Tyler Tysdal is currently the Managing Partner of Freedom Factory. Tysdal has many years of successful experience in investor relations, private equity, and capital raising. In Freedom Factory, Tyler Tysdal has years of experience as an entrepreneur, investment banker, SEC specialist, and private investor to work with on behalf of other entrepreneurs. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the business as well as an uncanny ability to anticipate market changes.
I met Tyler Tysdal through the Internet. I am a former entrepreneur who has had many similar interests to Tyler Tysdal over the years. During my college years, I was an avid reader and trader of both print and online media. As an entrepreneur, I often came into contact with experienced investment bankers and brokerage professionals who would provide me with inside information about investing opportunities. Through these experiences, I gained a keen interest in how the hindsight of an investment decision could impact its potential return.
My years in college were primarily spent interning with private equity firms in the Denver area. One summer, while completing my MBA, I worked with a former junior partner of my previous startup company, Freedom Factory International, as an administrative assistant. During this time, I learned the ins and outs of corporate finances and leadership. During one of our many in-depth conversations, I asked him about what he felt was the key difference between an entrepreneur and a management consultant. His response: “I believe that an entrepreneur is born with a clear vision of their goals, while a consultant is born with the knowledge of how to get there.” (See: Managing Director, Freedom Factory)
Managing directors, on the other hand, are “born” with the knowledge of how to get there. They are the ones who seek out businesses that are going to create value in the marketplace-they are business brokers who have been through the school of hard knocks and understand how to navigate the intricacies of making a business successful. Tyler Tysdal describes managing directors as “business builders” in his book, The Entrepreneur Phenomenon. According to Tyler Tysdal, managing directors are the ones who invest in the future, rather than the current, by acquiring a particular skill set or expertise that helps them identify where the opportunities are today, and help create those opportunities today.
By nature, managing directors possess certain investment banking, marketing, and financial skills. In my experience, when someone is referred to a managing director or investment banker as a “business builder”, this simply means that the individual has an understanding of how to make investments in order to create value for their organization. These are the skills and characteristics that I believe all good managers possess. While someone with all of these skills and attributes may not be called a” Tyler Tysdal” by some, it is not the same thing as being a “business broker”. As a private equity investment banker working in the private equity market, I am constantly learning about business and learning about what makes each person unique as an investor.
I have learned that there is no one best way to be an entrepreneur. Each of us must find our own method of being an entrepreneur, in order to achieve the level of success that we desire. Tyler Tysdal may very well be right about the differences between being an entrepreneur and being a business broker, but the truth is that many entrepreneurs fail to reach their full potential because they allow themselves to be boxed into a mindset that does not support their entrepreneurial goals. Being an entrepreneur does not require you to have a degree in finance, accounting, or even business; it only requires you to have the willingness and ability to look at things from an unconventional perspective and to think outside of the box in order to make your dreams a reality. When you are striving to become an entrepreneur, remember to follow your dreams and do what you are passionate about!