Gary is what the noted author Daniel Pink calls a boundary crosser, a person that has found success in multiple careers and industries. He has been a Lecturer, SBDC Business Advisor, private CEO Coach and Founder of a nonprofit, The Polk Institute Foundation, and author.
Gary started teaching in 1991. He teaches Business Management, Ethics & Entrepreneurship. Gary has also coached women’s and girls’ basketball at both the college and high school level. Gary hasa M.S CSUDH, plus a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, L.A.
Gary is an avid reader. In 1995 he started a co-ed book club that still thrives today. His favorite genre is historical fiction. He’s a true Los Angeles sports fanatic for the Lakers, Dodgers, and Rams, USC Football, and UCLA Basketball. He is married, has 3 adult kids, 5 grandkids, and 2 dogs. He resides in the South Bay Region of Los Angeles.
What is the Polk Institute (Pi) Foundation all about?
We are a nonprofit training organization that targets underrepresented Black and Brown Founders and provides a master-level practitioner-driven training in social entrepreneurship. We are unique in that we provide a 3-Phase program…1) Training Academy; Accelerator Launchpad, & Access-To-Capital, all on a Tuition-Free basis to our Founders. All of our Workshops are offered on a virtual basis. We develop Fundable CEOs. Our overarching goal is to close the wealth and income gap through social entrepreneurship.
Our mission is “serving social entrepreneurs to help make the world a better place.”
Our vision is “to Launch 1,000 social entrepreneur—SHIPS by 2032.”
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
With all the negativity that has come from the COVID19 pandemic, Pi intended to be a positive force born out of C19. Also, according to US News and World report, the national Student debt is $1.6 Trillion as of March 2020. However, the 5 Military Academies offer their education on a Tuition-Free basis, paid for by the US Government. Pi offers our training program on a Tuition-Free basis, and we are asking the Government, Corporations, Foundations, and private donors to provide scholarships so that we can offer our training program on a tuition-free basis. Pi is the culmination of 30-years of work that started in 1991 when I taught my first college course, Introduction to Business, in the Minority Business Program at CSUN. CSUN targeted Black and Latino students to major in Business. Pi targets Black and Brown Foundersto provide underrepresented people with resources and training that they normally would not have access to.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
Great question…we call it becoming a Fundable CEO.
1) Able to articulate a compelling, impactful, and exciting vision;
2) Assemble a Founding Team including a CFO, CMO, COO/HR, & CTO. Entrepreneurship is a team sport.
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
Our first cohort class had 25 Founders with mostly startup and early-stage companies. Our second cohort class will have 50 – 75 Founders, and expand to include existing Legacy Businesses, Veterans, and Nonprofits.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
Without the Pandemic, Pi would not be possible. The Lockdown made Zoom a household word, and the technology made teaching on a virtual basis very easy. Pi now offers 100% of our Training Workshops on a virtual basis. This eliminated the need and overhead associated with providing live classes. It also opened our potential Founders to be located worldwide rather than just local. Our current trainees are nationwide.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
We offer a 3-phase program on a tuition-free basis. We start with training and technical assistance driven by practitioners, then we add our Accelerator LaunchPad driven by mentors, finally, we provide Access-To-Capital by vetting our clients for 66-weeks.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
1) We went through two CMOs before we got it right. We learned the importance of hiring slow, firing fast.
2) Our selection process needs to be tougher. Because they did not have skin in the game, some quit too quickly.
3) Improve our orientation by focusing on NOT quitting until the end of the training program. We need to emphasize having perseverance and the resiliency to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
Thus far, word-of-mouth referrals was our key to success. We assembled our Founding Team and the vast majority of our Cohort 1 class through networking and referrers. After one year of operation, we still have not met some of our key people on a live basis.
Social Media to become a bigger factor in our second year of operation.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
Managing my personal time. I teach at least four university classes per semester with about 160 students on average. I serve as an SBDE Advisor with about 15-20 clients each. My teaching and advising style is very engaging. Because teaching is my true passion, this becomes less of a challenge, than a joy.
What was your first business idea and what did you do with it?
In the early 1990s, I tried to start an insurance brokerage firm that sold group health insurance to business owners. It was a very good idea, but at the wrong time due to the mini-recession. I quickly found that small business owners who considered providing employees with insurance was a luxury item during a down economy. Great idea, wrong time.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
Leading a volunteer army is not always easy. More patience is required, improved communication is mandatory. Praise and positive recognition are great motivators. Positivity is critical to long-term relationships and team-building. Keep the carrot and throw away the stick! You must be both authentic and show vulnerability, and that becomes a strength.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
The best thing that I did was recruit a diverse team of dedicated people. This practice would not change as entrepreneurship is a team sport, without a doubt. We started with two founding members, grew to 11 founding Team members to 18 dedicated people on our Leadership Team (formerly our Founding Team).
What are the top 3 online tools and resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
- Zoom. ALL classes presented on a Zoom Basis. All Team Meetings presented via Zoom.
- Slack, used as our primary communication tool, replacing text messaging and emails. It took awhile before everyone bought in to this relatively new technology.
- Calendly is a great tool to schedule meetings from a 1:1 basis to a team basis.
In summary, our original intent was to be an innovation-driven enterprise to reduce our overhead expenses and increase our productivity.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
Use Zoom for meetings, conducting Workshops.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
- “Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup” by Bill Aulet. This is my go-to marketing book. An amazing read.
- In lieu of a podcast, a second book would be “The Ideal Team Player” by Patrick Lencioni. This is my go to book for building a Founding Team. Three key concepts introduced are Humble, Hungry, and Smart.
- In lieu of an online course, my third book is “The E-Myth, Revisited” by Michael E. Gerber. This book first explains why most small businesses fail, then focuses on the Technician vs. the Entrepreneur mentality, then the system is the solution.
As mentioned earlier, I am an avid reader. I could offer another dozen books, but I will not, at least not at this time.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
Because Pi has been 30-years in the making, our vision is extremely clear. Instead of problems keeping me up at night, building Pi keeps me up at night.
What is your favorite quote?
“Live as if you were going to die tomorrow, Learn as if you were going to live forever.”
– Gandhi
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
Pursue your passion! Entrepreneurship is a failure sport. Cannot be about making money. Money is NOT enough.
Who should we interview next and why?
My Co-Founder/CFO, Michael Manahan. He was the first person that I called after I came up with the vision for Pi. I knew that I needed help as this project was too large for me to accomplish alone! He is a numbers guy, a conservative, but shares my passion for Pi.
What is your definition of success?
The peace of mind that comes with knowing that you did your best, and did not hold back on any level.
How do you personally overcome fear?
By walking through my fear. Knowing that if I fail, I will use it as a learning opportunity.
How can readers get in touch with you?
Email me at gpolk@polk-ise.com; Go to our website at academy-polk-ise.org
Founder Interview: David Ciccarelli – How to Overcome Fear & The Definition of Success
