By: Jane Allen
When I arrived at the EC, one of our main goals as an organization was to fill the EC with entrepreneurs — especially those in Phase 4 of the Entrepreneur Lifecycle.
The reason behind this goal was fairly simple: every entrepreneur walks into the EC on their own journey. Yes, there may be basics that every entrepreneur has to learn — business plans, financials, and pitch decks — but every business is unique, with its own challenges and lessons.
Starting a business requires so much more than just the basics, and that’s where generational wisdom can make or break an entrepreneurial community.
We began our Speaker Series last year with the intention to invite people into our community to share the wisdom they collected as they’ve “been there, done that.” Each one is an expert who has offered some tidbit or word of wisdom we can learn from – no matter the industry, stage, or mission.
Last month, we welcomed Confirmation founder Brian Fox to the series. He’s someone who started here in Nashville with nothing and built an award-winning international company with his indelible passion for improving an audit process to help prevent fraud.
While in college Brian switched his major to accounting because of advice given from local entrepreneurs: If you’re going to start your own business, learn accounting. When he launched his career in the CPA profession and noticed a formidable flaw in the auditing process – one that could cost time, money, and potentially the integrity of the profession – he took it upon himself to build a new solution, and that’s how Confirmation.com was born.
As a fintech founder in a city known for music and healthcare, Brian was building a business that protected every other industry too. Brian had to bring in customers and raise money, people in our community invested in his business in the early years. Brian stressed the importance of explaining what he was going to do and then following up with potential investors to tell them what had been accomplished – like adding new customers – both banks and accounting firms – as he was trying to create a company that people wanted to invest in. Today, those who invested did very well and Brian is heralded as a leader in FinTech and the Accounting profession for this innovation, and his business has received accolade after accolade.
Not only did Brian launch his business to become a tool used worldwide, but he also wants to give back to a community that has been so important to him and his family. He served in the Inc. 500 Military Entrepreneurs Mentor Program, he’s on the Advisory Board for the Nashville Capital Network, was a mentor for JumpStart Foundry and serves on our board here at Nashville Entrepreneur Center. He also, like those who invested in his business, invests in entrepreneurial businesses with his time and money.
By listening to those who, like Brian, have walked the entrepreneur’s journey ahead of us, and who have lived the various lifecycle phases, we can learn from those who have walked in our shoes. What we should do, and – perhaps more importantly – what we shouldn’t do, in creating, launching and growing our businesses.
We are grateful to Brian and the others who have shared their stories with the hopes of helping others, and we’re excited for the next speakers in this series.
