Inspired Entrepreneurship

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

Recognize Opportunity— and Seize It.

The Harbert College of Business counts many accomplished leaders among its alumni. The following stories from eight successful entrepreneurs offer a look inside the mindsets of Harbert graduates who have built thriving businesses.

Mark Forchette Tara Wilson Scott Bell Dee Duncan John Thames Liz Mercer Mark Mettelman Richard Hale

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Mark Forchette You must know who you are and

what you believe in, because that’s what’s going to sustain you through the tough times — and there will be tough times ... These are the deep breath moments that cut to your core. Knowing who you are, knowing what you can do and what you believe is what will get you through to the other side.”

Mark Forchette, a 1981 graduate of the Harbert College of Business with a degree in Marketing, remembers when he first decided he was driven to become a CEO. “I was working the front desk at the local Howard John- sons motel in Perry, Georgia at age 17,” says Mark, “and in walks a gentleman who checks in under the name ‘Ray Kroc.’ So, I ask him ‘You’re not THE Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds, are you?’ And he says, ‘Yes, I am.’ So, we sat down in the lobby for an extended conversation about all things business related. That was a life-changing expe- rience. It was then and there that I became inspired to become a CEO. I looked back on that experience when I decided to leave Alcon to be a first time CEO at OptiMedica, and that long-term goal drove me.” As part of its Inspired Entrepreneurship initiative, the Harbert College of Business sat down with Mark, an accomplished medical technology executive with demon- strated success transforming industries and driving breakthrough technologies to market leadership. Our conversation reveals how that moment — and many more critical decisions along the way — shaped his journey to entrepreneurial success. ‘My playbook is disruption’ ... Mark Forchette’s recipe for entrepreneurial success

The second key factor in making my decision was the tremendous promise of the underlying technology, the sci- ence itself. I saw a deep layer of exper- tise in lasers at OptiMedica that was truly world-class, and game changing. And third was the team. OptiMedica was a team of passionate, rock star talent. For a start-up to succeed, you need all three — experienced, engaged and supportive investors, a core tech- nology second to none, and a team passionately driven to succeed.

“ I saw a deep layer of expertise in lasers at OptiMedica that was truly world-class, and game-changing, ” said Mark Forchette.

Finally, the opportunity epitomized exactly the kind of challenge I enjoy. I thrive on turning projects around, finding diamonds in the rough, and driving commercial success. OptiMedica was exactly that — it was “a well-defined problem nearly solved.” I love that expression. HCOB: You spent six and a half years building OptiMed- ica into an extremely successful company in the ophthal- mology industry before selling it to Abbott Labs, right? But the story isn’t that simple, is it? Forchette : No, not at all. There were a number of shifts in strategy and market focus along the way, including a difficult decision about half way through my tenure to sell off our retina product line and reinvest all the proceeds from that sale into the development of a laser cataract system for a market that didn’t even exist at the time. HCOB: What was so difficult about the decision to pivot products and markets? Forchette: The decision to shift product focus was auda- cious, because one of our founders was a world class retina surgeon, and we were transacting away something very meaningful to him. But the breakthrough potential of laser cataract technology and the huge market potential was ob- vious. What was unique about the decision was that instead of returning any of the proceeds from the sale to investors as is typically the case, we reinvested that money immediately into the laser cataract development effort. In essence, we went from a revenue generating company back to a start-up with no commercial products and no revenue stream. And that’s where the backing of the Board of Directors — especially Brook’s credibility and leadership — came in. Some of the investors weren’t happy to start at square one again, but it ultimately proved to be a clever — and im- portantly, non-dilutive — self-financing that allowed us to seize the opportunity. The strategy and allocation of capital

HCOB: You began your career in the medical technology industry as a sales representative for Grieshaber & Company, Inc., where you ultimately became vice president of U.S. sales and marketing. You then led the company through its acquisition by Alcon. How did that experience shape the next step in your professional career? Forchette: I learned a lot about strategy and tactical exe- cution during the sale and integration of Grieshaber into Alcon. The entire process was like drinking from a fire hose, a master class in finance, sales, management and leadership. We totally transformed the surgical market with a string of disruptive innovations and a team that could run through walls. I stayed nine years before being approached by the legendary venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, an investor in OptiMedica. The OptiMedica experi- ence exposed me to venture capital backed entrepreneurship and four critical components of start-up success: a team that functions like a well-oiled machine, a dynamite technology that does what you say it does, sophisticated investor sup- port and insightful board engagement. HCOB: So, you decided to make the move — your first into a CEO position. What was it you saw at OptiMedica that convinced you that this struggling company was worth taking on the challenge? Forchette: This was a big leap for me, so the quality and expertise of the investors — Brook Byers, in particular — stood out. We connected immediately. We had similar backgrounds and interests, not to mention it was clear from the start that he was committed — not only to the prospects of the company but to me personally and professionally. That support proved to be critical a few years down the road, when we experienced the rollercoaster ride of progress, prospects and pivots every start-up faces.

proved fruitful in the end with the successful development and commercialization of the Catalys precision laser system and sale of the company to Abbott in early 2014. HCOB: This time you stayed on to integrate the compa- ny, but you didn’t stay long. Why not? Forchette : I find it exhilarating to be a start-up CEO. Abbott is an awesome company, and they already had a great leader. Once I was CEO of OptiMedica, there was no going back. HCOB: Six months later you join Delphinus, another struggling start-up, but this time in an entirely different marketplace — breast cancer screening — that seemingly had little in common with the ophthalmology space you’d occupied your entire career. How’d you come to make that decision? Forchette : The day before I left Abbott to “take a year off,” I was in San Francisco at the Palace Hotel for a Wilson Son- sini conference, and the recruiter I used to hire some of my VPs came up and asked me what I was planning to do next. I told him, “I'm taking a year off to just try and relax.” And he said, “Well, it's a shame you wouldn't move to Ann Ar- bor...” (This was a great recruiting technique — it really set the bait for me). I said, “Who says I wouldn't move to Ann Arbor?” My son was graduating from high school and he was thinking about Michigan, and I'm an absolute car fanatic, so I said, “I might move to Ann Arbor. Why?” He said, “Well, there's this really cool company…” and he started describing Delphinus' technology to me. My mom had breast cancer, so this resonated with me on a very personal level. In addition, the Delphinus product was an innovative water-based system that sounded a lot like some of

HCOB: And once again, your relationship with KPCB came into play, right? Forchette : Yes — relationships are so key. Brook Byers called me said, “Mark, why don't you bring all your research up here to Kleiner Perkins? You and I are going to spend the day together and find your next company.” So, we sat down and went through all the companies on my spreadsheet — including Delphinus. At the end of the day he said, “You know, you spent 25, 30 years in ophthalmology. You've got all these relationships.” I was so prepared to hear him say “You should pick one of these ophthalmology com- panies,” but instead he said, “This breast imaging company Forchette : No. Brook knows that when you have a hy- pothesis about a new technology, it is critical to test it with customers. He said, “ The head of radiology at Stanford is a friend of mine. We're going to have a meeting with him, and I want you to present this opportunity to him, and we’ ll see what he says.” Now, this physician is highly respected, very successful. He has an entire lab of engineers working on a wide range of new technologies, and Brook is a potential investor in many of them. He's not going to B.S. Brook. is really intriguing.” HCOB: That was it?

the technology we developed at Opti- Medica. I’d also met the chairman of the board, Paul McCreadie, and really respected him. The opportunity also met my criteria of a disruptive technol- ogy designed to address an unmet need, with a high caliber core team and great investors. And since I had executed three transactions in ophthalmology, CEO opportunities in that space were begin- ning to pop up on my radar screen. I put them all on a spreadsheet, along with Delphinus, and began looking them over. I wanted to do something super uncom- fortable — that’s what drives me. I like disruptive technologies. I like to go into a market that’s on autopilot and flip it up. I like things that make me sweat.

One reason Mark Forchette decided to become CEO at Delphinus was that the company's innovative water-based system resembled some of the technology he and his team developed at OptiMedica.

HCOB: That must have been quite a surprise — the con- fidence of that statement coming from such a renowned radiology expert at Stanford. Forchette : Yes, I was kind of floored. Brook and I walked out, sat on a park bench on the Stanford campus, and I said, “Well, I didn't expect that.” And Brook said, “Yeah. That's pretty telling.” I know a market disruption when I see it, and this experience proved to me that the Delphinus technology had clear potential to save lives. I didn’t know radiology, but what I did know is how to take a disruptive technology and drive it home to realize its true potential.” And that’s exactly what testing the hypothesis does — it clarifies things. I know a market disruption when I see it, and this experience proved to me that the Delphinus technology had clear potential to save lives. I didn’t know radiology, but what I did know is how to take a disruptive technology and drive it home to realize its true potential. So, I said, “I think I should do this.” And Brook said, “Yeah, I think you should.” So, I left my 30-year career comfort zone in ophthalmology and moved into radiology. I love to color outside the lines, and I knew my skill set could make a difference. And now Brook, my friend and mentor, is an investor through his own venture firm outside of KPCB. HCOB: There’s so much to pull from out of all these ex- periences — what would you say to students or business professionals contemplating an entrepreneurial career? What would be your most important piece of advice? Forchette : Other than testing the hypothesis, I think the most important thing to remember is that you must know who you are and what you believe in, because that’s what’s going to sustain you through the tough times — and there will be tough times. Times when you have your back against the wall and everybody’s telling you it can’t be done. Times when there’s no oxygen in the room and it’s literally hard to breathe. Times when your cash is going to run out six months before your breakthrough project is complete, and when everyone wants an answer but there are none, no guar- antees. These are the deep breath moments that cut to your core. Knowing who you are, knowing what you can do and what you believe is what will get you through to the other side. The fact is — entrepreneurs are risk takers that swing for the fence when it is much easier to bunt. As a result, some- times we hit home runs and sometimes we strike out. Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs — a record that stood untouched for decades — be he also struck out 1,330 times. I think auda- cious swings, counterbalanced by hard work, diligence and passion are worth every ounce of risk if they have even the slightest chance to deliver a better world.

So, we have the meeting, and I tell him what I knew about the Delphinus technology at the time. And then Brook did something I thought was incredible. He said to the doctor, “Mark has been in ophthalmology for almost 30 years. He knows every ophthalmologist in the industry. He stays at their homes, they're great friends. They complete each other's sentences. He's got all these companies that he could go into in ophthalmology, and it would be super comfort- able. He could do that, or, he could go into this new space where he doesn't know a soul, he's never worked in this market before, we have no idea if the technology is real or not. On top of that, it's capital equipment, and it doesn’t have a consumable component to the revenue stream.” HCOB: That doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement… Forchette : He made it sound like the worst decision in the world. But the doctor said, “I understand all that, but if this technology really does what they say it does, I think you should do it.”

Mark Forchette and Brook Byers standing in front of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers.

It’s in the Auburn Creed — the Creed is who I am. The personal authenticity, the honesty, the integrity,

the human touch, the importance of

relationships as laid out in the Creed are critical to success — in business and in life.” —Mark Forchette

Tara Wilson Follow your passion. Do what

you’re passionate about and the rest will come. In my case the passion was about starting and running a business.”

Passion drives entrepreneurship, but passion alone is not enough: TaraWilson’s journey

Tara Wilson, CEO of the Tara Wilson Agency, didn’t start out on an entrepreneurial path early in her career, but the entrepreneurial spirit has been engrained in her well before graduating from the Harbert College of Business with a degree in finance back in 1997. “When I was little, most girls played with dolls,” said Wil- son. “Not me — I played business. I had carbon copy paper, a telephone and I’d make my own miniature credit cards — a complete fake business. And when I grew older, I was always finding ways to make money. So, for me, being an entrepreneur was in my DNA.” That passion for entrepreneurship took a while to emerge in her professional career, but when it did, it took off like a shot. After spending nine years as a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, eventually rising to the position of Se- nior Financial Advisor managing in assets for corporate executives and high-net worth individuals, she finally took the plunge. Tara Wilson Events™ was founded in February 2007, and Wilson spent eight successful years executing social events. After realizing the business wasn’t scalable, Wilson pivoted the company in January 2015 — rebrand- ing as Tara Wilson Agency focused solely on experiential marketing events. The Harbert College of Business sat down with Tara, who was Auburn University Co-Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018, as part of its Harbert Entrepreneur Spotlight initiative to hear how her passion for business from a very early age has been a key driver of her ongoing entrepre- neurial success.

Tara Wilson Events was founded in February 2007. After eight successful years executing social events, Wilson rebranded her company as the Tara Wilson Agency and focused soley on experiential marketing.

HCOB: My first question for you is — what prompted you to leave a very successful career managing millions of dollars in assets for high net-worth individuals to start an events management firm, something you had no expe- rience in at the time? Wilson : I think it all came down to passion. That’s a word that gets tossed around a lot these days: “Follow your passion. Do what you’re passionate about and the rest will come.” In my case the passion was about starting and run- ning a business. It wasn’t a passion for event planning — I had never even worked at an event planning company. I just knew instinctively I would be good at it. HCOB: So, there you are, it’s 2007, the economy isn’t exactly on steady ground, and you started your firm— what was your process? Wilson : I spent about six months preparing to make the leap, taking a three-pronged approach. First, I banked my salary so that I would have some start-up capital, realizing there wouldn’t be any revenue coming in right off. The sec- ond thing I did was to research the events planning mar- ketplace — what the business looked like, how I could get plugged into that market, how to start a company in general, the nuts and bolts of getting a new business entity estab- lished legally. The third thing I did that was critical was to create my website and the marketing materials I would need to hit the ground running.

HCOB: I understand that it was just you for the first few years, right? Wilson : That’s right. I often joke that when I used the term “we” early on, what I meant was “me, myself and I.” But it was just me for the first five or six years before I added a second person to my “team.” HCOB: That must have been quite a switch, moving from a day-to-day working environment at one of the largest financial firms in the world to being — in effect — a solo practitioner? Wilson : Yes, it was quite a shift, and the isolation was one of the things I didn’t expect — just how lonely it can be as an entrepreneur. HCOB: Can you expand on that a bit? What do you mean by it being a “lonely” endeavor? Wilson : Sure. I don't think I realized just how lonely it would be, the swing of emotions in a 24-hour period. These days, social media glamorizes so many things about en- trepreneurship. It is nowhere near as glamorous as it may appear because the buck stops with you. You are the last person to be held accountable. At the end of the day it is on your shoulders and you have to be prepared for that. You don't take it home to your spouse, you don't take it to your friends, you don't spitball your concerns with your employ- ees. There’s no one that builds you up and there is no one

Wilson : Sure. Experiential marketing is also referred to as event-based marketing. The idea is to get your client's prod- uct or service in front of their consumers in an authentic and immersive way. We want the consumers of our client's brands to be able to touch, feel and experience the brand in the most immersive, authentic way. HCOB: That seems like quite a different objective than events management for individuals, involving a whole host of expertise you might not have on-hand. How did you bring those news capabilities to bear? Wilson : We had proven ourselves as event planners, so I was confident in that aspect of our deliverable, but with experiential marketing, there's a tremendous amount of strategy and ideation that goes into it. So, I pulled in experts to assist with those elements where I didn't feel that I could deliver to make sure that we provided the best product possible. That meant that maybe my margins weren't as high — maybe I was breaking even on a project or two, but Wilson : My first client was Samsung, a connection I made through networking with some of my vendors. As I said, we had proven success as event planners — I was confident in that capability and expanded that confidence into the other components of our experiential marketing offering. I have to say that is one of the key elements of success as an entrepreneur — you have to have an unwavering belief in your ability. I was proving myself and building our portfolio. HCOB: How did you get your first clients?

that tells you “Oh my gosh, you're amazing.” That was the most shocking part — I had no idea how isolated it can feel. You’re trying to push a giant boulder up a mountain every day, all by yourself. These days, social media glamorizes so many things about entrepreneurship. It is nowhere near as glamorous as it may appear because the buck stops with you. You are the last person to be held accountable. At the end of the day it is on your shoulders and you have to be prepared for that. HCOB: But you prevailed, you succeeded. Your business was making money for almost 10 years. And then comes 2015 and you decided to make a pivot, and a fairly substantial shift at that. Can you tell us why you made that move? Wilson : The main thing was, even though I’d built a suc- cessful, viable business, I realized it wasn’t scalable — it couldn’t grow much further than it already had. It was a lifestyle business, really, and I wanted more. The main roadblock to further growth was that my clientele was individuals wanting to put on a single milestone event — a one-off celebration — with very little potential for repeat business. A successful engagement offered little opportunity to do another event for that client for years, if ever. I felt the business marketplace, on the other hand, offered a much more promising avenue for real, sustainable growth. HCOB: Yet, the business marketplace is substantially different from the space you were operating in for almost eight years. How did you go about making that pivot? Wilson : Again, I had a process, a pattern. I spent about

six months working to make the change to an experiential agency serving big brands. I revamped my website so it would be ready to go at launch, explaining why I was changing our business mod- el. I shored up our finances, knowing there would be a lag in our revenue stream as we moved from working with individuals to prospecting corporate clients. HCOB: You describe your agency today as “experien- tial” — what do you mean by that and how are the services you offer corporations today different from what you pre- viously offered individuals?

Tara Wilson was once a Harbert College of Business Senator. (Photo by Albert Ralelo)

HCOB: What role, if any, did the Auburn Creed play into your success as an entrepreneur? Wilson : I think that the first preamble of the Auburn Creed crystalizes a lot of my experiences with becoming an entre- preneur: “I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.” That really resonates with me. Like I said ear- lier, as an entrepreneur, the buck stops with you. No one is going to bail you out. No one is going to figure it out for you. HCOB: Do you have any final advice for Harbert students and other aspiring entrepreneurs out there? Wilson: “Closed mouths don’t get fed.” That’s one of my favorite maxims. It really sums up the passion and com- mitment required to be an entrepreneur in today’s highly competitive business world. The Tara Wilson Agency prides itself in being woman-led and women-savvy. The agency's drive and desire to help its clients succeed fuels its continuous pursuit to understanding the female consumer. The Tara Wilson Agency insists on doing things the right way ... even if it's the long way. (Photo by Albert Ralelo)

HCOB: Can you tell us a bit more about that “unwavering belief in your ability”? Where did that come from, and did your time at Auburn have anything to do with that? Wilson : To begin with, I wasn’t exactly a star pupil early on at Auburn. I think that when you’re a college student, you’re really trying to figure out who you are and establish your way in the world. It wasn’t until my junior year that I really hit my stride. I decided to run for Senator at the College of Business and won. That experience gave me the opportunity to connect with the students, connect with the faculty and administrators. It really bolstered my confidence because I found a place I could contribute. I’m sure that had I not become a Senator, I would have graduated with a lot less confidence. The Tara Wilson Agency is an experiential marketing agency in Fort Worth, Texas, whose clientele has included ESPN, Nike and the American Red Cross.

I’m not afraid of hard work, of asking the tough questions, of pursuing the grand opportunities. You can’t be afraid of taking on the big issues and the work it takes to address them and succeed as an entrepreneur.” —Tara Wilson

From roadside billboards to online advertising: Scott Bell’s journey reveals lessons for entrepreneurial success

Scott Bell, founder and CEO of Bell Media, traces the origins of his successful digital advertising agency to well before he enrolled in the Harbert College of Business’ Entre- preneurial Program back in his junior year at Auburn. “I was raised in an entrepreneurial family,” said Bell, who received his B.S. in Business Administration, Entrepre- neurship in 2007. “My father was a golf pro who took the opportunity to purchase an underperforming golf course in Montgomery and over 10 to 15 years turned it into a successful, profitable business. And my mother was an entrepreneur as well, although not in the stereotypical sense. She built her own private practice in marriage and family therapy, and then transformed that into the only child therapy practice in the area. I saw the entrepreneur- ial spirit — and all the crazy hours of work it took to make them successful — at work from a very young age.” The Harbert College of Business sat down with Scott as part of its Harbert Entrepreneur Spotlight initiative to hear his story and glean some valuable insight for aspiring student entrepreneurs.

Scott Bell Go out, get some experience, try to figure

out what type of business you want to start and then go and do it, because once you hit 28 years old, 35 years old, and you have a family with kids, it makes it very, very challenging.”

After Scott Bell graduated from the Harbert College of Business, he and his brother, Neil, started Bell Media to focus on the underserved need for digital billboards in the south.

HCOB: You started Bell Media right after graduating fromHarbert — can you tell us about that decision and how you got your business off the ground? Bell : Beginning in my junior year at Auburn, I went to the entrepreneurship program, where we had to start working on business plans and the whole strategic planning processes. And I was really interested in digital billboards — I began seeing the digital roadside billboards pop up around 2006, 2007 for the first time. My brother, Neil, who grad- uated from Auburn in 2001, was in the billboard business, working for one of the largest companies in the industry as well as building some of his own billboards, so I already knew a little about that market. As I started looking into it, I realized that from a govern- mental perspective, you could not build billboards in the Auburn area, but they were allowed in Columbus, Georgia.

So, I started learning about the legal aspect of the billboard business there, asking a lot of questions — how do I lease property and how do I permit a billboard, etc. And I started traveling my senior year over to Columbus to begin leasing property and permitting property to build billboards, relying on my brother to help guide some of those initial transactions. HCOB: So, you were already “in the business” before starting Bell Media — when did you form the company and what was your process? Bell : Yes, that’s right. After I graduated, my brother and I started Bell Media in 2008 with the focus on digital billboards. It was obvious to me that Columbus was an underserved market and that the main competitor, a nationwide company, was not investing in digital billboards. I assessed that there may be a two- or three-year window

of opportunity where we could get in and establish a digital billboard net- work around the city — build and own something that would create value and continue to generate recurring revenue using tangible, hard assets. And over the next seven years we expanded our footprint to other markets in surrounding areas. HCOB: How did you fund your ini- tial operations — where did you get the money to lease these properties, purchase the permits and build the billboards themselves? Bell : The year before we started the company, I had secured some lease agreements and some permits to build billboards, some of which I came to realize weren’t in very good locations. So, I sold those for $7,000 apiece, which gave me enough to live off for the first six months. I held onto a handful of other leases and permits I felt were more promising. With those in hand, we inves- tigated funding sources, and settled on a mezzanine financing lender that offered

Scott Bell, right, sold the outdoor profile of the Bell Media business to Link Media, keeping the indoor advertising portion as they moved into the online advertising space.

HCOB: You started a digital advertising agency when that market was well-established, with major players de- voting tremendous resources to this space — what made you think you could succeed there, particularly without much in the way of online experience? Bell : I think it’s important to note that we operated in markets that, from a digital perspective and a technology perspective, were probably five to 10 years behind more progressive markets in major metropolitan areas. What we saw in these markets was that people were curious and when people are curious, it shows that maybe there’s a potential need. So that’s how we got interested in the digital space. To address this opportunity, I went to work hiring experts in the field, including several team members with many years of experience at major digital media outlets. We soon found that the big digital agencies were selling their product a certain way that we didn’t really agree with — that didn’t fit the needs of our customers. We felt that the approach they were using — selling pre-determined packages of services — sets an incorrect expectation from the client’s perspective, one that results in a churned customer. So, we started selling digital advertising in a different way, and I think that is what helped us gain traction over the last four years. Scott Bel l’ s time at Harbert forced him to become comfortable with verbally expressing the nuts and bolts of his thinking. “ When I came out of Harbert, I had already made close to a hundred speeches, and that experience has shaped how I lead meetings and discussions to this day. That was probably the biggest impact of the entrepreneurship program at Harbert for me. ”

us a one hundred percent financing structure because we were creating an asset-based business. It was, in effect, a secured loan at 12% or 13% interest, which gave us enough funding to build a few billboards where we already had the leases and permits in place and start generating revenue. From there we were off and running. HCOB: Can you tell us a little about what you had to do to secure that financing — did you develop and submit a comprehensive business plan? Bell : Not really, we didn’t have a comprehensive business plan, per se, but we had a strategic plan which painted a picture of who we were, what market we wanted to tackle, the economics behind the business and a go-to-market play- book for how we wanted to acquire customers. But we didn’t go through the whole process of developing that 30-page business plan. HCOB: Fast forward seven years to the sale of a portion of your company to Link Media — what did you sell and why? Bell : We sold the outdoor portfolio of business to Link Me- dia, keeping the indoor advertising portion as we decided to move into the online advertising space. At that time, we had built a customer base of some 200 small to medium sized businesses, and we were starting to get questions from these customers about foundational aspects of digital marketing, such as how does pay-per-click work? Do I need to invest in paid search? What is SEO? And that was really the light bulb moment for us as we were selling the billboard company — this is going to be the next stage of our business.

HCOB: Looking back to your time at Auburn, were there any mentors or faculty that you can point to that stood out to you as being in any way transformative in your thinking and entrepreneurial process? Bell : I would say in the beginning, the best resource I had was my brother, Neil, because he had already been in the billboard business for three or four years and he was always there to help. As for Harbert, I would point to Dr. Michael Kincaid — everything we did in his classes was in a speech format. He told us, “You’re not in here to read books. You’re in here to experience getting in front of people and talking about your business and pitching it.” When I walked into his class, I was afraid of speaking in public. But he said that ev- erything that you do is going to be in a presentation format It forced me to become comfortable with verbally expressing the nuts and bolts of my thinking. When I came out of Har- bert, I had already made close to a hundred speeches, and that experience has shaped how I lead meetings and discus- sions to this day. That was probably the biggest impact of the entrepreneurship program at Harbert for me.

HCOB: One final question — what advice would you give to students considering an entrepreneurial career path? Would you recommend they jump right into starting their own business as you did right out of college? Bell: I wish I had the definitive answer. On the one hand, there’s a lot of value in going to work in a normal work en- vironment where you can experience personal and profes- sional growth, a good manager that can show you the best method for how to lead, mentor, train and coach. That is something that you simply cannot get if you step out your first day out of college and begin running your own business. So, if you decide to go in that route, you’re going to have to find other ways to develop your leadership and management abilities outside of the work environment — which is what I did. As for the optimal time frame? For me, the ideal time is two or three, maybe four years after graduation, depending on the industry. That said, there may not be the perfect time for everyone.

My best advice is to go out, get some experience, try to

figure out what type of business you want to start and then go and do it, because once you hit 28 years old, 35 years old, and you have a family with kids, it makes it very, very challenging. — Scott Bell

‘Honest goods’ ... Dee Duncan’s Keyston Bros. embodies the Auburn Creed Dan “Dee” Duncan, President and CEO of Keyston Bros., isn’t the stereotypical image of today’s entrepreneur — he didn’t start a new company out of his garage or turn an idea into a multimillion-dollar business seemingly overnight. But when Dee and his wife Ann purchased a struggling, 133-year-old leather, fabrics and textiles business back in 2001, an entrepreneurial mindset and business development process was exactly what was called for. “When we acquired Keyston Bros., it was really on the ropes — the previous owners had pretty much run it into the ground,” said Duncan. “But we saw a ton of untapped potential there and felt that it was a sleeping giant that could be awakened under the right leadership, someone with the right spirit — an entrepreneurial spirit.” The Harbert College of Business sat down with Dee as part of its Harbert Entrepreneur Spotlight initiative to hear how he and his wife Ann leveraged an entrepreneurial mindset — and the Auburn Creed — to triple the size of the now 150-year-old vibrant global business.

We build our business strategy on integrity and honesty — that’s one of the characteristics of the business that was there well before we bought it. And that’s also where our business philosophy ties back to the Auburn Creed.”

Dee

Duncan

HCOB: Can you tell us a bit about the kind of research you conducted before deciding to purchase the com- pany, the level of analysis you went through? Duncan : It was very extensive, very detailed. We had a very formal busi- ness plan. I’m a big believer in vetting out the numbers, knowing what the metrics are, making sure that there are safety nets in those numbers so that no matter what happens, you've planned

for the worst. I surrounded myself with industry leaders to help me, and I had a lot of help from vendors who knew our potential and could help us craft plans for success going forward, including people who were experts in mergers and acquisition. HCOB: Six weeks later, the 9/11 attacks occurred, and the whole world changed. Duncan : That’s right. Our business, like most businesses, was impacted greatly by 9/11, the uncertainty of it all was omnipresent. We went from 220 employees to 180 in a mat- ter of weeks.

HCOB: Before we launch into how you came to acquire Keyston Bros., can you tell us a little about your early career? Duncan: Sure. To begin with, my folks never went to col- lege. My father ran a small textile business and I worked for him growing up. After graduating with a BS in Marketing from the Harbert College of Business in 1981, I spent the first 20 years of my career at Peachtree Fabrics in Atlanta, rising to Vice President of Sales and Marketing leading overall company sales growth and marketing strategy on a national level. From there I went to Spradling International, where I spent a couple of years as National Sales manager for the company. By that point, I had amassed a consid- erable level of experience and expertise in the fabrics and textile marketplace, and I knew what it takes to succeed in the that arena. HCOB: So, how did you come to acquire Keyston Bros. and why? What was your thinking? Duncan : Ann and I felt that Keyston Bros. was an under- performing, yet extremely valuable asset with a lot of poten- tial. We liked the underlying business model, the products, the distribution channels — we felt they were unique in the industry. We also felt that — with the right leadership — the business could grow significantly. So, we pulled together financing from our own savings, family and friends, and managed to close the deal. It was touch and go, though, and for about eight hours after signing the papers, we weren’t quite sure whether we owned the business or if it owned us. It might be useful to note that both of us were essentially unemployed at the time, so there was quite a bit of risk involved. Dee Duncan faced a tremendous challenge in transforming a struggling 133-year-old leather, fabrics and textiles business into a vibrant global enterprise.

Family matters — Dee's wife, Ann, and daughter, Brooke, play key roles in Keyston's success today.

One line from the Auburn Creed defines the Keyston Bros. approach to business “ ‘ I believe in the human touch. ’ Ours is a relationship-based business. We have the best sales team in the industry. ”

HCOB: What guided your decision to manage through that uncertainty? How did you know what to do? Duncan: It wasn’t abundantly clear what to do in a situa- tion like that — it was unprecedented. But what we did have was the detailed assessment of the underlying financials of the business, the analysis we conducted before purchasing the company. That assessment was crucial in guiding our actions going forward. We had the data necessary to not simply slash-and-burn headcount on a purely cost basis. . HCOB: What I hear you saying is that it is one thing to simply cut overhead to survive, but quite another to do that strategically, with viable data behind your deci- sion-making, right? Duncan : Exactly. And I’m not saying we did everything perfectly. But we were prepared for worst-case scenarios, although nobody could have foreseen that. One thing that deep analysis and number-crunching scenario planning does is give you the confidence it takes to make big decisions in times of uncertainty.

HCOB: What did you learn from 9/11, if anything, that helped you cope with unexpected events later on down the line? Duncan : One thing we learned was that, as much as we knew, we didn’t know enough. That spurred us to step up our reliance on data analysis and planning, which came in handy during the economic downturn of 2008. We were much better prepared for that slowdown from a metrics standpoint, and we also knew the people part. Both of those things made us stronger as a team and as a family. HCOB: What do you mean by that — the “people part”? Duncan : That goes back to our mission statement — “Honest Goods.” Most companies have these three- and four-sentence mission statements, very elaborate claims laying out the various components of who they are and what they do. Ours is simple — we strive to deliver honest goods to our customers. We build our business strategy on integrity and honesty — that’s one of the characteristics of the business that was there well before we bought it. And that’s also where our business philosophy ties back to the Auburn Creed.

HCOB: What advice would you offer students who might not be interested in starting a company from scratch, but might consider taking over an existing enterprise? Duncan : The first thing applies to any entrepreneur, wheth- er starting their own company or taking over an existing en- terprise in need of revitalization — it’s a maxim I call PMG, Play My Game. What it means is, if you believe in what you are doing, go with that belief. Don’t try to play other people’s games. If you believe you know something that others don’t, that your approach to success is better than the approaches that haven’t worked so far, you’ve got to play that card, play your game. That maxim goes hand-in-hand with the need to listen, listen, listen to other people, experts you’ve engaged to help. Their input can be critical to helping you form or confirm your own views. And it is only by listening — to your cus- tomers, to your vendors, to your partners — that you’ ll be able to identify opportunities out there you might not have considered.

Keyston Bros. is one of the largest and most respected national textiles and specialty fabrics jobbers in the industry

HCOB: Can you elaborate on that, because in today’s business environment, the tenets of the Auburn Creed might seem hard to grasp in terms of delivering bot- tom-line results in a hyper-competitive world. Duncan : It is pretty simple, really. We live in “a practical world,” our customers rely on us to anticipate their needs on a very practical level, which isn't always easy. They trust us to provide for these needs in the way of high-value, reliable products and services. As the Creed states: “I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.” That’s directly applicable to the business world in which we operate. HCOB: How else has the Auburn Creed guided how you operate Keyston Bros? Duncan : “I believe in education, which gives me the knowl- edge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.” — the second line in the Auburn Creed. Education is foremost in our strategy — our leadership team is highly educated, with experience pulled from all over the world. And that focus on education flows down through all levels of employees. We are constantly educating all our employees on our products, our services, market trends and the latest in technology and systems, which helps everyone do their job more efficiently. Another key component of the Auburn Creed we embody is “I believe in the human touch.” Ours is a relationship-based business — we have the best sales team in the industry. The combination of an honest and integrity-based business philosophy and a customer experience based on the human touch is at the core of our success.

Dee and his wife, Ann, also a Harbert College of Business graduate, felt that Keyston Bros. was an underperforming, yet extremely valuable asset with a lot of potential.

Finally, you can never do enough planning. So, I would say: Listen, plan and then act on your beliefs with honesty and integrity. If you do that, you’re likely to succeed.”

—Dee Duncan

John Thames Growing up in South Alabama, my

grandfather and family owned 2,000 acres of hunting land. From as far back as I can remember, I would join them on hunting and fishing trips where they would entertain customers in the business. The entire outdoor hospitality experience — the travel, the cooking, the bird dogs —was engrained in me from the very beginning.”

John Thames, Founder and Publisher of Covey Rise magazine and Bourbon+, tells his story of how a deep-seat- ed passion for the outdoors fueled his transformation from a part-time magazine hobbyist to an international publisher and brand strategist in the emerging wildlife lifestyle marketplace. “Growing up in South Alabama, my grandfather and family owned and operated a utility pole business. He also owned 2,000 acres of hunting land,” said Thames, who received his degree in Business Administration from Auburn’s College of Business in 1996. “From as far back as I can remember, I would join them on hunting and fishing trips where they would entertain customers in the business. The entire outdoor hospitality experience — the travel, the cooking, the bird dogs — was engrained in me from the very beginning. I was raised in the world of hunting and fishing on that land, and I loved it.” The Harbert College of Business sat down with John as part of its Harbert Entrepreneur Spotlight initiative to hear how his early passion for the outdoors grew into an unex- pected entrepreneurial success. Fromhobby to international publishing powerhouse: JohnThames is living the dream

HCOB: So, how did you come to start Covey Rise?

Thames : As an outdoors and hunting enthu- siast, I was aware of a small publication, a fish wrapper newsletter, really called Covey Rise. It was distributed to a small number of subscribers throughout the United States. I thought it might be fun to try to make this lifestyle a full-time job of mine, and to see if I could help represent the upland sport I had grown to love. I had a passion for the sport — the entire experience, the lifestyle, really — and wanted others to share that joy, not only in Alabama and the South, but around the world as well. So, I bought the publication, the brand name, and set out trying to find out about what it takes to turn that into something more vivid, more engaging, more substantial. HCOB: This was in 2012, right? As I recall, the print magazine marketplace wasn’t exactly booming then. In fact, high-quality, four-color glossy magazines were going under, or going online-only at that time. What made you think you could succeed in a market where established name brands were failing? Thames : Well, I will tell you this, print is not dead. There will always be a place for quality products that have value to the consumer.

As an outdoors and hunting enthusiast, John Thames was aware of a small publication called Covey Rise that he thought he could turn into a vibrant representation of the upland sport he grew to love.

What died was just that: publications that were not creating engaging experiences, and that were not producing valu- able content. But It certainly wasn’t publishing experience that made me think I could succeed in this business. I had absolutely zero experience in the publishing world. But what I did have was a passion, and a willingness to try. HCOB: What were your first steps, did you begin by con- ducting formal market research or developing a detailed business plan? Thames : Research, yes. A business plan, no. You have to keep in mind that I wasn’t approaching this with the inten- tion of building a publishing empire — it was a hobby I was interested in pursuing. If it became a little more than that, fine, but in no way, shape or form did I ever imagine what that hobby would become.

HCOB: Your early career had nothing whatsoever to do with publishing, right? Can you talk a little bit about the first phase of your professional life? Thames : No, not at all. Upon graduation I went to work for Russell Lands, a large real estate development company on Lake Martin in Alexander City, Alabama. I was drawn to work for Russell because they managed close to thirty thousand acres of timberland on the shores of Lake Martin. After ten years there, I started my own construction busi- ness, building houses and lodges, and eventually started a second business building docks for houses sitting lakeside. I suppose you could say that being an entrepreneur focused on the outdoors and wildlife environments was at least in the same general arena as my current publishing businesses. But no, I had no experience or even any expectation that I would go into the magazine publishing business.

HCOB: You say you started with research — what was your process? Thames : I started looking for experts in the magazine publishing world who might advise me, and found one of the best, Dr. Samir Husni — “Mr. Magazine” — founder and director of Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi. A lot of people I talked to encouraged me to contact him, so I took a chance and simply gave him a call and left a message. After I hung up, I said to myself “There's no way in the world he calls me back, he works with everybody all over the globe, all the big names, the top consultants. Much to my surprise, he called me back within an hour and asked me if I could be in his office two days later. Of course, I went, thinking “Either this will be a very short meeting or something good.” It turned out to be life changing. I will tell you this, print is not dead. There will always be a place for quality products that have value to the con- sumer. What died was just that: publications that were not creating engaging experiences, and that were not producing valuable content.” HCOB: Why? What did he tell you that made such a difference? Thames : He was very direct. He said, “Okay, you knocked on my front door and you hand me the magazine. Talk to me as if you were the mag- azine. What are you saying to me? Who are you? So, I began telling him about me, the magazine, and what all he would experience while flipping through the pages—from the in-depth stories to the breathtaking pictures, to the quality of the paper he would feel while holding the maga- zine in his hands. He did not say a word, he just listened. When I was done, he looked around the room and pointed to all these magazine covers and pictures of famous publishers he had framed on the walls—these are all the big names, some of the most successful magazines and publishers in the world—and he said, “I asked every one of these people I've worked with the exact same questions that I just asked you, and nobody ever answered those questions as well as you just did. You spoke to me, you have a passion, you're deeply entrenched in this and you understand what you want your readers to get out of this publication.” He then proceed- ed to guide me through the whole printing and publishing process and how things work in the business. As I look back on it, that was the best phone call I ever could have made.

HCOB: What did you do next? You learned the nuts and bolts of the production side of the business, what about the creative side — the writing, the photography? Thames : To begin with, I had a very clear sense of what I wanted the magazine to look like — the design — and I had an equally clear sense of what I wanted the stories to be about. I wanted this to be a very high-end coffee table book, something you keep and didn’t throw away after you’ve read it. So, I began researching the best writers and photographers from the premier hunting, fishing, outdoor lifestyle and travel magazines in the world. I contacted them, laid out my vision, and asked if they would like to be contributors. The vast majority jumped at the chance to have their work featured at the high end of the publishing spectrum, and we were off and running. And I also enlisted the help of a fellow alum from Auburn, Kelly Waldrop, who ran his own real estate marketing and advertising business. He was instrumental in getting the publication off the ground, helping manage the advertising, printing, etc. One thing we did was contact advertisers di- rectly, we didn’t go though media buyers. The quality of the publication and our focus on full-page, impactful ads really appealed to the top of the line vendors in the industry.

John Thames and his team travel year-round to places all over the world, from New Zealand to South Africa to England, depending on the season.

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