Brian Pallas is the CEO, Chairman, and Founder of Opportunity Network. Previously, Brian worked at the Boston Consulting Group. He also gained experience in Private Equity and Investment Banking by working for three different funds and managing the sales process of two companies. Brian earned an MBA from Columbia Business School in 2014. Follow him @Brian_Pallas.
Who’s your hero? (In business, life, or both.)
Sir Terry Pratchett, a great English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works.
What’s the single best piece of business advice that helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today, and why?
Test your idea concretely. Even before writing a business plan or trying to raise capital or finding an incubator, I suggest testing the idea in a small context with known people. Try to see if it works in practice and change it according to feedback and findings. No idea is born fully and perfectly defined. Ideas can stand on their own legs only if they change the utility function of a sufficient number of stakeholders in a positive way. You need to lead these people to change their habits and adopt your idea.
We started a long way from where we are now. Without having tested and changed many things, we would not have been able to move forward, even with an outstanding amount of capital or mentorship. You have to test your idea on the field before you ask somebody to believe in it.
What’s the biggest mistake you ever made in your business, and what did you learn from it that others can learn from too?
In all honesty, I haven’t made big mistakes in business so far. This doesn’t mean that everything has gone
exactly as I had always planned — sometimes it’s been quite the opposite.
My secret has been keeping the maximum number of options open. In philosophy, when the degree of an individual’s freedom increases, so does their opportunity to see a wider variety of results. I believe the same is true for entrepreneurship and my personal life.
I believe that it’s better to have not only a Plan A but also a Plan B, C and D, even within one particular project. Obviously this requires more time and effort. But it allows you to benefit from a higher degree of freedom.
What do you do during the first hour of your business day and why?
I check emails that arrived overnight if I am in Europe and I take early morning calls with the East Coast if I am in New York. Being the CEO of a global business requires me to adapt my personal routine to travels and different
time zones. When I’m in New York, if the weather allows me, I like talking calls while walking to work
to stay healthy.
What’s your best financial/cash-flow related tip for entrepreneurs just getting started?
Test your idea even before trying to raise capital. Once you start testing, not only will you have an understanding of your product’s utility for different stakeholders, but you’ll also understand how much capital you need and what you need if for specifically.
Once you’re cash positive, track and adjust your financials regularly.
Quick: What’s ONE thing you recommend ALL aspiring or current entrepreneurs do right now to take their biz to the next level?
Talk about your business. Many people are afraid that they will have their ideas stolen if they share them with
others. On the contrary, the more you share your ideas the more people can help you realize their full potential.
If you communicate effectively, your counterpart will most likely want to collaborate with you rather than trying to compete against you.
Talking about your business is the key to finding people who want to work with you, provide you with capital, and use your service. And don’t underestimate anyone and any situation — sometimes the best business opportunities come when you least expect them.
What’s your definition of success? How will you know when you’ve finally “succeeded” in your business?
Success is a context-related concept. An idea is only a winning one if it serves someone’s purpose. We know that humans react according to utility functions. If an idea doesn’t add value, it won’t work.
If you look at the whole concept from this perspective, you shouldn’t focus on success itself but on the concept of utility: it’s inherent to the social structure of a country’s economic system and people’s habits. Once your idea creates (or adjusts) a system in a way that adds value, you’ll be successful.
