August 5, 2003 - Do What You Love -
Inclusion Solutions
by
Bill Snow
Chicago
Entrepreneurs should do what they love – the money will follow
In the world of
entrepreneurship, venture capital and empire building, there is a lot that can
be said for hot technology, intellectual property, defensible positions, and
scalability. And then again, there’s a lot to be said for the touchy feely
hippie mantra of “follow your bliss.” In other words, do something you love and
believe in, and the rest will fall into place.
This philosophy comes with a
caveat to that above sentence: You have to get out and do. You can’t sit around
and wait for investors to “get it” and provide seed capital for you.
A great example of “follow your
bliss” is Pat Hughes, CEO of
Inclusion Solutions. Pat’s passion is inclusion – connecting people who are
isolated. The funny thing is, he doesn’t look like the type of guy who was
excluded from anything. He has no disabilities, and, in fact, looks like he
could still bowl you over in a rugby game.
At first glance, he looks like
your typical, run of the mill, major college fraternity product. Nice guy, but
not deep. A guy who has always had plenty of friends. A guy who isn’t going to
mug you in a dark alley, but he’s not going out of his way to help, either. A
guy who reads the sports page first, thinks a backwards baseball cap is a de
rigueur fashion basic, and “waters” the neighbors’ flowers in Wrigleyville
after each Cubs game.
Spend a few minutes talking
with Pat and you will know that this first glance assessment was woefully wrong.
From the moment you meet Pat you know he passionately believes in what he’s
doing. His eyes light up, and he’s animated and energetic as he describes his
life’s work. He’s talkative and a natural salesman. He’s not a phony: the
pitiful sap who is merely going through the motions, hoping to meet an ever more
pitiful sap (who happens to have money and takes pity on sap #1). The pitiful
sap who cannot start his dream until some dumb VC “gets it” and provides seed
capital. Unfortunately, we have more than our fair share of these people in
Chicago.
And better than simply sitting
around waiting for “manna from heaven,” also know as venture capital, Pat’s out
there doing and selling.
You never know where the
idea will come from.
As a college student at Kansas,
Pat developed a friendship with an autistic person; we’ll call him Doug. Doug’s
mother hired Pat because Doug was completely isolated from the outside world.
After spending some time going bowling, playing video games, and other
pre-planned event-type get togethers, Pat grew bored and stopped making plans
with Doug. Pat didn’t think he was helping and he was tired of constantly
having to plan events.
Doug’s mother called Pat and
told him when the two young men spent time together, the effect on her son was
immeasurable. Doug might lack the ability to express this, but she knew it was
very important to Doug. She told Pat he didn’t have to “plan” events, that
simply including Doug in his life as a friend would be incredible
thing. Doug didn’t have friends.
The light went off. Pat
redoubled his efforts, and decided to bring Doug into his group of college
buddies. Bringing Doug into his group of was uncomfortable; people didn’t know
how to react to an autistic person.
From these experiences, Pat
stated Natural Ties, a “non-profit dedicated to fostering relationships and
friendships between people with disabilities and those without.” For nine years,
Pat served as executive director and grew the organization to 14 chapters, which
have created over 500 inclusion relationships. In 1992, former president Bush
recognized Pat’s work with a Thousand Points of Light award.
Pat eventually befriended a
woman who was in a wheelchair, which obviously limited her ability to travel and
get around. She could not access many businesses because she could not get past
the doors.
Not surprisingly, this woman’s
predicament piqued Pat’s interest. How do you solve this problem? How do you
include this woman in life? Pat figured you could litigate and force businesses
to make changes, but this method is fraught with acrimony, and Pat is in the
business of making friends. Not a fit for Pat’s personality or beliefs.
Instead, Pat developed the Big
Bell to solve to problem of doors that are not automated. The Big Bell system
is very simple: It is an oversized wireless doorbell that alerts businesses when
a handicapped person, or someone with limited dexterity is outside and desires
entrance. The employee simply comes to the door, and let’s the person in.
In addition to the Big Bell,
Inclusion Solutions offers “ADA entry kit” for business and an “ADA voting
access kit, “ products in a similar vein.
What’s the big deal?
An oversized doorbell? That’s
it? Who cares? That’s not venture worthy, Bill! Maybe not, but that’s beside
the point. Pat is doing what he passionately believes in. And in another great
lesson for all entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs, Pat knocks on doors,
asks for the business, and sells product.
It’s kind of ironic, for a guy
in the business of opening doors for others, Pat isn’t waiting for others to
“get it” and open the venture capital door. He’s too busy opening his own
doors.
Yes, he’s had financial help
from family and friends, but that’s the group that a guy like Pat should go to.
They know Pat, they love his story, and they backed his dream. This is another
reason why you should be nice your relatives…you never know when you’ll have to
hit them up for money.
I don’t know if Pat will make
Inclusion Solutions a long-term success. It’s a commercial product and it takes
some doing to get a product on retail shelves. Life and business are full of
many unknowns. But I know this, if success hinges on enthusiasm and
determination, Pat is already a success. And if success hinges on basic
decency, Pat is in a world of his own. As far as I can tell, it’s the theme of
his life. How many of us can lay claim to that kind of theme, or any theme at
all?
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About the author
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