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“All businesses are people businesses.” Bob Park, President & CEO, Fincad

Bob Park is an entrepreneur who has overcome numerous challenges and changes in the twenty-five years since he co-founded Fincad. Bob and his original partner started the business in 1990 in the early stages of the modern over-the-counter financial derivatives business. Coming from the brokerage industry, they saw that there was a tremendous imbalance between what the derivatives experts in the big banks knew and what their clients, mainly non-financial companies, knew. As a result, the corporate treasurers and CFOs of those customer organizations were making costly mistakes or even being cheated. Bob and his partner set out to level the playing field by providing the customers of the banks with the knowledge and technology needed to deal in the derivatives markets in an informed way. Bob started with almost no money and has weathered stormy periods to reinvent himself and his company.

For Bob, it has been an amazing ride. After almost twenty-five years in business, he continues to change both himself and his business. Bob is in the middle of numerous changes and is hopeful that they will produce amazing results. No matter how it turns out, I learned this from him:

1. It takes perseverance to last over the long term. Even when Bob and his team were uncertain about what to do next, they went forward and tried something new, pushing through their uncertainties.
2. Markets change—you have to be prepared to change with them.
3. Bob has the humility to admit that he doesn’t know it all. He brought in outside expertise and took it on the chin when the analysis included mistakes in his own decisions.
4. The growth of Fincad highlights how Bob realizes that what got them to where they are today is not what will take them to the next level. He is fearless about bringing in others to elevate his and the company’s strategy and performance.

As entrepreneurs we all have much to learn from Bob’s experience. Growing a business requires that we look at ourselves and change the way we make decisions.

These insights were taken from the Entrepreneur chapter of my book Wind In Your Sails: Vital Strategies That Accelerate Your Entrepreneurial Growth. Learn more at windinyoursails.coachdjgreer.com.