PART 2: Learning from great leaders is one of the ways that Scott Andrew has been successful
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second article in a three-part series spotlighting Scott Andrew, a Johnson City resident who has started more companies than anyone we have interviewed in nine years of writing and publishing teknovation.biz.)
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
Johnson City resident Scott Andrew says he enrolled in college with the goal of becoming a doctor. By his junior year, he knew chemistry was not for him, so he switched to business.
After graduating from North Carolina State University with a B.A. in Business Management and Economics, the Asheville native joined what was then Nation’s Bank where he worked in mergers and acquisitions for about four years before the call of entrepreneurship grabbed him and would not let go.
“I left banking to jump into entrepreneurship, having been offered a small amount of equity to develop accounts for a small beverage company,” Andrew explains. “I went from being a bootlegger (see Part 1 of this series to understand the reference) to a beer wholesaler.”
Later ventures quickly followed – a rodeo production business, a real estate development company, and even an internet business-to-business enterprise. Throughout those early years of starting companies, Andrew says he quickly became a follower of a key success factor for Mike Krzyzewski, the legendary basketball coach at Duke University.
“I forcefully made myself a student of teambuilding,” he says, adding, “It’s a major reason for my success.” That is clearly evident, for example, in the pride he feels in the team at bioPURE Services – he and Jim Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, have been friends since fifth grade, and Brandon Kinder, the company’s Founder, is someone he enjoys mentoring.
Teambuilding is also a key success factor for BoxDrop where 70 percent of new locations have been referrals, something that is not usually the case with franchising. Both bioPURE Services and BoxDrop Mattress & Furniture benefit from a division of Retail Service Systems, their parent, that provides coaching services.
Andrew also says Daphene, his wife, is a critical part of his success. Calling them a marital team, he says that, at least in their case, “One plus one equals 11, not two.”
One might assume correctly that Andrew is an avid follower of the philosophy of great leaders and the lessons they learned. One of several he cited came from legendary Coach Pat Head Summitt in the book Sum It Up where she talked about hard work and determination that resulted from growing-up on a farm.
Now, Andrew is an author himself with a new book, appropriately titled The Rugged Entrepreneur, that was released last month. In the book’s promotional description on Amazon, Andrew says that “Ruggeds make the leap toward success in a way that separates them from the millions who fall short because they invest the time and effort to develop and hone the specific set of powerful skills” they need. Those include: (1) a fervent work ethic; (2) a humble and healthy pride which he calls “Rugged Pride”; (3) mental toughness; and (4) faith.
The promotional information also says of the book: “The Rugged Entrepreneur provides a roadmap to your journey of lasting self-discovery. It’s about identifying and acquiring the skills to achieve sustained success and to build on top of that success. It’s about passionately pursuing a productive business life for yourself and your family using the economic engines accessible to us all.”
“I feel sorry for navel gazers,” Andrew says, drawing a clear comparison between those who await what they hope will be success and those who actively pursue it with all of the inherent risks.
“Part of why we (his companies) are so fast is not just that people can make mistakes, but they are not pushing fast enough if they are not making them,” he explains.
Today, that same entrepreneurial energy is powering Andrew’s activities in Johnson City.
NOTE: After this article was finalized, we learned that bioPURE is ranked by Franchise Gator as the 17th fastest growing franchise in the country. Click here to learn more.
NEXT: Investing in his new hometown.
