Entrepreneur Myths (42 page)

Authors: Damir Perge

Tags: #Business, #Finance

It didn’t take long. Zeke converted me into a dog lover and a zoopreneur because I realized the incredibly positive effect dogs and other animals can have on entrepreneurs and their companies. No matter what my entrepreneur emotional state was at the time, Zeke was always there — unconditionally giving support. It didn’t matter if my world was going up or down — Zeke always had a smile on his furry face.

When I looked at investing into companies, I preferred to visit their offices. There were at least two occasions where I interviewed the management team and ran across their company mascot — a dog. That was back when I thought bringing dogs to the office was unprofessional.

I was wrong. I don’t think that anymore.

Zeke, the greatest dog an entrepreneur, investor or any human could ever have, changed my perspective about having pets@office. Throughout the years, Zeke has proven to have great soul and character. He was a fun and mischievous dog. He loved to eat any type of paper — especially toilet paper or kitchen towels. We had to keep the bathroom doors locked because many times I’d be stuck in the bathroom without toilet paper. It was like a comedy trying to get someone to bring me toilet paper from another bathroom. Back then, it was annoying. But you could never be mad at Zeke for too long — no matter what he did for mischief.

Zeke was a great judge of character in business and personal situations. He could smell a great entrepreneur a mile away. One summer, one of Tesla Capital’s portfolio CEOs, Craig Wichner, CEO of Kindmark, came to the house while I was in the backyard swimming in the pool. Craig, a brilliant entrepreneur, rang the doorbell but I didn’t hear it. He came around the garage because he saw my car in the driveway. I was swimming laps. I popped up out of the water surprised to see Craig standing by the pool, smiling, and petting Zeke. Zeke was enjoying Craig’s company. “Wow. He didn’t bite your head off,” I said.

Craig smiled and said, “Oh, he’s a sweet dog.”

“Yeah, tell that to the gardener,” I replied. Zeke could judge people better than most people could judge people. If he didn’t like you, forget about it. Run like hell because if he chased your ass, it was a like a wolf gone mad. I got a kick out of Zeke’s secret talent for judging people.

Another kick-ass entrepreneur friend of mine, Randy Jones, chairman, CEO & founder of Worth Magazine, visited our house from New York while on a business trip. Randy Jones is one of the best entrepreneurs I’ve ever known. Zeke thought so too — because Zeke loved him too.

Zeke was an investor, whether he knew it or not. He sat by my feet, listening all day long as I worked with portfolio companies and looked to cut another investment deal. Zeke brought calmness to my aggressive personality. Every time I was around Zeke, I felt like I was sitting in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness with a real wolf.

My point is: Pets@office should be the new trend in entrepreneurship.

I can see why Fortune 1000 companies can’t allow pets in their offices, but if you have a startup or early-stage company, please allow your management team and employees to bring their pets to the office. If this is not conducive because your landlord won’t allow a dog kennel at the office, you, my entrepreneur friend, should consider having a dog or some other animal as the corporate mascot for your venture. Tell the landlord your pet is an employee of the company. Don’t lie. Make sure you pay your pet to come to the office with you.

Some years ago, I read the biography of John Malone, the former TCI cable pioneer and current chairman of Liberty Media. In his book, he mentions that during one financial engineering maneuver, they had to have three members on the board. They were in a jam. They needed to have three board members or the deal was dead. He looked down and saw their dog sitting on the floor. Problem solved. They named the dog to the board and the rest is history. Of course, this was a questionable act from a legal perspective but you have to admit, John Malone is the ultimate zoopreneur in the history of zoopreneurs. I don’t recommend putting your dog on the board. I tell this story from a fun perspective but at times I thought that my dog Zeke would have made a better board member for some of the portfolio companies.

Pets@office — isn’t that cool?

You could plan an employee trip to the animal shelter to pick out an animal to become the Pet@Office for all employees. You could allow employees to take turns taking them home for a few nights at a time and bring them back to work. Zeke came from an rescue group so if you’re serious about it, start there or a shelter where there are thousands of wonderful animals in need of a new home.

I know this idea might sound crazy to some entrepreneurs. However, having a pet at the office will make employees feel part of the family. If your venture goes through a roller coaster ride, as most do, your corporate mascot will always be there — giving you and your employees unconditional love and support.

Zeke has always been there for me

He has always been there for my entire family. We didn’t own Zeke, he owned us. He was a legend and will live forever in our hearts. Zeke was there for me in business and my personal life. All he cared about was fulfilling his role of being man’s best friend. In this case, it was a family’s best friend.

I wrote “was” in the previous paragraph because Zeke died while I was finishing editing and re-editing this book and my next book,
inspiredex |> believe in impossible
. Even when Zeke was gasping for his breath in the last days of his life, he still sat next close to me late at night, while I burned the midnight oil getting the manuscript completed.

Zeke was the greatest dog ever. Zeke was a great entrepreneur, investor and the ultimate zoopreneur. He had more character than some of the entrepreneurs I funded. He never complained, lying at my feet as I worked until dawn. Zeke taught me to smile more often — no matter how good or bad the situation.

Zeke proves that having a dog around in a venture can make a healthy difference for you and your employees. It has been proven more than once that animals can reduce blood pressure in humans. And who faces more pressure than entrepreneurs? I know Zeke has reduced my blood pressure and brought calmness during my dark entrepreneur and investor moments.

Dogspiration is powerful

Zeke inspired me to finish
Entrepreneur Myth
s and the
inspiredex |> believe in impossible
book ahead of schedule. I hope Zeke dogspires you to become a zoopreneur by having pets@office.

My advice: If you’re pitching investors for money, don’t be bashful about showing off your corporate mascot. You never know — you could come across a huge animal lover loaded with money and ready to deploy capital into your venture because they were impressed with you being a zoopreneur.

Zeke will live in my heart forever.

I wrote this last entrepreneur myth in loving memory of Ezekiel “Zeke” Perge. I am 1000% sure, Zeke is in heaven. God rest his beautiful soul.

Brain Candy: questions to consider and ponder

(Q1)
Pets@office — what do you think? Does this create an unprofessional environment?

(Q2)
What do you think of employees bringing pets to the office on a rotating basis?

(Q3)
In your opinion, can pets, especially dogs, judge a human’s character better than humans? Can you use dog sense when it comes to making investment decisions into entrepreneurs?

(Q4)
As an entrepreneur, can you train dogs to analyze whether a potential investor smells like a shark, rat, snake, or sheister?

(Q5)
Do you take your pet to the office? How do other employees treat it?

(Q6)
What is the ideal pet to have at the office? A dog, fish, cat, or snake?

Are you an
entrepreneur
?

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to calculate your score.

Don’t be nervous about answering the questions. Don’t lie either, because the answers you give are critical in determining your entrepreneur profile.

Do you have what it takes to be a great fucking entrepreneur? Do you have what it takes to be the next Ted Turner, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Marc Zuckerman? Go ahead, take this test and find out.