Many small business owners start a business because they love to provide a particular service or a specific product. They are happy, sometimes content, to have a business that allows them to support their family comfortably. Entrepreneurs are a bit different because they want to build a small
business into an enterprise. The sky is the limit to them.
When Matt Hays graduated from IU as a business major with a focus in accounting, he did not fit into either category. He passed the CPA exam and took a job downtown Indianapolis with Price Waterhouse. He liked his work, but after several years when he was recruited by a client to become a CFO at a greeting company, he left the security of a big corporation. Sunrise Greetings was a small business, and it was a big change for Hays.
“That’s where I got my entrepreneurial experience,” Hays said. “I worked for a great owner.” The owner became a mentor and gave Hays so much responsibility that he had an opportunity to learn about owning and operating a business. After several years, the company was sold to Hallmark Cards. Hays stayed a couple of years with Hallmark, but he had changed. “I had the bug,” he explained.
He participated in a start-up dot.com business. “We raised $40 million and developed a platform that would take the entire real estate purchase process online.” It was good until it wasn’t. The 2000 market crash hit hard, and the company was sold. Once again, he stuck it out with the new owner for a short time. But he still had that itchy bug.Read the Full September 2021 Edition Here
