Savvy's Resolute Adventures

Resolute Adventures: Endurance Entrepreneurs

By Grace W. Ueng
Endurance Entrepreneurs

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster,
they have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill. - Muhammad Ali

Henry Kaestner, Co-founder and CEO of Bandwidth.com, whose Co-founder, Chairman, and President, David Morken competed in Kona, states for him there is just the right balance, “While I’m fortunate to work and train with a phenomenal endurance athlete, I’m not at the level where work would hold back my ambitions for mega stardom..I just don't have that opportunity and therefore I don't have that tension. I find that a long bike ride can release pent up stress that comes with being the final point of escalation for business challenges.”

Interesting training for busy business travelers include Bergeron’s running of stairs every other day for 90 minutes – “all you need is an iPod and a stairwell in a high-rise.” He comments that this is great training for the Double Dipsea adventure race in Sausalito.

How long do these entrepreneurs hope to pursue endurance sports and which will last longer? Bergeron praises a 90-year man, a former Boston Marathoner, who he sees on his step run in Boston. “He doesn’t run the steps anymore, but he carries a backpack filled with weights…I hope to follow in his footsteps”… I think he means literally!

While some think their bodies will give out before their brains and others hope to pursue their endurance activities even more often when their entrepreneurism streaks end, still others are like Wuerch who says “I plan on being active and being an entrepreneur the rest of my life.”

Agasi who started racing in marathons when he turned 41 recounts, “My mom had just been diagnosed with cancer and that made me decide I needed to change my lifestyle to not only cook and eat healthy but also to start acting and being healthy…I was literally running for my life.”

Morken, who started his first company in middle school and started triathlons while in the United States Marine Corp a decade ago, precisely states, “I expect both pursuits to die with me simultaneously.” Not a surprising response from the first overall finisher from North Carolina in the 2005 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

www.resoluteventures.com

 

Resolute Adventures: Endurance Entrepreneurs

By Grace W. Ueng
Endurance Entrepreneurs

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster,
they have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill. - Muhammad Ali

Individually, entrepreneurial startups and endurance sports each take a large investment of time. Together, does one get hurt by the other? When asked if endurance pursuits hinder or promote his entrepreneurial endeavors, Ryan Wuerch commented, “My physical training has positively influenced my entrepreneurial endeavors by creating in me a confidence, energy, and discipline far stronger than what they were before I began training.”

Przybocki believes that his endurance pursuits motivate his staff - when he started riding his bike to work, it encouraged other people to ride as well (either for commuting or otherwise), creating a healthier workplace.

Wuerch is leading several athletes from his company to form “Team Motricity” for the LA Triathlon– just a few days before one of their industry’s largest trade shows, to be held in LA. “I think that the excitement and camaraderie generated by the triathlon will be a great start for the show.”

While endurance pursuits certainly demand time away from entrepreneurial endeavors, Bergeron believes there is a symbiotic ‘momentum’ effect between the two which more than makes up for the time ‘lost’ and therefore makes him more effective and efficient overall.

www.resoluteventures.com

Resolute Adventures: Endurance Entrepreneurs

By Grace W. Ueng
Endurance Entrepreneurs

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster,
they have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill. - Muhammad Ali

Austin entrepreneur Kevin Przybocki, co-founder of Anue Systems, makes a profound statement that I have also observed from the behavior of my bay area, Boston, and RTP entrepreneurial colleagues -- “It’s not for the fame, money or health benefits. There are plenty of other ways to make money and to get in shape. For these activities it has more to do with challenging oneself, reaching goals, and achieving things that are personally satisfying. In both cases, it is a way of life, and a mind set, rather than an event. ‘It's in your blood’ to be an entrepreneur or an endurance athlete.”

All the entrepreneurial athletes I interviewed, like me, don’t stop – we are all energizer bunnies.

Bryan Bergeron, President of Archetype Technologies, who serves on the medical advisory board of client Virtual Heroes, and on the faculty of the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences Technology program adds this important note -- “Endurance sports require the ability to work alone as well as within a group.” Team work certainly is critical at successful ventures and where would Lance be without the strategic peloton drafting of the Discovery Channel Team? Cohesion of teammates can make or break a successful finish.

www.resoluteventures.com

 

 

Resolute Adventures: Correlation Between Successful Entrepreneurs and Endurance Athletes

By Grace W. Ueng
as published in Endurance Magazine
Endurance Entrepreneurs

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster,
they have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill. - Muhammad Ali

Think back to statistics class and the concept of the correlation coefficient - we explore the R² between successful entrepreneurs and successful endurance athletes. While hard core statistics show that the odds are against accomplishing either if “success” is measured by generating millions in an IPO or being a top finisher at Kona, I had the chance to interview  entrepreneurs who are very successful in their entrepreneurial pursuits and when you layer on top their endurance accomplishments, we would all agree they are simply amazing.

While we cannot conclude there is a scientific causal relationship between successful entrepreneurs and endurance athletes, there is no doubt that similar characteristics are embodied in both classes of individuals: discipline, extreme drive, and vision.

“Successful entrepreneurs and athletes must have a vision – and the dedication and drive to make that vision a reality,” comments Ryan Wuerch, Chairman and CEO of Motricity, “As an entrepreneur and an athlete you face challenges and a level of intensity that sometimes seem too great to overcome, but in both cases, you push through.”

Chef Sarig Agasi knows the recipe – he takes his time in the kitchen at Zely & Ritz named by Organic Style as one of the Top 20 Organic Restaurants in America, but not on the road. His best inventions, including special athlete menus, come to mind while training to break 3:00 in the next Boston Marathon.

www.resoluteventures.com