Jason Vander Griendt is a prominent entrepreneur currently leading the way in three-dimensional architectural renderings, animations and virtual reality tours through his work with Render 3D Quick. Based out of Toronto, Ontario, Vander Griendt and Render 3D Quick operate on a global scale, serving clients in Canada, Europe, China, Australia and the United States. The overall versatility of Render 3D Quick enables Vander Griendt to serve a diverse base of clientele made up of designers, architects, builders, contractors, homeowners, and real estate companies, just to name a few.
While providing a wide range of services — 3D architectural renderings, visualizations, virtual tours, and more — Vander Griendt continues to rely on the experience and expertise one only gains over the course of a lengthy and successful professional career. The expert mechanical design engineer is also the owner of J – CAD Inc. offering 3D CAD design services, prototyping & 3D printing, demonstrating the unique work ethic Vander Griendt has routinely leveraged throughout his accomplished career as an innovator and longtime industry leader.
Vander Griendt, a graduate of Fanshawe College, has put together a highly skilled team of experts at Render 3D Quick, making it possible for the company to meet the needs of any client in just a short period of time. A committed professional who values a client-centered and detail-oriented approach, Vander Griendt has gone to great lengths to ensure Render 3D Quick clearly reflects the same core values the drafting and design expert has relied on during an exceptional professional career.
How did you get started in this business? What inspired you to start this business?
J – CAD Inc. was getting some inquires for 3D renderings as we design products and people needed product renderings for their websites and crowdfunding pages etc. J – CAD Inc. had 3D renderings as a keyword on the site and architectural clients were finding us. I realized that there was a large opportunity to branch this off and make it a separate company and Render3DQuickly Inc. was born.
How do you make money?
Render3DQuick Inc. & J – CAD Inc. run online marketing ads and clients find us. They call and we discuss project details then agree to a price and time frame to do the project. I have about 30 employees globally keeping them all busy with the projects that come in.
How long did it take for you to become profitable?
Immediately. Both businesses were required 0 capital to start. We made a website and started running ads. Calls came in the same day and closed them. The spend was paid for, the work was done and there was profit.
When you were starting out, was there ever a time you doubted it would work? If so, how did you handle that?
There is always doubt even now but without doubt there is no drive to improve. Sometimes my brain says “what if something catastrophic happens!” like AI can do 3D renderings or engineering by itself starting tomorrow putting us out of business. This motivates me to make the businesses easier to work with so that clients want to continue to work with us regardless of what AI can do for example.
How did you get your first customer?
Through mail marketing. This is going back 10+ years ago. I remember I made a flyer and business card I designed in photoshop and I went onto yellowpages and searched all relevant companies in Toronto, Canada. I copied and pasted their addresses into a word doc that would print the labels to mail them the flyer and business cards. Then I bought 600 stamps (not cheap for me at at the time!) and mailed out the envelopes and waited. About a week later I started getting calls and emails and I started having some work to do and kept me busy for the first few years. Then online marketing happened and that’s all we do now.
What is one marketing strategy (other than referrals) that you’re using that works really well to generate new business?
Google ads. We’ve tried Bing, Facebook, LinkedIn and others but nothing delivers the highest quality leads than Google for us. Each business is different and others will find Facebook or Bing for example are better leads. There is intent marketing and content marketing. Intent is when someone intends on finding something which is what Google is good for and why our leads are such high quality. People want a 3D rendering, search for it on Google and find us. People on Facebook are not looking for a 3D rendering and will only click on an ad we run because it looks cool. This is a waste of a click. Other companies that sell clothing for example can run content ads on Facebook and people will click on the ad they see in their news feed because the shirt looks cool and it’s only $9.95 so they buy it.
What is the toughest decision you’ve had to make in the last few months?
Letting people go that are not performing is always tough. It’s always better to do it sooner rather than drag it out. I’m a nice guy (I think) and I’ll make excuses for them and not do it when I should sometimes. It’s better to hire and fire quickly so that feelings and resentment are not there yet. Emotionally it’s easier to do when it’s quicker for both people.
We are always incorporating new technology into our services, and there are instances in which it is actually easier to develop our own software. I often have a tough time deciding if in-house software development is indeed the ideal approach for a particular scenario.
What do you think it is that makes you successful?
What drives me is freedom. I always disliked going to work. I didn’t mind the work but setting an alarm, waking up when someone else wants me to wake up and go somewhere someone else wants me to go I couldn’t stand. I’d dream of the day I didn’t have to do that anymore and I haven’t set an alarm in about 3-4 years now which is great! I’ve always loved travelling and in the last month I visited 22 countries all because I can work anywhere. Currently I’m typing in a villa I rented for a few weeks at the top of a mountain in Lake Como, Italy. I can see the Swiss Alps on the horizon and the Italian country side in front of me from this terrace. I really like online business for this reason and this freedom is the driving force behind wanting to be successful. I can’t imagine going back to a 9-5 after having this life.
What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Meeting all of my employees all over the world. I took a trip for a few months to visit their city and country and spend some time together. Hearing their stories about how life was before we met online to what it is now was incredible! Some went from poverty to mortgage free in just a couple years of working for me. Some bought property they are renting out for extra income. Some were able to move to other safer countries because of the income I provided. So many countries in the world don’t have it like we do in USA & Canada and we don’t realize how good we have it. So much corruption happens that we don’t hear about and so many people suffer. It was really nice to see that because of my hard work I was really helping people in the world have a better life. It makes me want to work even harder.
What does the future hold for your business? What are you most excited about?
Lately I’ve been travelling a lot, visiting 22 countries in the last month so my day involves doing what I need to do before North American business hours. I’ll wake up wherever I am, check emails that came in while I was sleeping and respond. Then do some exploring in the city I’m in or go to the next city, meet up with people I might know in that city and enjoy the day until around 3-4pm local to me which is 9-10am in NYC. Currently I’m typing in a villa I rented for a few weeks at the top of a mountain in Lake Como, Italy. I can see the Swiss Alps on the horizon and the Italian country side in front of me from this terrace. I really like online business for this reason. I can work anywhere!
What business books have inspired you?
- The 4 Hour Work Week – Tim Ferris
- Rich Dad Poor Dad
- Grant Cardone Books
- Tony Robbins Books
I’ve found that too many people discuss concepts without really considering the actual meaning of those concepts, which is why I often recommend “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.”
What is a recent purchase you have made that’s helped with your business?
Buying a CRM not that recently but doing this took us to another level so that we could better manage our clients and automate a lot of things.
Are there any strategies you have used to demonstrate to prospective clients the overall quality of your services?
Calling them is very effective. In a world where so many things are automated with emails etc. and customer service being outsourced to other countries when I personally give all of them a call for a minute or 2 to discuss their project they are always really impressed by this.