Category: Entrepreneurship
11 posts categorized as "Entrepreneurship"
The American Dream, Through the Life of Geremia Papa
July 18, 2019
This is my grandfather, Geremia (“Jerry”) Papa. He arrived in the United States in 1920, at the age of 18, from his homeland of Italy. My mother assures me that “Papa” is his real last name, but I’ve always fantasized that it was bestowed upon him when he was recorded coming through the turnstiles at…
Scott Belsky’s “The Messy Middle”: A Must Read for All Breakaway Advisors and Entrepreneurs Alike
February 21, 2019
Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, investor, best-selling author, MBA Harvard graduate, and one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. That being said, I had never heard of him until he was doing a promotional tour for “The Messy Middle” last year. I was struck by his premise that entrepreneurs love to recount…
From Startup to Street Cred: (Re)State Your Mission
February 12, 2019
In a recent conversation with an advisor who had launched his RIA the same year we launched PFI Advisors, we were discussing our business paths and how they have somewhat paralleled each other. This advisor participated in his own version of a Breakaway 3.0 in 2015, in which he left an RIA to start his…
Calling All Misfits, Dreamers, and Rugged Individualists
October 4, 2018
PFI Advisors has not been around long enough for me to start giving entrepreneurial advice, but the entrepreneurial conversation does come up quite often in our day-to-day discussions with breakaway advisors thinking of starting their own RIA. As we have written in the past (see: Top 3 Questions Every Breakaway Advisor Asks), there are many…
The Age-Old Debate: Profit vs. Growth – What’s More Valuable?
September 25, 2018
At the Echelon Deal and Deal Makers conference in Newport Beach earlier this month, several sessions tackled the big question: If I’m looking to sell my firm, what is more important to a buyer – my growth rate, or my bottom line profits? From a deal makers’ perspective, I think the answer is probably both….
Mark Tibergien’s Latest Book Could Put RIA Consultants Out of Business
March 4, 2018
As a consultant to both breakaway advisors and RIAs, some may question my title to this article, and others may question my timing, as “The Enduring Advisory Firm: How to Serve Your Clients More Effectively and Operate More Efficiently” was released over a year ago. To the first point, any RIA struggling with profitability in…
Coming from a Millennial: Millennials Want a Mentor and #Values
December 16, 2016
PFI Advisors’ Analyst, Anna Maria Garcia, suggests Millennials seek a mentor that leads with values in the beginning development of their career. “Millennials and their entry into the workforce” has been a hot topic as of late. Plenty of articles have been written about what millennials should do, how they’re different, how you should approach…
“Lean In?” How About Simply “Don’t Lay Down”
October 11, 2016
Sheryl Sandberg’s 2013 book kicked off a public discussion on what it means to be a successful woman in the workplace, and it provided strategies and motivation for women to get ahead in their careers. More specifically to the financial services industry, Sallie Krawcheck has done some amazing work with her company, Ellevest, and has…
Build It For Greatness – Not Just To Sell It
July 8, 2016
We often hear from industry experts that the end game for entrepreneurs is to build their firms so they can monetize and sell them down the road as quickly as possible. Perhaps these “experts” are missing the point? Consider this excellent article by Ted Rubin: “Build it to be Great – Not to Sell It”. He…
How My Special Needs Daughter Has Made Me a Better Entrepreneur
May 12, 2016
My wife and I launched PFI Advisors on September 25th, 2015. One month and one day later, our 6-month old daughter, Layla, had her first seizure. She was admitted into the hospital the next day, October 27th, and stayed there for 6 weeks. It turns out that her brain never fully developed, which has led…
