Scott McCoy is the Managing Partner and General Counsel of Cold Springs Partners (CSP) in Denver, Colorado.
Prior to co-founding CSP in 2016, Scott served businesses across industries for two decades. He provided them with legal assistance for various business processes and M&A.
Among his specialties are Regulatory, Legal Department Management, Compliance, Risk Management, and Commercial Contracts.
In the past, he worked with ExxonMobil, Thales USA, Siemens Government Technologies, and the Denver International Airport. These experiences gave him a deep understanding of what it takes to run a business and the many challenges that they face.
Now, Scott is leveraging his expertise to help CSP achieve its objective of assisting startups in reaching their full potential.
CSP provides legal services and assistance to early-stage startups and high-growth companies. It helps entrepreneurs navigate the world of business as they move forward. It is also interested in short-term market strategies and hotel investments.
What is Cold Springs Partners all about?
CSP is a company that specializes in funding and assisting startups as they move from early-stage to high-growth. We help entrepreneurs navigate the complex world of business and propel them forward.
We’re additionally looking at enhancing our investment portfolio right now. As a result, we’ll be concentrating on short-term market strategies and hospitality investments.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I’ve been working as a lawyer for about 25 years now. I’ve worked with big companies like ExxonMobil, Thales USA, and Siemens Government Technologies.
I am proud to say that I have a lot of experience in different aspects of business and the intersection of business and law, including M&A, regulatory compliance, and risk management.
About six years ago, I and a few of my early colleagues decided to start our own firm. We saw a lot of potential in both the legal and business consulting worlds, as well as in investments of various sizes across a number of asset types, which motivated us to start our own company. In addition, we wanted to create a space where we could use our knowledge and experience to help startups grow.
That’s how Cold Springs Partners came to be.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
I think the biggest thing that sets us apart is our focus on startups and other early-stage companies. We have a lot of experience across different industries, which gives us a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities that these businesses face.
We’re also really passionate about what we do and we want to see our clients succeed. We’re not just looking to make a quick buck – we want to build long-term relationships and help our clients grow.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
Honestly, it’s been difficult. The pandemic has forced us to change the way we operate, and many of our clients have been negatively affected by the lockdown.
But we’re trying to adapt and be as flexible as possible. We’re offering more virtual services and working with our clients to find new ways to help them succeed.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I’m learning a lot about adaptability and flexibility. In today’s environment, it’s more important than ever to be able to change and adjust on the fly.
I think this is an important lesson for all businesses, but especially for startups. Startups need to be able to pivot quickly and adapt to their surroundings in order to succeed.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the most successful form of marketing will vary from business to business. However, I would say that the most important thing is to be consistent with your marketing efforts. You need to make sure you’re regularly reaching out to your target audience and promoting your brand.
However, if I must single out one that has been very beneficial to us, it’s word-of-mouth. We’ve discovered that our clients are more inclined to recommend us to their friends and colleagues if they are pleased with our services.
We’ve also discovered that being active on social media is a wonderful approach to get new potential customers. We’re always trying to find new and innovative ways to market our business.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
I think the biggest challenge we face is that the legal industry is very traditional and slow to change. We’re constantly trying to find new and creative ways to do things, but it can be difficult to get people on board with our vision.
But we’re persistent, and we continue to strive to be the best in everything we do. Our clients appreciate our dedication to innovation, and I think that’s one of the things that set us apart from our competitors.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
Our clients. We’re driven by the success of our clients, and we’re motivated by the impact we have on their businesses.
We want to see our clients succeed, and we’ll continue to work hard to help them grow.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
Apple Notes and Microsoft OneNote are my two favorite tools to stay organized and productive. I use them to keep track of my to-do lists, ideas, meeting notes, and anything else I need to remember. Simple but very useful!
I believe that the key to productivity is organization and keeping everything in one place. These two tools help me do that, and I would highly recommend them to anyone who struggles with staying organized.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
I would say the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur are:
- Creativity – You need to be able to think outside the box and come up with new and innovative ideas.
- Persistence – Starting a business is hard work, and there will be times when you want to give up. But if you’re persistent, you’ll eventually find success.
- Flexibility – Things will never go exactly as planned, so you need to be able to adjust and pivot when necessary.
If you started your business again, what things would you do differently?
If I could go back, I don’t think I would change anything major. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I think we’re on the right track.
Of course, there are always things that could have been done better, but that’s true of any business. I think the important thing is to learn from your mistakes and continue moving forward.
Furthermore, a lot of missed opportunity usually occurs because people are afraid to take the first step. Starting is hard and, yes, there will be many challenges along the way. However, I believe that the greatest thing you can do is just jump in and get going. It’s all too easy to become overwhelmed by the minor elements and attempt to perfect everything before you launch, but that’s usually not necessary.
The world is constantly changing, and new businesses are always popping up. If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. So, don’t be afraid to take the first step and just get started.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
Assuming I already had a laptop and unlimited wifi, I would spend $1000 on marketing. I would use that money to create some kind of online presence, whether it be through social media or a website. Then, I would use that platform to reach out to potential customers and promote my business.
I believe that marketing is the most important aspect of any business, and I would use that money to make sure my business was visible to as many people as possible. We see all the time companies with a great product, particularly great technology, that fail because they cannot get it to market successfully.
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
There are a few pieces of advice that I would give to new entrepreneurs starting out:
- 1. Believe in yourself – Starting a business is hard, and there will be times when you doubt your ability to succeed. But if you believe in yourself, you’ll be able to overcome any obstacle.
- 2. Be persistent – You’ll face a lot of challenges along the way, but if you’re persistent, you’ll eventually find success.
- 3. Be flexible – Things will never go exactly as planned, so you need to be able to adjust and pivot when necessary.
- 4. Get started – The world is constantly changing, and new businesses are always popping up. If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. So, don’t be afraid to take the first step and just get started.
- 5. Focus on marketing – I believe that marketing is the most important aspect of any business, and I would use that money to make sure my business was visible to as many people as possible.
What is your favorite quote?
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – Steve Jobs
I love this quote because it’s so true. You never know where your life is going to take you, but if you trust in yourself and have faith, things will work out in the end.
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