Many of us don’t have the opportunity to meet a highly successful entrepreneur in real life, and it can seem that these individuals are superhuman compared to the milestones that your average person achieves in one lifetime. However, one look at the background and career trajectory of Glen Wakeman tells a different story, as his outlook on business is structured and aggressive yet at the same time very human.
Currently acting as CEO at LaunchPad Holdings, a joint venture he co-founded in 2015, Wakeman is focusing his efforts on giving startups the tools needed to thrive. A look at his past endeavors clearly illustrates his expertise in all things corporate.
A Solid Background
Glen graduated from the University of Scranton in 1981 with a degree in Economics and Finance and received his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1993. Although he’s held a range of professional positions throughout the years, his least favorite but most memorable being a bathroom janitor at an auto parts store.
Planning For Success
As a flourishing businessman in his own right, Wakeman questioned why he was seeing so many startups try and fail within the last handful of years. Knowing how to navigate nearly any business problem thrown his way, he leveraged his skillset to create LaunchPad Holdings. The company offers a software product that allows business owners the advantage of tapping into Glen’s business knowledge and creating a plan of their own.
Not only does LaunchPad Holdings help to turn ideas into actionable plans, but it can also assist with generating the funds needed to execute a startup’s business model. The key to the company’s success? Both Glen and his business partner use basic guiding principles like creating outlines to bring an idea to life, utilizing their sense of curiosity, and continuously assessing decisions from a value proposition standpoint.
A Winning Mindset
It’s easy to look at Glen’s track record and understand how he’s reached such high levels of success, but the principles he uses day in and day out aren’t overly complicated. When assessing an organization that is in need of help, he follows a five point mindset:
- Ideas are one thing, but executing them takes an entirely different kind of strategy. Part of what LaunchPad Holdings offers is the ability to map out an idea and transform it into a viable business plan.
- Glen relies on a risk management formula that he’s developed over the years, ensuring that restructuring an organization doesn’t jeopardize the success of individual employees.
- Part of Wakeman’s appeal comes from his ability to communicate ideas with ease. He delivers enthusiasm and honesty when discussing ways to make a vision become a reality.
- For many, change is hard, but it’s an important tenet of Glen Wakeman’s process when first working with a new organization. He focuses on those in leadership positions, and while these individuals may be resistant to changing processes and procedures, he’s able to outline how these modifications will pay off in the long run.
- By developing corporate governance procedures that highlight areas of improvement, Wakeman can stand by from a supportive vantage point while companies encounter a natural transition phase.
Looking Toward The Future
With such a strong emphasis placed on his strategy mindset, Glen finds that the rapid changes our economy is facing and how technology plays a role is a key area to understand in order to be successful. Relying on problem-solving and innovation, he believes that adhering to a set of core business values will help anyone succeed no matter what changes come their way.
Teamwork, preparation, and discipline all top the list of attributes that Glen Wakeman himself possesses and are qualities that he believes will help any entrepreneur weather the challenges that new businesses face. It doesn’t hurt to go back to the basics either.
If Glen had any regrets about his past business decisions, staying in touch with all the individuals who crossed his path comes to his mind. It’s these relationships, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem at the time, that can change the outcome of a funding decision or how large a customer base becomes. Networking is of course now easier than ever before with today’s social tools, and it’s something that Wakeman stresses.
Despite the strong qualities of leading by example, hard work, and integrity above all else, there’s a softer side to Glen Wakeman as well. He sees the value in humor and teaches that honest communication can go a long way. For this ultra successful entrepreneur, it’s the little things that make all the difference.
More information about Glen Wakeman at https://phillypurge.com/2017/09/13/glen-wakeman-shares-insight/
