Posted Under: Entrepreneurship, Interview

Today I want to share a little chit chat that I had with @StartupOfficer who I met over Twitter. His name is Jon Brause, a very energetic and entrepreneurial person and I also got to meet him in person when I was in NYC. We had a couple cold ones and discussed the hot topics like economy, layoffs, jobs, Lehman, and most importantly – entrepreneurship. A few weeks later, I asked him if he would be willing to share his thoughts and opinion with us and of course he said “yes” – that’s what brings us to this post.

DD: Who are you and what kind of corporate job were you at?

JB: First, thank you for conducting this interview to tell my story.

I am a 35 year old first-time entrepreneur that has launched a startup consulting practice called Startup Officer, Inc.  My entrepreneurial tendencies have always been there but didn’t rise up fully until the demise of my former corporate employer.

As a teenager I delivered newspapers, shoveled driveways, mowed lawns, and had a variety of after school jobs – anything for a little extra cash.  During college I worked mostly in retail and in country club environments, always at the bottom of the food chain.

My first corporate experience lasted just over 3 years. I was a research analyst for a small commodity trading advisor.  I wore many hats aside from my title role; ordered office furniture, helped with networks, reviewed offering memorandums, set up meetings, wrote commentary and traded options.  I learned how to juggle, prioritize, and pick-up slack where needed.

My move to LibertyView Capital Management in late 1999 was when I began to think like a small business owner/entrepreneur, even if I didn’t have any equity in the company.  I was responsible for creating repeatable and scalable processes and was given ownership of ideas.  This was a rush – I finally got see a project from planning to completion.  My hedge fund of fund analyst jobs eventually evolved into a product marketing role. When the firm was bought by Neuberger Berman and subsequently by the Lehman Brothers in July of 2003 I saw another opportunity to blaze my own trail, again within a structured environment.  With some guidance, I built my own cottage industry of sorts. I learned a variety of products and introduced myself to literally hundreds of advisors and high net-worth private clients.  Then in September of 2009 Lehman went bankrupt rather suddenly.

Pausing here, one would think that the Lehman collapse itself would have caused me to rethink the “9 to 5” corporate life.  It didn’t. For many months I was completely dug into the corporate life, perhaps out of necessity to rationalize the existence of my job, perhaps because I was hopeful that a lot of ‘green shoots’ would emerge from the mess.  So many friends and colleagues were still being laid off around town and new jobs were few and far between.  Six, seven, eight months later I came to the conclusion that I would need to think outside the box.

I was invited to an Ultra Light Startups event in May of 2009 and was energized by the ideas and passions in the room.  I was sold. This was the environment for me.  Soon after I set about to build my own company to fill a corporate sales and marketing niche for these NYC-based entrepreneurs.  My goal was (and hopefully will remain) simple: meet new people and see where I can apply my skills to a set of common startup problems.  Two months later I left my 9 to 5 job altogether when I felt the pull was too great to dedicate anything less than 100% of my mindshare.

DD: What were the fears or doubts in your mind when you first thought of leaving the job and starting your own gig?

JB: The real fear was that I would run out of savings before I was profitable enough to support the NYC lifestyle that I had chosen.  However, I am fully accountable to myself and there is no excuse for not developing a plan to become profitable.  Besides, once I got over the initial self-doubt and created a company, the focus shifted from any fears I had to being genuinely excited that I get to grow something with my own two hands.

I think other natural fears that probably were there in the early days were more internal.  I feared that others would judge me – here I am giving up a salaried position for something outside my realm of proven expertise.  Would a startup believe me when I offer a service to find office space, or build them a marketing presentation?  Again, rather than focus on what might happen, I prefer to instead focus on what I know I can make happen.  As people we have many abilities and interests.  I am choosing this time in my life to shift focus to another part of my brain.

DD: How did you prepare yourself for the employee to entrepreneur transition?

JB: My final decision was accelerated by a gut feeling.  I wasn’t planning on leaving my corporate “9 to 5” jail until I had built up enough clients to be practical. But things don’t always happen as planned.  I was squeezing in too many 8AM and 8PM meetings.  I was also getting out of bed too many times at 1AM or 2AM to jot down an idea and then found myself on Twitter or researching another small business topic.

What finally set me straight was incorporation. Within a few weeks I decided what was important in my life.  I had skin in the game and I was determined that this new passion deserved all my time.  The more I talked about my company with friends and family at various gatherings, the more I realized it was the right decision for me and any fears I had eventually washed away.

DD: Do you regret it? Did at any point you feel like giving up and going back to your regular job? If yes, how did you overcome those emotions?

JB: Again, the more I have shared with others, the more confident I feel about what I am building.  It is still very early in my company’s life and too soon to know what emotions will rise up.  I have a personal goal in mind of what it means to be successful.  If I am successful and able to support myself then I don’t think I will be heading back to a regular job anytime soon.

I realized that working for someone else wouldn’t truly allow me to execute those ideas that are outside the other’s comfort zone.  I also was not an equity owner in the organization so anything I created would ultimately be for someone else’s benefit.  I wanted to be fresh and I want to build, help others, challenge my own thinking, and create my own legacy if possible.

DD: Why now? When the economy isn’t so hot and we are in recession etc…why did you decide to go ahead and do it?

JB: There are many reasons why now was the right time to begin my startup and leave my 9 to 5 career.

Macro Setup:   You can apply rational decision-making models in a normalized market.  However, when you introduce a high level of volatility (upside or downside), it becomes more difficult.  And when your in-house resources are gone, it is next to impossible to arrive at a conclusion with confidence.  For example, when a company is looking for office space the natural progression is to seek out an agent, research a large number of locations, create a short list, and make a final determination. In this economy, there might be dozens of new options and changes that occur overnight that make the decision-making and analytical process much harder:  sub-leases, partially furnished, deal breaks, new supply, and uncertain pricing.  For some startups it may be overwhelming to even begin so many will just work at home or make a less confident decision.  This macro picture sets up well for an entrepreneur like me to step in and provide nimble, well-priced, service-oriented solutions to make better decisions.

Darwinism:  Why now? I survived 9 months beyond a Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and know that it does eventually get better.  The early days of last fall were treacherous.  At one point I was taking a hundred calls a week to answer the questions never before put onto the FAQ list.  I helped my former employer spin-out a hedge fund group and along the way I learned a lot about the people I was working with.  I talked many investors through the largest and probably most complicated bankruptcy in history.  It is just the right time for me; if I can build a business in this environment then I can do anything.

Opportunism: I don’t think that investors were/are tight fisted at all.  Yes, many are cash-strapped and shell-shocked about the whole market decline.  But many private clients that I speak with continue to look for opportunities in the marketplace.  Some are again ready to place capital at risk; some are still licking their wounds.  Buy low, sell high – that is how fortunes are made.  I want to be at the beginning of something great again and I feel that it is the perfect time to be an entrepreneur.

DD: What are your suggestions and tips for employees who want to be entrepreneurs but are hung up on something?

JB: I have limited advice for those trapped in a 9to5.  Your job shouldn’t be a jail.  If it begins to feel like one then try to redefine your role (with approval from your boss) or find something that brings you more happiness.  It might be entrepreneurial, it might not.  Either way you should not be limited by the confines of a cubicle; aspire for greatness.

For the aspiring entrepreneur I have a few more practical recommendations:

Run towards something and not away from something else.  Pick an idea for which you show a true passion.  It could be a slightly break-even or non-profit idea like starting a club, a meet up group, or an idea you had ten years ago.  Eventually you will find the right product, service or path. Share. Organize your thoughts and talk to others you trust about your idea. It is amazing that so many others will give you an honest opinion and perhaps even show where others have succeeded before.  There are so many resources available just by asking others for help.  Be open to this guidance. Lastly, value yourself.  If you don’t value you then nobody else will.  This translates into not only paying yourself once you have the means, but understanding the value of your time.  If you think you are worth a lot (I do), then you should try learn where to focus your efforts.  Unless, you plan on dedicating a significant amount of time to learning something new, be flexible to outsource to others either more experienced or less costly.  Try to be confident, patient and relaxed all at the same time.  If you think it is hard working in a 9to5 pressure cooker, it is twice as hard doing it all by yourself.

DD: Thank you Jon for sharing your story with me! I appreciate all of the tips and suggestions you have offered to other entrepreneurs. I think it is great that you have taken the plunge and decided to do something that was in the making since you were a kid: be an entrepreneur! I wish you the best of luck with Startup Officer, Inc.

JB: Thank you, Devesh, for taking the time to talk to me and to other entrepreneurs about our experiences.  It is nice to know that we have a support system! I also wish you the best of luck in the future.

DD: That was Jon Brause everyone, research analyst turned entrepreneur. One thing he said really stood out to me and I would like to reiterate it: “Value yourself.  If you don’t value you then nobody else will.” Thanks for the advice Jon.