Gary Whitehill: An Entrepreneurial Lesson

Posted by fashionentrepreneurreport On Saturday, January 09, 2010

Over 10,000 leaders in technology, business, and finance recently gathered at Columbia University in Manhattan to analyze emerging trends at the second New York Entrepreneurs Week. The conference featured such companies as SecondMarket, FirstMark, Capital Behind the Burner, Behance, Nolcha, TheLadders.com, Bonobos, 1-800 Flowers, Meetup.com, Thrillist and NYC SBS.

The conference's founder is Gary Whitehill, a 26-year-old entrepreneur who strives to educate entrepreneurs worldwide. Whitehill graduated in June 2007 from Central Connecticut State University with a triple-degree in management, marketing and entrepreneurship. Having been to New York City just once in his life, he relocated to the Manhattan without knowing anybody. Whitehill said, "I knew for sure that one way or another, my decision to move to New York would be an adventure I would not regret," and it definitely paid off, not only for him, but also the thousands of people who attended New York Entrepreneur Week.

Once in New York City, Whitehill worked as the investment analyst for an angel group and then co-founded a management-consulting firm. During this time he was involved in numerous multi-billion-dollar deals, as well as several early-stage ventures in media, retail and consumer products.

With New York Entrepreneurs Week, Whitehill has not only created a network of young capitalists, but also set the stage for innovation in what he calls "social entrepreneurship." Whitehill explains, "Social entrepreneurs are people who have the passion, drive and innovative mentality to rise above societal norms and predispositions to change the status quo for a social good."

BloggingStocks: Doesn't New York already have a ton of entrepreneurs? Why do they need a conference?

Whitehill: When looking at the state of entrepreneurship, specifically in New York, there's an important lesson to be learned. Although there are many resources for entrepreneurs, they are extremely disparate.

Many stakeholders seek to change the entrepreneurial landscape. However, there is a glaring challenge – everyone is laser-focused on the execution of their own individual missions. As a result, and to the dismay of entrepreneurs, these stakeholders become increasingly more disparate and further pushed into their own silos.

For entrepreneurship to attain its potential in New York and develop into a powerful force driving the
economy, we must break down barriers and build platforms which unite the entrepreneurial landscape. If we
all do not work together, the systemic challenges faced by the entire ecosystem will never have a solution.
Leveraging our collective strengths together for a greater purpose will revitalize our economy, and allow
entrepreneurship to occupy a more meaningful role in driving the transformation our ecosystem needs.

How do we know this is an unmet need?

Money flowing outside New York to places around the world is a great thing -- transfer of wealth is what keeps economies moving. However, when 89% of all venture capital funding, a crucial funding mechanism, is disproportionately allocated outside an ecosystem, it's a dire red flag.

What is the solution?

New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) is the first, largest and only bi‐annual statewide movement unifying entrepreneurial groups from around the state with the vastly diverse entrepreneurial community. Unlike diluted start‐up or small business events, NYEW is the state's premier forum providing the framework and catalyst for conquering New York's economic challenges. By aggregating the most important disparate entrepreneurial stakeholders from around the state with remarkable entrepreneurs from around the world, attendees are given the chance to learn, grow, connect and leverage opportunities to drive exponential economic change.

Who are you targeting?

Every entrepreneur, from the enterprising young idea-stage innovator to the hundred-million-dollar revenue generator. Our foundation -- The Relentless Foundation -- is named for the drive and passion and persistence, the willingness to risk and step into the ring, that each one of you has as an entrepreneur.

Right now is a critical time in our economy. The stage is ripe for a fundamental change in how businesses are founded, built and scaled. The truth is, with the right framework, unstable times create incredible opportunities.

Where are you currently in the process of development?

The growth phase. The model has been tested (April 2009) and verified (November 2009). This event saw over 2,600 entrepreneurs attend and more then 7,500 online viewers. We are now actively in discussions with Philadelphia, Omaha, Mexico and Puerto Rico for our next strategic deployments. Our goal is to scale into five states within five years.

How do you get word out about the foundation?

Most nonprofits have a scalability challenge -- they seek to help the underserved entrepreneur immediately. However, this is not scalable -- it's a "push" toward scalability instead of a "pull."

Most think of the entrepreneurial landscape as a pyramid. The most efficient and effective way to effect change is through an inverse pyramid, whereby you get "buy-in " from key stakeholders in a state and every hub of influence possible. As a result, not only do you become extremely connected and credible, but there's a tremendous trickle-down effect to the underserved entrepreneurs, those who really need the exposure and our help.

These days, most educational institutions revolve around tests and theory, with very little practical application. Theory does not drive a knowledge-based economy; practical application does. This is why you see such growing support for science and technology magnet schools.

As a society, we are obsessed with test scores and GPA. Entrepreneurship is not an easily quantifiable graded metric, but it is the fundamental underpinning of our economy. This is the reason why the goal of our nonprofit foundation is to bring entrepreneurship into every K-12 grade throughout the nation by 2030, because not every child in America learns by testing. Many of us learn by doing.

In terms of getting involved, being that we are a nonprofit, we can use as much support as possible. We are continually and actively searching for strategic partners, donors and innovative minds who believe in standing up and coming together to change what is now a sliced and fragmented ecosystem here in New York. Please email us at contactus@nyew.org.

Tell us the important strategies one should follow to successfully plan a start-up.

Realizing failure is a huge positive. Experiencing, learning from and dealing with the mental frustrations of failure is one of the most invaluable lessons one can learn. Understanding -- no matter the long- and short-term plan -- the process for choosing your first hires must be extremely deliberate and carefully crafted. Surrounding yourself with proponents who align directly with the founder's vision, mission and purpose for the venture are crucial to success. Without the right hires, as your venture begins to scale, dislocation from the mission and purpose of the venture will invariably create systemic resource challenges.

Many businesses struggle to raise capital. Please describe how were you able to and do you have any tips for others?

I actually personally funded the nonprofit endeavor until recently, when FirstMark Capital, SecondMarket and Sarar USA signed on as founding sponsors.

One piece of advice: Even in the face of adversity, stick to your mission, keep pushing forward and eventually you will garner a tremendous wave of support from the community.

Philanthropy plays a key role in social responsibility. How can start-ups incorporate philanthropy to help achieve their goals?

When you truly care about others and you're doing things for the right reasons, great things happen in return. Being unselfish is the key not only to staying humble, but the fastest way to gaining respect from influencers within an industry, as well as your target market. People will invariably realize and differentiate between a company that incorporates philanthropy and one that does not.

Do you believe being a nonprofit has positively affected the public response to your new business?

Absolutely. New York Entrepreneur Week was founded as a nonprofit for this exact reason. At first glance, many detractors are skeptical on purpose of NYEW, and frankly I cannot blame them. There are some who take advantage of those in need of advice, but we are here to help.

Furthermore, 100% of the hard-earned money we receive as donations is utilized wisely on events such as NYEW -- those which exclusively benefit our ecosystem. Every dime that comes in the door goes toward helping construct a more tight-knit community.

Who do you believe is the most innovative and inspirational leader today?

Warren Buffet. He is a man of immense precision, yet remarkable restraint. He is steadfast in pursuing opportunities and investments that he can holistically understand, refusing to venture outside of those boundaries.

With your business plan competition, tell me the most far-fetched business plan you have encountered.

A luxury hotel exclusively for pets. Although seemingly far-fetched, it has turned out to be a multi-million-dollar business for a friend down in Florida.

- Daleela Farina