Create an Advisory Board of Innovators
September 28, 2015
Hosted by Brendan Anderson and Jeffrey Kadlic
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Guest Information
Episode Description
An important element of a great business many overlook is assembling a diverse advisory board, committed to developing your organization and exchanging knowledge. The right people bring innovative ideas, create opportunities and help a company move forward faster toward its stated objectives (or ones they didn’t even think possible). In fact, having the right people involved can be more important than having capital, because good ideas and good companies can attract low-cost capital. And it is important to note that an advisory board is different than a board of directors, focused solely on governance. The advisory members bring experience and views not found within the business, who are prepared to challenge the expectations, capabilities and vision of the organization. We are thrilled to welcome back Jeff DeGraff, the Dean of Innovation, to help us explore this topic in depth, providing suggestions for attracting those individuals that will push your organization to new heights.
The Second Stage
Archives Available on VoiceAmerica Business Channel
The Second Stage serves as an entrepreneurial forum to exchange ideas and best practices amongst peers. While each business is unique, most companies face the same obstacles on their path to success. The topics and trends addressed within this community of like-minded individuals will include financials and reporting, valuation and value creation, succession planning, human resources, technology, insurance and benefits, as well as many others. The show will be delivered from the perspective of the hosts who view opportunities from both an entrepreneurial and institutional private investor perspective.
The Second Stage also shines a light on the significant impact that entrepreneurs and their growing companies have on creating a vibrant economic base.
Brendan Anderson and Jeffrey Kadlic
Brendan Anderson has spent the past 20 years as an investor and manager of businesses ranging from manufacturing to financial services. Fascinated by the capital gap within the small business growth sector, he rapidly came to the conclusion that providing best practices in addition to growth capital could consistently produce great results for the management, employees, communities, and investors. He is an active member and mentor within Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and is continuously entrenched in its culture of best practices.
Jeffrey Kadlic spent the first 10 years of his career making private investments in an institutional setting. Early success was achieved in large part to an entrepreneurial mindset within a corporate culture. While practicing as an institutional investor, working in and around dynamic small businesses, he recognized that growing small businesses needed more than just an influx of cash to scale operations. Leveraging corporate practices within an entrepreneurial setting, in addition to the capital, was the best way to achieve great performance.
Brendan and Jeffrey are both alumni of Crain’s Forty under 40 and E and Y Entrepreneur of the Year finalists.
Connected by their passion for growing small companies, in 2005, Anderson and Kadlic partnered to co-found Evolution Capital Partners, focused exclusively on advising and investing growth capital in Second Stage Companies. Evolution and its companies recognized on the Inc.500 5000.
