Starting a new business is no easy task. For first-time entrepreneurs, the stress of encountering unforeseen hurdles without ready solutions can be overwhelming. According to Sean Frank, founder of Cloud Equity Group, finding an experienced mentor to guide you is key to launching a successful business. As Sean puts it, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”
When Sean was twelve, the internet was just becoming accessible in households and the demand for individuals and small businesses to develop an online presence began to appear. Sean remembers, “I developed an interest in coding and quickly taught myself how to make websites. This led to the launch of my very first business venture — a white-glove service hosting provider that created and maintained websites for individuals and small businesses.”
Sean Frank caught the tail end of the dot-com boom and his business quickly grew. In high school, Sean connected with the founder and former CEO of Monster.com, Andy McKelvey. Andy became Sean’s mentor and helped him propel his business. “Before Andy, I had no formal business education — it’s not something that you really learn about in middle and high school. Andy taught me how to turn a hobby into a legitimate business that was positioned for scale.” Over the next few years, with Andy’s assistance, Sean’s business grew into an online organization providing services across several verticals.
In 2013, Sean founded Cloud Equity Group, an investment management firm that specializes in sectors Sean had pursued for over a decade. Many of the core competencies Sean Frank learned from his mentor play a part in his company’s operational and execution strategies today.
“It’s cliché, but true. Mentors excel where formal education often falls short. Nothing beats experience in running a business.” It’s hard to quantify the value an experienced mentor brings to starting a business. “Many people incorrectly assume that, because they’ve worked for a similar business, they know how to start their own, but this couldn’t be further from the truth,” shares Sean. The differences between being an employee and an employer is vast. Only people with experience in starting and leading a successful business in a similar industry can say that they know what lies ahead. When a person who starts a new business isn’t a veteran entrepreneur, a mentor is key.