec was founded in 2019 by two friends who wanted to work more efficiently while they were on the road, away from the office. The result: A multi-screen accessory that could be attached to any laptop, enhancing productivity without sacrificing portability. As you read Alex’s story, you’ll see how his company embodies its mission of empowering anyone to work from anywhere. 

Who is Alex?

Meet Alex Levine, CEO and Co-Founder of Xebec

About Xebec

Xebec designs and develops innovative office products that enhance remote work stations. Their multi-screen displays can be added to your laptop, enhancing productivity away from the office while remaining entirely portable. The goal is to give people the tools so they won’t have to choose between personal and professional freedom, and instead can take work along for the ride.

Alex’s entrepreneurial journey

As a corporate consultant, Alex’s office set-up was great: Herman Miller chair, 35-inch curved monitor, the works. He was only there one day a week, though. Monday through Thursday, he was on the road with his laptop, working out of a coffee shop or an airport lounge or a client’s office. Anywhere but a consistent work space. Alex and his co-founder Trevor Russo, who was also a consultant, set out to improve remote work stations by making a multi-screen displays that would work on any laptop. After a few years of prototypes and testing, they launched their first TriScreen in 2019. Six years later, Xebec is working on its fourth version of that initial product and also offers the Snap, a system that allows users to create their own custom remote workstation.

“For us, E-Commerce really started as an opportunity to be your own voice and player in the game,” Alex says. “You don't need buy-in from a retail partner. You don't need a distributor to go out and share the word amongst resellers. You can manage building that network on your own.”

Xebec’s team structure

It’s a trim team about two-thirds of which is located in Austin, Texas. As a company, Xebec values the type of flexible work arrangements that its products are designed to facilitate. The company’s head of marketing is constantly on the road. So is the head of engineering, which might pose a challenge when it comes to building hardware except his RV is equipped with a 3D printer. That means he can do as much prototyping as needed wherever he is. “We believe in practicing what we preach,” Alex says. “So we've got a very flexible culture.”

 CX as a differentiator

Back in June 2020, Xebec had just sold through its initial order of 500 TriScreens when one of the customers responded, asking for a customer-service phone number. “At that point, I was the only full-time person,” Alex says. “I look around and realized it was my phone number. I was like, ‘All right, got to build another customer service team.’ “ That started with the CX. In fact, one of the senior CX members was hired full-time before Xebec’s other co-founder, Trevor Russo, had left his corporate consulting job. “We knew from the very beginning that if you could offer strong U.S.-based support,especially in our space, that would really help break away,” Alex says.

‍Two-pronged approach

One of the biggest selling points for Xebec’s accessories is they’re designed to work with any laptop. With that many models and variations, however, there are bound to be questions and hiccups. Xebec’s success as a company depends on addressing those issues, which is does on two levels. On the front end, the customer-service team solves any problems in real time. Xebec’s agents are empowered to solve problems on the spot without escalating them to a manager.

“There's a lot of autonomy given,” Alex says, “I think people appreciate that. There’s just a normal guy or normal gal on the other end and not some kind of buttoned up, follow-this-recipe steps to get the problem solved.” On the back end, the company is meticulous in collecting data on the nature of the customer-service requests. This allows it to pinpoint the most common problems so it can consider potential fixes. Early on, Xebec’s products shipped with multiple cables, which would need to be attached to various ports. This resulted in customer-service calls asking which cord plugged in where. Subsequent versions were designed to reduce and in some cases eliminate any uncertainty about what went where. “We’re utilizing that customer feedback to build a more seamless experience going forward,” Alex says.

Typing billboards

 The nature of Xebec’s product makes the customer experience even more important because multi-screen laptop displays are going to attract attention and generate questions. “That gives us the opportunity for the customer to be our advocate,” Alex says. “To explain what the product is and grow via word of mouth.”

Seasonal spikes

This year, Xebec is fulfilling all its orders in house for the first time. That change stemmed from what Alex describes as a total meltdown by a third-party logistics (3PL) partner last year. “We actually had to express freight a lot of inventory to our office,” he says, “and build our own mini-3PL so it can't be more chaotic than last year at the very least.” The company employs a two-pronged approach. First, be nimble. “Be prepared for anything to happen,” he says. “Expect things won’t go according to plan.” This can include unexpected successes. A viral marketing moment can drive tremendous amounts of traffic which will result in corresponding increase in customer-service tickets. That can lead to a backlog unless your team is ready and willing to jump in.

Second, set up guardrails to avoid self-induced errors.

“There's no reason to try to push that one new change, and then that makes everything fall apart,” Alex says. “You made it here, that's kind of the point. If you make it to Black Friday, then you can reap the rewards, but don't shoot yourself in the foot by trying to get cute last minute.” Xebec has two deadlines to help in this regard. Oct. 1 is a soft no-go date, which means there will be no process changes unless there’s an extremely strong need. Nov. 1 is the hard no-go date with all any changes being held off until at least January.

Advice to other entrepreneurs

There is no fool-proof formula for success, no recipe that works every time. In fact, the single most consistent element of being an entrepreneur is the fact that you will have to adapt and adjust to changes or unexpected occurrences. Everyone has to deal with that, and Alex says it will help if you can learn to love that part of the work. “Being someone who loves the journey will likely be more successful than someone who's super qualified or super capable,” Alex says. “Because there is no path that someone can tell you today that won't need to be modified or changed or completely abandoned by the time you approach that.” He pointed to the spike in online sales during the pandemic, the major changes that followed the iOS 14.5 upgrade back in 2022 and more recently the tariffs as things that required entrepreneurs to adjust. “Being adaptable is the main key through each of those different points in time,” he says. “And if you don't enjoy that, the end result is probably not going to be as fulfilling as the process itself.”