Leaders of startup businesses can benefit from having a support group, which can take different shapes, said a number of successful company presidents and CEOs who spoke to an Entrepreneurs’ Organization luncheon held as a part of Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week this afternoon.
Laurie Aronson, president and CEO of two companies—Lipsey’s, a wholesale firearms distributor, and Haspel Clothing, a men’s clothing line—highlighted the importance of having a strong team of managers.
“I’ve always been told to hire people smarter than you,” Aronson said. “You have to put the right people in the right positions.”
But how do you know which people are the right ones? Aronson said she knew her Lipsey’s team was built well when she saw results. In 2008, the firearms businesses boomed in reaction to the political climate, and they were able to successfully keep up with demand. Aronson says her Haspel team is much smaller and her staff’s qualifications and constant communication gives her confidence.
Tom Martin, executive vice president and COO of Pod Pack International, said his company floundered for 15 years because they didn’t have the right managers in place to launch his product, a single-serving brewing mechanism that he says emerged before the market was ready.
But now, Martin said, his business strategy calls for $10.1 million in investment and doubling his staff by hiring 19 new employees over the next three years.That expansion couldn’t have taken place without guidance from a support group organized by EO, he said, which encouraged him to seek tax incentives from Louisiana Economic Development.
Erik Frank, CEO of Your Nutrition Delivered, said he learned a lot about marketing and his own knowledge of his market by bringing his company before New Orleans’ Big Idea, the New Orleans version of BREW’s Pitch Night. But programs that have grouped him with other startups and mentors through EO have given him advice that he’s been able to put in place immediately, he said. —Kelly Connelly
