The Thalassinos family behind the Silverware Inc. software company from left to right: Michael, Nick, Alex and Lucky.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail.
Raised voices in Silverware Inc.’s boardroom weren’t uncommon as founder Nick Thalassinos brought on his sons Michael and Alex to take over the Toronto-based software firm.
“Colleagues would walk by and say, ‘Guys, everyone can hear you!’” says Michael, the elder son and senior vice-president of sales at Silverware, which provides point-of-sale solutions for the hospitality industry. Alex is the company’s president.
Those heated debates – be it about sales, new technologies or expanding to new markets – weren’t viewed negatively, Nick adds, but instead a reflection of his sons’ passion for the business he founded in the early 1990s in the basement of the family home. The spirited discussions also included Nick’s younger brother Lucky – Alex and Michael’s uncle – who is Silverware’s long-serving executive vice-president.
“Managing four alpha males with different experiences is always challenging, but in the end, those debates led to the best decisions,” Nick says.
The leadership transition, which began in 2018 before Michael and Alex officially took over in 2023, has helped the company thrive. Silverware is the leading software provider for resorts and hotels, restaurants, golf courses, corporate cafeterias and seniors’ residences in more than 40 countries with more than 110 employees, mostly in the Greater Toronto area as well as other parts of Canada and the U.S.
“The biggest challenge was battling with each other, but that’s what got us where we are today,” Michael says.
Alex describes the debates as an opportunity to think outside the box.
“We were constantly looking to improve and change,” he says. “Culture of agility and growth is part of our DNA.”
He cites an example of when he and Michael wanted to move to a subscription model.
“There was a clear divide between generational lines,” Alex says. “Ultimately, after months of discussions, building out models and projections and debating on pricing strategy, we were all aligned in benefits …. Fortunately, this strategy springboarded us towards record-breaking revenues and exponential year-over-year growth.”
Handing over a family business to the next generation is no easy feat. Most family business owners are familiar with the Scottish proverb “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations,” referring to the trend that wealth gained in one generation will be lost by the third.
Still, many business owners dream of seeing their children one day lead the family business, says family enterprise adviser Chris Gandhu at KPMG in Calgary.
The Thalassinos family says heated debates helped the company innovate and think outside the box.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
How well it goes depends on the success of this process, which includes preparing for the succession well in advance. It can take years of training and mentorship to ensure the next generation is ready to take the reins, Mr. Gandhu says. A longer timeline also gives parents time to understand their children’s strengths for future roles in the business, while children can gradually learn about and understand their parents’ values regarding its operations.
Mr. Gandhu says successful succession also involves financial and legal considerations covering areas such as ownership and compensation.
Even with the best laid plans, spats do arise, Mr. Gandhu says.
“But with that mentorship process, parents and children can deal with differing viewpoints better, and that often does lead to better decisions,” he says.
Although debates may have been heated within the Thalassinos family, “we were always respectful,” Michael says. “It was a democracy, not a dictatorship.”
Nick and Lucky, now both retired from the business, say they valued Michael and Alex’s viewpoints, especially since both had worked in the family business for more than a decade before taking on their executive roles. Their experience was further bolstered by relevant postsecondary education: Alex with a business degree from Western University in London, Ont. and Michael with a hospitality degree from Metropolitan University in Toronto.
Years of experience fostered “a love for the business for Michael and me,” Alex says.
The affinity was seeded early on. As young children, the sons would go with their dad while he pitched Silverware’s software to restaurants.
“They really learned through osmosis,” Nick adds.
He hoped his sons would take over some day, “but they always had the opportunity to do whatever they wanted.”
As the sons’ understanding of the business grew, working in the warehouse, installing software and drumming up sales, so did their passion for the enterprise.
Nick says it became clearer each year that they would lead the business.
Nick also came to understand their strengths and how those complement each other and the business. Outgoing and talkative, Michael was well-suited for sales, which he now leads. Nick recalls sending him to knock on doors on Yonge Street in Toronto years ago.
“I asked how many places kicked him out, and he said, ‘none,’” Nick says. “Restaurants are tough environments so to chat up owners to the point he could pitch was pretty amazing.”
Alex, in contrast, has a more “analytical and strategic mindset.” Even as a teen, he doggedly sought solutions to the company’s ever-changing challenges, making him well-suited to be Silverware’s strategic leader, Nick adds.
“Software constantly evolves, and Alex has the right mindset to keep pace.”
Those insights have proven prescient. With Alex and Michael at the helm, Silverware continues to grow at 25 to 40 per cent annually, building on Nick and Lucky’s past success.
Since the brothers took over, Silverware has landed a contract with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. They also brokered a deal with Fullsteam Operations LLC, a global leader in payments technology.
Fullstream now owns Silverware – providing it with the financial and network wherewithal to keep growing rapidly – with the next generation of the Thalassinos brothers continuing to lead the company.
“It couldn’t have gone better,” Nick says about his sons’ evolution into the company’s leadership. “I’m extremely proud.”