of planning out each and every step along the way. Instead, I follow a general path and stay open to the possibility of unexpected opportunities appearing along the way. Sugarleaf Vineyards was a real estate investment that I turned into a business. There was no big plan to create Luxury Market Branding. It came about when my network found out I was moving on from the vineyard, and many brands voiced their need for my marketing and branding savvy within their companies. I didn’t realize that I wanted my next venture to be in marketing and branding, but that was where my expertise and the needs of my network collided—it was the opportunity of the moment that made the most sense and would yield the best results.
After I sold my interest in the winery, I was ready to get out of the business world for a while and enjoy my children. But Selena Cuffe, founder of the Los Angeles–based Heritage Link Brands and one of my first clients, challenged this idea. I can clearly remember when she said to me, “What do you mean you’re just going to hang out with your kids? Absolutely not. You’ve got the chops to do something else.” So I began Luxury Market Branding. As I was growing that company, I started getting really involved in angel investing—a term meaning when someone provides capital to a start-up usually in exchange for equity in the company. I soon found myself advising a small group of start-ups in New York City.
I have always been a detail-oriented planner, with a keen eye for how my businesses should operate and improve. I’m all about efficiency in every sense of the word. I want to get it right and keep it moving so that I can tackle the next issue at hand. Then wash, rinse, and repeat until I dramatically exceed what others believed to have been possible. This personal approach makes sense when you consider that wineries are one of the top-ten most highly regulated industries in the country. I was able to fly through all the arduous paperwork and process, and I had a real skill for forming companies and overseeing logistics, management, and operations. But not only did I have the business chops required for success, I also had the right personality. If nothing else, I’m hardworking, committed, innovative, passionate, and energetic. I was the kind of person that my colleagues turned to when they faced a challenge—or found an opportunity.
That’s what led me to help begin Gen Y Capital Partners. I was extremely interested and intrigued about what was going on in the venture, start-up, and technology landscapes happening here in New York City, but also in the Silicon Valley and the rest of the country. What I found particularly intriguing about start-ups and venture funds is that the pace was completely different than what I was used to with my winery. It took my own money—money from my savings and previous investments—to get the winery up and running, and then years of waiting while I watched the grapes grow, built a building, pressed the grapes, made the wine, and then bottled it. It was a dream greatly deferred.
In contrast, technology start-ups are sprouting everywhere all the time, and they can be in business within weeks and profitable within months. This was amazing to me, and I was extremely interested. And so that deeply passionate interest in the start-up and venture world, combined with my proven business skills, led me to reconsider my knee-jerk reaction to the person who asked me if I wanted to begin a venture fund. When I took time to actually consider the possibility, I knew that this was exactly what I should do, and I changed my answer from “no” to “yes.” Soon, I was immersed in the industry and finding success pursuing my new passion. I wanted to do everything better than I had seen it done before. I thought a better way was possible.
So, yes, my life really is serendipitous, and some great opportunities have come my way, but they happen because of the way that I integrate my work life with my personal life. Consider how I started Gen Y Capital Partners. I began the fund with people I met about a year before through an entrepreneurship organization. We weren’t working together at the time, but we realized that we could start a business together and Gen Y Capital Partners was born.
After the business was up and running, I spent a long time asking myself, “Now, how exactly did that happen—how was it that the right people were all at the right place at the right time?” Now I realize that the company was no accident. I didn’t plan it, but there was some design involved. It came about because of the people I chose to surround myself with and because of the networks that I have created throughout every facet of my life.
Think about your own life for a moment, and ask yourself the following questions:
What are you doing to make your life serendipitous by design?
Who’s in your network?
Who are you having lunch with next week?
What events are you attending?
Who would you like to meet that you haven’t yet done so?
In what business networks and social circles do these people spend their time, and how can you become a part of them?
Your reputation within your network is priceless. Anyone who tells you that they don’t think about what someone else thinks of them isn’t being truthful. Opinions and impressions matter whether we like it or not.
A point worth clarifying since the term “networking” is overused and shrouded in jargon more often than not: Do not social climb; it is, generally speaking, very obvious, immature, and almost always tacky and disingenuous. However, learning to socialize intelligently will change the game of how you operate and are perceived by others. When you learn to socialize intelligently, you prove that you are thoughtful, insightful, and smart. As a result, the relationships you accumulate in your career will reflect the approach you took to nurturing and growing your network in a sincere way that provides reciprocal value.
Don’t daydream—strategize how you’re going to execute the vision of your dreams. Believe me: If I can do this, then so can you—so can anyone.
My parents set high goals for themselves. They worked hard and were very successful in their own right. But despite their success, nothing was ever handed to me—ever. My father never let me get carried away with feeling that the good life was guaranteed to me. My mother never let me show anything but grace and dignity. I have always known that anything I wanted for myself I would have to earn, the same way my parents did.
My father was a trailblazing self-made man. He was hard on me—almost as if I were the son he never had. He gave me extra homework assignments and was demonstrably unhappy when I brought home any grade less than an A—even an A–would get me into hot water. He constantly reminded me that, although my parents could afford to give me a comfortable life, there was no guarantee that I would be in this place next year, or next month, or next week. My mother epitomizes grace, tact, poise, and sophistication—she is undoubtedly the reason I was always far more sophisticated for my age than most. She taught me how to face adversity with grace.
I can still hear their words in my head, and I carry that “hard work means success” mentality with me everywhere. I have access to some of the most influential people in every industry that I care about, but I never take this access for granted. I know that I’m not one of them, at least not yet, but I’m soaking up all the knowledge and experience I can from these incredible people, so I can eventually get “there.” I’m not living in a fantasy world—I am not yet a billionaire, though this may very well be a powerful motive behind my aspirations.
It’s up to you to gain access to the resources you need by building up contacts, and strategically making specific “asks” of your network, such as for advice, support, and access, to help you get to where you want to go. Make what matters to you happen every day.
I’m not a big believer in the idea that people luck into good fortune. Sure, you can play the Powerball, and maybe you’ll win the big jackpot. However, you’ve only got a 1-in-100-million-or-so chance that you’ll hit all the
