After more than a year of being forced apart by the pandemic, we are celebrating what makes the Northwest Arkansas venture ecosystem great by highlighting the incredible founders and hardworking entrepreneurial support organization leader – all of whom drive our region forward and make it a better place to start a business!
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing profiles from some of the region’s entrepreneurial all-stars… Be on the look-out for more!
Brett Amerine,
Startup Junkie Foundation Co-Founder & Startup Junkie Consulting Managing Director
Who has had the most influence on you in your professional/entrepreneurial journey?
My dad, by far, Jeff Amerine. Growing up, he led multiple successful ventures that I got to see first-hand. He has a big heart, is extremely smart, and is a true leader. He is extremely humble, though, and doesn’t walk around giving speeches about his past business success. So, if you ever have time and want to learn about an entrepreneur who led multiple real, sustainable tech and consulting ventures that provided for their families, where the goal was not a 100x exit, but a viable and sustainable business, get to know him!
I also have to say my friend Calvin Smith. Also extremely humble, and he’s going places. He’s a young industrialist, if you will, and I’m lucky to get the opportunity to partner with him on various ventures.
What do you think has been your biggest achievement yet?
Marrying an absolutely beautiful and incredibly smart woman with a great personality, Beth, and having two phenomenal kids. Someday they will continue carrying the Amerine Enterprises flag, making the world a better place.
What about your biggest setback or challenge; and how did you overcome it?
Being born with craniosynostosis, at a time where it required a life-threatening surgery and then having a massive Frankenstein scar all the way around my head from the surgery growing up as a kid. I always had a chip on my shoulder growing up because of this. I’m really thankful for it though. It’s made me bullet proof.
I think so much of life is about how one responds to challenges or problems. Do you get soft and complain? Or do you try to stay positive, not make excuses and blame others, attack it, do your best, and plow forward? I try to do the latter.
If you could go back in time and give your younger self advice, knowing what you know now, what would it be?
Don’t say no, say yes. It’s become posh for younger people to complain about how they have to say no to all the many opportunities that come their way, so they can focus on planting tomatoes in their back yard, drinking lattes and watching Netflix. All the wildly truly successful entrepreneurs I know say yes, as much as possible, as life changing opportunities rarely seem to present themself with a nice bow…so keep saying yes, keep learning, keep moving forward.
What’s your favorite business tool?
Alarmed app. It’s a simple life changer.
What makes a successful entrepreneur?
Attitude, consistent effort, far above average persistence, and the willingness to be uncomfortable often.
Someone wants to start their own business – what’s the first piece of advice or first step you recommend to them?
Find a pain point you can solve. Or identify a way you can provide an existing solution different and better. Before you start- do basic math to see if you can realistically solve the problem profitably. Then, get used to hearing no, listen to your customers and potential customers, and remember there is no substitute for hard work.
What’s a typical day of work look like for you?
I work all day from around 7am-11pm, wherever I have an internet connection. My day is fluid, and never wear my work on my sleeve. I also never check into the office like a standard 9-5, never, and never will. It’s totally inefficient in my opinion to try and constrain work into a set number of hours in a physical office. Not my style.
What keeps you up at night?
Thinking about new business opportunities, continuing to build the incredible Startup Junkie, Innovation Junkie, and Conductor brands (and many other ventures like ScaleSource) and ensuring the people working and living around me are happy.
How do you stay motivated?
I love living.
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