Entrepreneurship

My father Rich was a serial entrepreneur. He started his career as a coach and an educator before launching his first company in the late 1970s. That company (Mentor Learning Systems) was a first of its kind computer education system that took the student through a series of building blocks based on the answers to various subject specific questions. Answer the question correctly, the next one you get will be more difficult. Miss the question, and the following one will be more remedial. Finish a module and you would receive a trophy in your locker (it was gamification before that term existed).

The whole Mentor Learning program was delivered through floppy discs and what was then the first generation of personal computers. Through this product and several others that Mentor developed, school districts started to think about computer labs in schools and how they could deliver more intelligent technologies to their students. This was a far cry from what we all have access to today. After selling that first company, my dad thought about what the next big idea was going to be.

In 1982 he founded Rich’s Guide to Silicon Valley. Their primary product was a printed and bound catalog of all the tech companies in the Silicon Valley area. The guide contained a list of the companies, a map of where they were located, what business they were in, a list of their key leaders, and contact information for use in sales calls. It was pretty primitive at the time (they built the maps by hand and then photographed them for use in the guide). There was no internet or Google Maps to lean on, it was all old school pen and paper. I remember watching their team build out the maps and chart the businesses. The Queen of England actually used the guide on a tour of Silicon Valley, which was pretty cool.

At 13 years old, it was a great education to watch how things worked and to see the end product come to life (I actually still have a couple of the original guides in storage). My dad sold that company a few years later. The fact that he launched a second successful company and sold it isn’t the real story here. Here is the cool part…..

Forty-plus years later, Rich’s Guide still exists (www.richsdata.com).

The main premise of the business is still intact, however they have pivoted to a more online digital friendly subscription model. Much more 2020s than 1980s.

In the end, my dad did pretty well for a coach/educator from Western Pennsylvania turned entrepreneur. Here are the lessons I took away from watching him so many years ago.

First, if you don’t listen to the market and give them what they want, your business will be like all the others out there.

Second, if you don’t take your shot, another one may never come.

Lastly, and this is one our team at HUG embraces, if you put the industry you serve and the people within it first, everything else will take care of itself.

We can all be more entrepreneurial. Even in our current positions. Or in a different position in the future. Keep your eyes and ears open. Listen to those you serve. New opportunities will avail themselves.

Have a great (entrepreneurial) week ahead!