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Past, Present, Future

This post is meant to give people a little more transparency into my past, what I'm up to now, and where I'm headed in the future.  μ

Past

I've spent the last 29 years of my life preparing for 2010.  I started at 8 with my first business (a paper route, duh) and have been hooked on entrepreneurship ever since.  I didn't know it then but the unending supply of nervous energy I had was meant to be directed specifically into the area of my own startups and helping others run theirs. I double majored in Mathematics and Actuarial Science in undergrad at the University of Iowa (also had two minors in Business and Statistics), spent all four years with my head buried in a book or behind a computer screen. I didn't go on spring break, I barely went out. I saw what I wanted and thankfully had the maturity not to waste time on silly endeavors. I studied, worked, read, ran 4 student organizations (including the largest ever at the University of Iowa), was in the President's campaign plane, and wrote business plans in my spare time, from 8am to 10pm or later, every night. My parents got married at 18 right after high school and moved into a trailer with nothing to their names but close friends. They worked hard and loved me probably more than I can ever comprehend.  Now they live in Dallas in a brick house.  That's where my work ethic stems from.  If something needs to get done, you don't wait, you don't try to convince someone else to do it, you just finish it. After working in strategy/management and consulting to companies of all sizes (from startups and small businesses to middle-market companies, and even to enormous, global brand name corporations you visit or buy from on a daily basis...hint: one of them is in the Fortune 2), I started various businesses, one of which is in the process of being sold. I also applied to and matriculated into one of the top 5 business schools in the nation, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where I've met and become close friends with some of the brightest leaders that will be running our country in the next 30 years.

Present

The puzzle pieces have been arduously coming together for the last three decades.  You only see 5% of what's actually been happening with me and our team.  The number of meetings have accelerated to the point where we can barely keep track of them in our calendars, web apps, phones, etc. We've also spent the last few months visiting the retail, bar and restaurant scene to gather competitive intelligence not only for these brick and mortar Chicago-based businesses, but also to get a deeper understanding of the consumer's behavioral interaction in these areas.  Like I said, you only ever see 5% of the entire story... Our team includes a former professional athlete, real estate developer, comedian, attorney, mathematician, entrepreneurs, trader, financial analysts, two MBAs from top 5 schools, and a track record of involvement, relationships, and success that we'd put up against any other team on the planet. And the best part?  We've been friends since we were kids growing up in Iowa.  Family doesn't even begin to describe our connection.  I am absolutely proud to stand and shout it from the rooftops: no monetary transaction could ever break us up, and we will stand up for our family and our ethics even if it costs us on financial statements. For the Evolyte team, relationships (both internal and external) define us.  It isn't always about dollars and cents, it's first and foremost about establishing lasting relationships. If you disagree, the conversation stops there.

Future

Some people can talk a huge game and never back it up, or what I like to call "empty suits".  In contrast, we put our money where our mouth is.  We source deals and invest our time, sweat, and money into only those projects with the highest returns.  We will scrap on our knees, down in the filth in order to win.  We will sell things we don't use anymore on eBay to compile more cash than you.  We will take on the smallest clients with the smallest budgets if we see potential, and we will still treat them like they're the only client in our portfolio. Did you know that the number one reason small businesses fail is due to low or negative cash flow?  The phrase, "cash is king" is an understatement.  I prefer the phrase, "cash is freedom".  Freedom to follow the return.  And that's exactly where we're headed: Google's 20% time, 100% of the time. Every person on the Evolyte team is working on side projects that could potentially be the next Gmail.  Stay tuned, things are about to get interesting. Here's one teaser:  we're currently working on developing a huge network of entrepreneurs in Chicago, partnering with the city's 15-year-old program that's collecting dust.  The goal is to provide connections, resources, and money so we can lift the entire startup scene on Chicago's collective entrepreneurial shoulders. You may not have heard of us, but you're damn sure going to feel us. You should follow @seanMeverett on Twitter here but only if you want to :)
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