During March Venture Club meeting,I had the pleasure of listening to Jim Cutillo, the
CEO of Stonegate Mortgage talk about how his company went public. His story is
interesting in that he took a commodity- mortgage business- and was
able to be so successful that he could go public. He talked about having
passion and building a great work culture and brand name that engenders
loyalty. Some advice on starting a business:
- Focus and execute: Many lack focus. Many don’t execute. That’s why many are not successful
- Invest in People: When hiring your people, invest in them and don’t get the cheapest guy out there. You will always have talent in your court
- Let go of control: To go public, he literally let go of control of the company. However he was far more successful than he would be alone.
- Have personal assets to live on: In the first 2 years, he and his wife had no earnings because they reinvesting in the company. So have personal assets to live on while building up your business. Also known as don’t quit your day job
- Get to critical mass before going public: If you go too early, you give up too much too early
- Why did he wish he knew then that he knows now? That he was a tad bit too conservative and should have taken a few more risks.
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