Journelism

The Venture Catalyst: Georgia Tech Advisor Lance Weatherby Offers Key Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs

From rat labs to business school, to witnessing the birth of the Internet, Lance Weatherby has extensive experience in the technology field he shares with aspiring entrepreneurs. He has recently been utilizing his wide-ranging business knowledge to help Georgia Tech entrepreneurs start their own Internet-based companies. Still, keeping up with the pace of a fast-developing field and having a family life requires certain sacrifices. In order to stay on top of both, he chooses to give up sleep.

Born and raised in Kentucky, Lance Weatherby started college majoring in psychology. Upon realizing the time it would take for a psychologist to start making a reasonable living, he switched directions to a business and marketing-oriented field. After college, he spent four years selling capital equipment before deciding it was time for a career change. “I went back to business school in order to move from the world of sales into the world of marketing. Don’t go to back to school just because you don’t have a job, and don’t do it for the money. Go if it’s something you’re really passionate about, because passion is what will ultimately make you successful.” He applied only to Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and was admitted on scholarship. In hindsight, the most valuable skills Lance acquired in graduate school were the ability to prioritize and think about business in situations that had no road map. However, he believes that managing people is something people should learn on their own. “I don’t think that it’s the role of business schools to teach how to manage people; relating well to human beings is something you should know as a human being.” In other words, talented managers are born; transitioning to a leadership position is something you learn.

After earning his MBA in 1989, Lance went to work for the plastics division of conglomerate Exxon Mobil. Thinking back on this decision, he wishes he got involved with technology at that point in his career. “Plastics were a great place to be in 1967, but in the 80s it was a business that had challenged margins; people were spending more time trying to increase productivity and lay off people. I didn’t like it and decided I’d rather be in a growth industry.”

In 1995, Lance networked and found a job at MindSpring, an early Internet service provider. He remembers joining the company the week when Netscape, the first commercial Internet browser, went public and the technology buzz began. Six months later, MindSpring followed Netscape’s route and successfully went public. Lance’s roles with Mindspring included working on business development, marketing, product development and product management, where he eventually worked his way up to executive vice president. Four years later, in early 2000, MindSpring merged with Earthlink. For Lance, this was a difficult period. “In a merger, it is frustrating to join two cultures that have been successful in working their own way. My advice to people today is: when your company is bought out, leave. You’ve made your money, now it’s time for someone else to do so. You have to be willing to leave the baby if you want to take the check.”

After working for CipherTrust, a secure messaging technology company, where he held the post of chief marketing officer, Lance became a venture catalyst with the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia Tech. He is more than pleased to have the opportunity to improve the start up community in Georgia and loves the variety that his job offers in working with students and helping to develop new technology businesses. “I sit with a different entrepreneur and a different company everyday. It’s like conducting a new case study on a daily basis.” His biggest piece of advice to the students is to focus on the customer. “Young entrepreneurs focus mostly on raising money and that is a mistake. The companies that raise money are already successful in some way; you just haven’t heard of it. They became successful by having a product that customers want and pay for. If you focus on the customer, and deliver something that they are looking for, you’ll be successful too.” When it comes to raising funds, Lance advises caution and following advice from those more experienced. “Entrepreneurs are very confident, optimistic people, but they have to listen to people who know what the outcome of their decisions is going to be. Also, instead of going to a key angel investor and pitch him to give you money, you should ask for advice; if you pitch him to give you money and he says no, every other angel in town is going to ask what the first guy said.”

When it comes to having a role model, Lance’s example shows that it need not be someone from the business world. “My biggest role model is my mother. She was a housewife raising three children, all while getting her master’s degree and figuring out how to put food on the table. She taught me that you can get the things you want in life if you make sacrifices.” Doing well in the business world, especially when one is starting a new company, requires 80-100 hours a week. Consequently, having a personal life is not always possible. “When you devote so much time to work, you don’t have a lot of constant friends and close relations. I have children that are 9 and 10 years old, and I slowed down so I can hang out with them. However, I had to give up sleep.” That means waking up at 4:30 a.m. and going through 20-hour days. Still, Lance enjoys the challenge and thrives in a fast-paced environment.

Being able to adapt to change and make sacrifices are keys to moving forward in fast-paced fields. Lance’s story shows that accepting challenges can lead to a fulfilling career while still allowing for family time. The sacrifice and rewards are both chosen and evident.