Hard Knocks and Appreciating Success..The Old Fashioned Way

Over this weekend, I had an opportunity to visit with some of my closest friends in Baltimore. Its been a while since I’ve been back to visit with family and friends and some of my fondest memories were established there when starting my career and a family.

I began my career at Wang Labs in sales support and marketing as a territory sales rep. This required going through an intensive 6-month associate training program in Lowell, MA before I was assigned a geographic territory. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the best way to approach a geography is to segment. Once I selected a segment (wholesale distribution), I then looked for software solutions that ran on Wang’s work horse, the 2200. I recall going into industrial parks and knocking on doors to get an appointment. I must have called on every account within a 25 mile radius of Baltimore. It wasn’t long before I earned my “stripes” and was assigned a “prime” territory to become a top 1% achiever worldwide.

I will always remember my first district manager who traveled with me on sales calls in the car. As we were driving, he would randomly point to industrial parks and ask me if I had called on a particular company. He was a hard charging type of guy that expected a lot from his sales team. One day while we were making sales calls, I decided to drive through residential neighborhoods. He asked me “what are you doing?” and I replied “looking for new business opportunities”. He laughed and we went on to become great friends long after my departure from Wang.

As I look back on this experience, I learned that nothing comes easy in life. You need to take a few knocks and objections before you can appreciation success. I meet many people today that feel a sense of entitlement and looking for a short cut. Well, I have news for you, there are no short cuts and even if you found one, it’s short lived.

As a growth stage venture capital fund, I am constantly reminding myself that hard work and tenacity will eventually pay off.  It will take a few hard knocks, however, it’s worth it in the end run. Whether you are an early or expansion stage company, stay focused, work hard and success will follow.