An entrepreneur must inspire confidence – not only in his team, but also company partners, vendors, investors, stakeholders, customers, or potential customers. This is what Brian J Esposito – serial entrepreneur and dynamic business leader, founder and CEO of Esposito Intellectual Enterprises (EIE), LLC, firmly believes in.
He stresses “With movement you create that environment where your team and everyone involved in the company can feel progress. Just move an inch a day, and at the end of 30 days you moved 30 inches, and before you know it you are moving miles.”
And considering the progress EIE and Brian have made, it sure has been a successful journey!
Finding his Own Space
The idea of EIE took shape when Brian realized that he was “making other companies and principals very wealthy,” while he himself had “no control over the upside of the wonderful opportunities” he had put together. He was dismayed with the lack of financial recognition he received for his efforts in making companies super successful.
Brian calls this tendency – “Business Amnesia”. He feels this happens when “when someone spends a lot of time putting together a deal or partnership, and the parties forget the most important person that allowed that to happen – the connector.”
As a response to this experience, he started creating his own companies no matter what industry or market he wished to enter, and began to invite companies into his world, rather than those entities inviting him into theirs.
His business model works like this. When potential partners come to Brian for assistance, he joins them with a company in EIE that will be the most beneficial for them. At the time of raising capital, he helps the partner through this vast network. He believes “Esposito Intellectual Enterprises is an ecosystem where it creates value – value for the entities inside the holdings, and real tangible value for the entities we invite in.” So, it is a win-win situation for all involved!
The Origin of the Idea
After surviving a near-death collusion experience in 2016, he realized the value of holding on to what was important. He admits, “That moment really put an entirely new mindset that was burnt into my psyche. My world turned upside down, and immediately (I) realized I had the wrong people in my life…. When I was taken out of the equation and could not run what I was building, everything fell apart.”
He realized that his “prior (business) model was wrong, and would have continued to be wrong for a very long time. What I was left with (to) build this next chapter of my life was that I would surround myself with good people, keep a very small strong inner circle, cherish as many great moments and memories as I can, and ensure that I make and leave a very positive mark on this world.”
Since then, this is the idea that has backed EIE. Today, there are over 65 entities inside EIE, with over 150 joint ventures accumulated from around the world. Brian has made it his mission to connect the right people at the right time.
Not just a Spectator, a Deal-Maker
As an entrepreneur, never takes a passive role in anything. He is actively involved in each and every aspect of the deals he forges. He believes it is his job to “connect the dots in a matter that makes sense and has a very rewarding positive outcome.”
Brian’s journey has been far from smooth. As he himself admits, the hardest part of this journey was to figure out how to retain his confidence, and “not be jaded, or bitter, towards the world, or towards people.”
He believes all his experiences – whether good or bad, have created some window of learning for him. He could identify the traits to look for, or to avoid, while collaborating with people. And because of this, given a chance, he wouldn’t change a thing about his past.
He stresses, “Everything happens for a reason. Some people get dealt a harder deck, but the harder the journey the more rewarding the outcome. I now know that I can handle anything. I know I am on a certain path or destiny and will be faced with more and more challenges. Nobody is immune to problems, and it most certainly does not get less with more money or more success.” This positive attitude has stood him in good stead over these years.
Brian’s Bedrock of Values
Brian is all for transparency and ethics in business operations. He emphasizes, ”EIE’s mission is to create real tangible value and sustainable businesses that can properly grow from positive earnings”. His companies have established real businesses with strong balance sheets, as he believes true satisfaction is only achieved that way.
According to him, a successful person is “someone that helps people, and if they did wrong to someone or hurt someone, they would do whatever they could to make it right, no matter how long it takes”.
Being a genuinely good person, and helping someone without any ulterior motive is what is most important to him. This is what makes him stand out, and “this is what allows me to be invited into certain rooms or opportunities”, he states. EIE is there in the moment, creating value and making an impact today, that can continue on tomorrow, he hopes.
Awards and Recognition Aplenty
Brian has received several awards for his entrepreneurship, but he believes satisfaction of a job well done trumps all those awards. His mantra is, “Do not do anything for the recognition, do what you love to do, follow your passion, and find true happiness in as many moments as you can through the day and (throughout) your professional career.”
He finds it rewarding to share both good as well as bitter experiences with his audience and the feedback he gets for being so genuine is his actual satisfaction. He has participated in over 40 podcasts, and has been on expert panels, webinars, live interviews, business journals, and TV interviews over the last couple of years to share his successful journey.
Leadership in his words
When asked what was important for a leader, he says “The most important trait for a leader is calmness. You cannot properly lead, make wise decisions, or motivate people if you are coming from a place of wild uncontrolled emotions. Your team and any investment capital have to feel confident that leadership is of sound mind, body, and soul.”
A leader or entrepreneur is like a professional athlete, in his opinion. “You need to practice, get your ass kicked, know how to work and win with a team, succeed, have slumps, succeed again, then another setback or injury, and then another round of success. The more you experience, the better you become.” He signs off.
