“Just a dude who loves tech, mobile and product development”

The following is an informal interview, with Brandon Reti. VP Product of Breather, and previous mobile director of Manwin.

This November 22nd, Brandon will be speaking at the Legacy Conference, at the Ottawa Convention Centre.(legacyottawa.ca) Brandon will discuss product development for his growing startup, Breather, how he successfully managed 20 million daily mobile visits for Manwin, and more this Saturday, Nov 22, at the Legacy Conference.

What’s your favorite metaphor for describing entrepreneurship?

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”- Warren Buffet

Simply put, your reputation is all you have when operating in business. You need to be someone that can be relied upon. This applies when hiring, raising capital and making decisions. .

What was the best piece of advice you ever got? The worst?

Best: Surround yourself with the smartest, most driven people you can, and empower your team to make their own decisions.

Worst: If you want it done right, do it yourself.

I call total BS on this one because there are some things we are great at and some things we are just terrible at. This goes hand in hand with the best advice I’ve gotten. Know what you’re good at and DO IT, the other stuff you’ll need to find are: driven employees, a killer co-founder or an advisor.

A student walks into your office, saying she wants to be an entrepreneur, what do you tell them?

Being an entrepreneur is not a Tech-Crunch article that describes your company in all it’s glory. Being an entrepreneur is about willing to get dirty in the mud with your team and do everything humanly possible to ensure your survival. Sure, you are afforded the freedom to make your own schedule and decisions, but it is a hard, uphill journey that may only come to fruition in 1–10 years. There is no going back because going back will likely result in financial ruin. Don’t make the decision lightly; be mentally and physically prepared for the demanding and exhausting schedule. Don’t kid yourself, tons of people fail. Brilliant, passionate people fail all the time. It’s not fair, and if you look at it as fair, unfair or “I deserve this”, you don’t understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur. That being said, when it works and it goes the way you and your team planned it, it’s a euphoria that cannot be described.