Back with a fresh perspective: Introducing Directly AV

Long standing industry veteran Mike Beatty is busy writing a new chapter in a storied career that has seen him at the forefront of the UK custom install scene for over 30 years.

Having spent decades building relationships throughout the CI industry, Mike recently took time off to work on something rather special. Now, alongside an increasing presence at industry events and a steady stream of conversations with manufacturers and integrators, he’s close to launching DirectlyAV, a business, he says, that will challenge conventional thinking, while acknowledging the important role existing routes to market continue to play.

As Founder and Managing Director of Directly AV, he says his intention is to ‘help good businesses become even better.’

To learn more, Inside CI director Stuart Burgess sat down with Mike over breakfast to talk about why he came back, what he’s learned during his time away and why he believes our industry has room for more than one way of doing business.

Stuart: Mike, we’ve known each other for a long time. If I’m honest, I thought you’d left the AV industry for good.

Mike: (Laughs) So did I. I genuinely thought I’d had enough of the AV industry. Turns out I just needed a break. Stepping away gave me something I’d never really had before. Perspective.

For the first time in years I wasn’t caught up in the day-to-day demands of running a business. I had time to think, listen and reflect.
What I realised was that it was never the industry I’d fallen out of love with. I just needed to recharge.

The last few months have reminded me why I’ve always enjoyed this business so much. It’s the people, the relationships and the opportunity to help businesses succeed.

That’s what brought me back.

Stuart: So what does a break teach someone who’s spent most of their career in AV?

Mike: How lucky I’ve been. You don’t always appreciate the relationships you’ve built until you step away from them. The number of phone calls, coffees and messages I’ve had over the last few months has genuinely humbled me.

It reminded me that products change. Businesses evolve. Technology moves on. Good relationships don’t. That’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve taken from the last year.

Stuart: You’ve been talking to a lot of manufacturers recently. What have those conversations told you?

Mike: That there isn’t one model that’s right for everyone. That every manufacturer is different. Some need technical support, warehousing, finance, training and everything that great value-added distribution provides. Others are looking for something completely different.
They might need help telling their story, communicating more effectively, growing in new territories or building stronger relationships with integrators.

That’s really what I’m building my business around. DirectlyAV is part of that, but it’s not the whole story. I’ll be supporting different manufacturers in different ways depending on what they actually need.

Stuart: Let’s talk about DirectlyAV then. Is it a technology platform or is it really about something bigger?

Mike: The technology is important because it removes friction. But technology has never built a lasting partnership, people do. I’ve always enjoyed introducing good people to each other, helping businesses communicate better and creating opportunities that might never have happened otherwise.

DirectlyAV gives me another way of doing that.

For some manufacturers it’ll provide a direct route to carefully selected integrators through a modern platform. For others, my involvement will be much more about marketing, business development, communication and helping them build stronger relationships within the industry.
The common thread is always the same.

Helping good businesses become even better.

Stuart: Some people reading this will inevitably think you’re trying to upset the traditional distribution model. Are they right?

Mike: Not at all. In fact, I’d say exactly the opposite. Distribution has played, and will continue to play, an incredibly important role in our industry. There are many businesses delivering exceptional value through technical support, logistics, finance, stockholding and training.
That model absolutely has its place.

What I’m saying is that our industry has evolved. There are now some manufacturers who want a different route to market. Some want closer relationships with integrators. Some simply want to communicate better.

Some are looking for a model that allows products to remain competitively positioned once they reach the end customer. That doesn’t make one model right and another wrong. It simply means manufacturers deserve choices.

Stuart: So what problem are you actually trying to solve?

Mike: Sometimes great products become difficult to justify because too many layers are added before they reach the customer. That isn’t a criticism of anyone - it’s just commercial reality.

Where it’s appropriate, I’d like to help manufacturers build closer relationships with integrators, give dealers the opportunity to improve their margins or simply keep retail pricing sensibly positioned.

If we can achieve that while maintaining excellent service and support, everybody wins.

Manufacturers become closer to their customers.Integrators become more competitive. End users receive better value. That’s good for the industry.

Stuart: Listening to you, it feels as though relationships are still at the centre of everything you do.

Mike: Always. Technology should remove friction, it shouldn’t replace relationships. I’ve always believed that the strongest businesses are built on trust long before they’re built on transactions. That’s never changed.

Stuart: You’ve always been someone who enjoys helping people succeed. Is that still what gets you out of bed on a Monday morning?
Mike: Without question. I love making a difference in people’s lives.

Whether that’s helping a manufacturer grow, supporting an integrator, introducing two people who go on to build a successful partnership or simply helping someone become the best version of themselves.

That’s what motivates me. Business has never just been about products. It’s always been about people.

Stuart: Five years from now, what does success look like?

Mike: Honestly? Not turnover. Not the size of the business. Success will be knowing we’ve built a community and a platform that genuinely helps manufacturers and integrators. Something that makes doing business easier. Something people enjoy being part of.
If we achieve that, I’ll be very proud.

Stuart: And in ten years?

Mike: I’d love to see DirectlyAV thriving without me needing to be involved in every decision. That would tell me we’d built something genuinely valuable.

The platform itself is exciting, but that’s not the magic. The magic is creating something that consistently benefits the people using it. If it becomes bigger than me, then we’ve done something right.

Stuart: Final question: you’ve had some successful chapters in your career already. Why start again?

Mike: Because I genuinely believe I can still make a positive contribution. I’ve never been driven by titles. I’ve never been motivated solely by numbers.

What excites me is helping people, supporting good businesses and building relationships that last. If DirectlyAV, and the wider work I’m doing with manufacturers, helps move our industry forward in even a small way, then I’ll consider that a success.
Most of all though…

It’s simply great to be back!

Continue the conversation
To coincide with this interview, Mike has released a short film introducing the thinking behind DirectlyAV and the philosophy behind the business. If you’re a manufacturer, integrator or industry professional interested in exploring new ways of working together, Mike would be delighted to continue the conversation.

After all, as this interview makes clear, that’s where the best ideas usually begin.