Founder’s story is all about inspiring others through the story of an amazing entrepreneur. We highlight their history, lessons learned, and what advice they would give others. This week we have Eric Samdahl.
Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up?
He’s a midwestern boy, raised in western Wisconsin and Illinois. His father was a Chemical Engineer, Entrepreneur and University Professor and his mother was an executive assistant. His dad started his own company building homes and was quite successful. Along with Eric’s sister, they all lived in a small apartment in a not-so-great part of town in Wisconsin.
How did you get started as an entrepreneur?
His first experience of entrepreneurship began at age 12. Starting as a paperboy he learned marketing, supply chain, AR/AP, and sales. In 2 years, he grew that business by over 40%. During high school and college, he maintained 3 jobs. His fondest memories came from what he learned working in a jewelry store. After completing college, he joined the economic development field in Illinois and was fortunate to work with some of the top business professionals, governmental leaders and entrepreneurs. During that
time, one became his first mentor. That lead to his knowledge about sales, supply chain, and most importantly people management. He was truly fortunate to glean from the best business professionals in town. Two years later he started his own real estate company purchasing rental real estate and building a construction company as well. Later, after he moved to Colorado, he joined an iconic fastener supply company, to work in the warehouse. Most thought he was crazy, but within 9 months he was the number 2 person in the company, and very quickly run the company, managing all facets of the business including HR, Finance, Supply Chain, and M&A. When the market crashed in 2008–09, he reduced the staff by over half and reduced executive pay by 40%, deeply connecting with their customers and redefined how they went to market, thus saving the company. With that said, currently as a consultant and coach, He’s on a mission to help 1 million entrepreneurs grow their business in the next 5 years.
What is one business lesson you would tell to a startup founder?
If he could impart one piece of advice to founders and leaders it is to always trust your gut. An overflow of data is the direct cause of slowing many entrepreneurs down. The true focus should be learning through experience and relying on intuition to accelerate the process that will ultimately lead to their success.
