Mentors and advisors are invaluable business heroes

Where have all the business heroes gone? Not the captains of industry, but the champions of tomorrow’s business leaders.

We like to talk about the rock-star CEOs and technology whizzes taking their companies to new heights. Yet, in almost all cases, these people will gladly tell you about their mentors and advisors.

These are vital players that keep young companies on track and moving forward. However, they offer more than an ear, advice, and encouragement. They are the behind-the-scenes guides that help entrepreneurs sidestep the potholes and make the connections to others that make a difference.

One of the quickest ways to reach a goal is to piggyback on what other have already spent years learning how to do and succeed at -- or avoid because of past failures.

A great business hero genuinely cares about people and the success of their venture. They aren’t looking for glory. Instead, they tell entrepreneurs what they need to hear, act as connectors, and build programs that offer specific insights based on real world situations.

It’s the education and network you can’t get in school.

Two unsung business heroes among us are Lee May and J.J. Roberts.

Lee May, Executive Director of GAIN.

Look up the definitions of “dynamo” and “inspiration” as well as “visionary” and you’ll have a better idea of who Lee May is and her approach to helping startups thrive.

After living in Italy and traveling the world, she decided to come back home to her Florida roots. Then, in 2003 she rounded up a handful of businesspeople and investors to create Emergent Growth, a member-managed angel investment group, to fund technology startups.

May is a real estate entrepreneur with a passion for breaking down the barriers young companies face. Her idea was to bridge the gap between bootstrap funding and later stage venture capital investing.

With May as chairman, Emergent became one of the premier angel funds in Florida and the Southeast. They’ve received over 5,000 business plans and funded many startups, some of which have gone on to achieve great success such as AxoGen, a biomedical company.

“I learnt a lot about investing in early stage tech companies and how money was only part of the equation”, said May. “Entrepreneurs with promising businesses need a great deal of support in so many ways. Having a solid strategy, clearly articulating their company’s positioning, marketing and sales, contacts for partnerships and vendors, and how to pitch to potential customers and investors. That requires assistance from the greater business community.“

May decided she needed to do more and in 2005 joined GAIN as a volunteer advocate and mentor for entrepreneurs who want to change the world. GAIN, was a fledgling non-profit when May joined -- today, under May’s leadership, GAIN is now the oldest and largest network for innovators in the state of Florida with more than 3,600 members and a stated purpose to “Inspire. Connect. Educate”

“It's really rewarding," May said of the tremendous amount of hours and energy she devotes. “It’s actually a blast to mentor and showcase companies with programs such as Kauffman Foundation’s 1 Million Cups as well as countless workshops and networking events.”

Although based in Gainesville, GAIN has members statewide and supports the Startup Quest program throughout Florida with recent sessions in Tampa and Melbourne.

May also helped drive the effort to launch GEM (Gainesville Entrepreneur Month) showcasing events throughout October collaboratively with other like-minded business organizations including incubators. The highlight of GEM is the GAIN-SharpSpring ShootOut Business Pitch Competition with sixteen early stage companies given the opportunity to present their business plans to a panel of investors and successful entrepreneurs.

“I feel like the head cheerleader,” May said. “Yet, it’s not just encouraging innovators and startups to succeed, but also constantly motivating established business and community leaders to get involved, to support and mentor our future trailblazers.”

J.J. Roberts, Director TEC Garage

Cheerleading seems to be a common trait among those who are dedicated to mentoring and advising scrappy young ventures. J.J. Roberts, a native Floridian and serial entrepreneur, was a scholarship athlete at Georgia Tech in pole vaulting and became a cheerleader for his final two years, earning 6 varsity athletic letters.

After earning his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management degree, he then went on to graduate with a Master of Science in Decision Science from Georgia State University. Roberts was now off to the entrepreneurial races.

Three of his startups were tech ventures, each with successful exits. Well-know industry leaders including Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark, and 3M still use their solutions.

Then Roberts decided he wanted to try his hand in the restaurant business.

“My first restaurant venture had many ups and downs,” said Roberts. “Wow, did I learn a lot. I realized that three successful tech companies do not equate to an easy restaurant startup and I don’t know everything. The lessons were painful and we closed up.”

But, Roberts doesn’t give up easily and tried another new restaurant, applying what he leaned. This time it paid off with another successful exit.

Roberts turned his attention to helping other startups. Sill in Atlanta, he began mentoring and coaching at Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center, a startup technology business incubator. With a fresh perspective on the needs of entrepreneurs, Roberts agreed to participate in the prestigious Y-Combinator Accelerator in Silicon Valley with one of the incubator companies.

“I was hooked,” Roberts said. “I realized that working with these startups was exciting and very rewarding when they succeed. It’s like the Goosebumps you get when teaching your children to ride a bike and suddenly they take off on their own for the first time.”

Tonya Elmore, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, recruited Roberts to run their client and mentors program, where he’s been since 2013. They and the staff worked together to open the TEC Garage, a non-profit business incubator, in downtown St. Petersburg with a new approach to accelerating entrepreneurial success. “TEC” stands for Technology and Entrepreneurship Center.

The Tampa Bay area has many business incubators for startups, and when asked what’s different about the TEC Garage, Roberts said, “It’s the only organization where two things come together in a personalized and hands-on setting. First, we get intimately involved with each startup and their team. The mentors and I feel emotionally attached and are all-in for these wonderful businesses. The other thing is that we don’t lecture them and talk theory. Our mentors are ‘been there, done that’ people. We ask lots of questions and then roll up our sleeves and jump in to help.”

On top of all of that, Roberts stressed that it’s important to get the community involved. TEC Garage works with business leaders and has monthly programs and events for Tampa Bay entrepreneurs such as Tech Talk, StartUp Xchange, and Co.Starters.

Lee May and J.J. Roberts seem to be the perfect business heroes. They are highly passionate about helping others, inspiring, and successful entrepreneurs. And based on how well I’ve gotten to know both, humble too.

These are just two of the unsung business leaders among us.

We need more cheerleaders in our communities -- people that provide practical advice and help startups make the connections they need.

Who are the business heroes in your community?

Ron Stein is founder of More Customers Academy, helping business leaders build strategic messaging and positioning that cuts through the competitive noise to grow revenue. Ron has developed his own highly successful 5-step Stand Out & Sell More approach to winning new customers as a result of his twenty-five years of business development, marketing, and selling experiences. He works with a range of businesses, from startups to large corporations across industries including technology and healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services and banking. Ron conducts workshops, leads company meetings, offers keynote talks, and consults. He can be reached at 727-398-1855 or by email.