Q & A with Brandon Bruce

AQ & WITH BRANDON BRUCE

When Webb School crafted its Strategic Vision, it identified entrepreneurial methods as a key element of the Webb experience, which served as the catalyst for the creation of Webb’s Entrepreneurship Program. This initiative strives to empower Upper School students with an entrepreneurial mindset that can serve them no matter what career paths they eventually choose; providing real-world learning for long-term success.

To lead the program, accomplished startup entrepreneur and philanthropist Brandon Bruce has come on board as Entrepreneurial Studies Coordinator and Entrepreneur in Residence. Bruce has spent his career in education and nonprofits, as well as successfully growing technology startups and supporting and promoting entrepreneurship in the Knoxville community. In this Q&A, he discusses his career as an entrepreneur and his new role at Webb.

Q: What is your definition of an entrepreneurial mindset?

A: I think one of the best definitions I’ve heard is from a stand-up bit by comedian Chris Rock. He talks about the difference between a career and a job. “When you got a career, there ain’t enough time in the day. It’s 5:35 p.m.! I gotta come in early tomorrow and work on my project. When you have a job, there’s too much time.” There is a related quip that an entrepreneur works 80 hours a week because they don’t want to work 40. When I think about the entrepreneurs I’ve had the opportunity to meet, common traits include ambition, creativity, discipline, and empathy. The entrepreneurial mindset is one of curiosity, possibility and drive.

Q: What is the role of the Entrepreneurship Program at Webb School?

A: When I lived in the Washington, D.C. area 15 years ago, the college application rate was really low at several area high schools. A nonprofit organization talked to the students and realized that one of the big reasons the students weren’t applying to college was because they had never been to a college campus. The nonprofit had a bus and they started transporting high school students to one of several local colleges where the students could walk around the campus, meet college students, visit a classroom, eat in the cafeteria, and catch a sporting event. The field trip dramatically increased the rate of college applications and college attendance. The role of the entrepreneurial program at Webb is similar in the sense that we want to transport students into the world of starting and growing companies, so that entrepreneurship is an option they consider now and in the future.

Q: What drew you to joining the Entrepreneurship Program at Webb School?

A: Webb parent and former Board of Trustees member John Tolsma sent me an email saying, “I have a crazy idea... do you have time to talk about an opportunity?” That’s really an unfair question to ask a fellow entrepreneur who loves crazy ideas and talking about opportunities. Teaching at Webb School combines two things I care a lot about: entrepreneurship and education.

Webb School President Michael McBrien shared with me his vision for connecting Webb School with the community. That is something I’m excited to be doing. For example, each student in my entrepreneurship classes invites a local entrepreneur to campus for a live interview in the Upper School’s Visualization Lab. This fall, we have two classes with 17 students in each class, so by the end of the semester, we’ll have learned from 34 entrepreneurs. Each entrepreneur is able to share the unique story of their entrepreneurial journey, which is also a big part of the story of their life. We’re hearing about ups and downs, challenges and successes, hard work and luck, growth and pivots, capital and talent, determination and grit.

I’ve always learned the most about entrepreneurship by talking with entrepreneurs and I’m so grateful for all the entrepreneurs who are coming to campus to share their stories. These are stories that students will remember. Folks can watch and listen to the interviews on the Webb School YouTube channel and the Startup Knox Podcast. Q: Could you describe the general curriculum for the Entrepreneurship Program at Webb School?

A: During the first week of class, students in my Introduction to Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking classes asked what we would be learning during the semester. I answered the question with a question, “What do you want to learn?” There was a long pause and they laughed, and then realized I was serious. I had an overall idea of what we would learn in class and a plan for how we would learn it, but I wanted to hear from the students – the voice of the customer – and what they wanted. Some students wanted to learn the basics of business because they’re considering joining their family’s company. Others were thinking about starting their own company someday. Still others signed up for the elective course out of curiosity to find out what entrepreneurship is all about. And a few signed up because it fit in their busy schedule of college prep courses, athletics, theater, music, and clubs.

What I shared with the students is that this class would probably be different. There will be more questions than answers, because starting a business doesn’t resemble a straight line as much as a tangled ball of yarn. Participation is its own reward since entrepreneurship is not a spectator sport. Entrepreneurship is about individual drive, so schoolwork will include standing up in front of the class to present ideas and interview entrepreneurs. And it’s about teamwork and serving customers, so there will be group assignments and class projects.

Q: Could you provide more details about your Introduction to Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking course?

A: For the Introduction to Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking class, prior to the mid-semester entrepreneur interviews, we tackled three projects.

First, we inherited a blank slate classroom, so students worked in teams to propose designs for the classroom – a process that simulated the thinking that millions of companies have had to do during the pandemic. Students also proposed names and designs for the basement level of the Upper School, which is commonly known as “The Dungeon.”

Second, students created and presented a slide deck about themselves – their education, work experience, volunteer activities, and personality. They also created the beginning of a LinkedIn profile which will be valuable when applying for part-time and full-time jobs in the future.

Pictured:

For their Introduction to Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking class, students contacted and arranged for on-campus interviews with entrepreneurs about their careers and perspectives on entrepreneurship. Jim Haslam, founder and chairman emeritus of Pilot Company (right), and Webb alumnus Tommy Nguyen ’08 (below), co-founder and COO of StoragePug, were the inaugural guests this fall. They were interviewed by Ned Delozier ’23 and Kathryn Atkins ’22, respectively.

Third, students read Jim Haslam’s book, Co-Piloting, and then wrote and discussed their own versions of three common company statements: Company Values, Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Statement on Giving Back.

We’re currently in the midst of 34 interviews with local entrepreneurs. Following the entrepreneur interviews, we’re going to do three projects to finish out the semester.

This November, students are working in groups to build a website and other marketing collateral for several local nonprofit organizations that need a marketing boost. We’re partnering with United Way of Greater Knoxville to identify organizations, and then we’ll do a round of customer discovery prior to building.

In early December, students will have the opportunity to sell products on campus from the Junior Achievement of East Tennessee custom Airstream trailer (a.k.a. the Mobile Business Accelerator). Each class is deciding on products and developing a marketing and sales plan. This is a heads up competition between the two classes to see who can net the biggest profit.

For the balance of December, students will read Diane Tarshis’ business plan kit, Distilling Your Dream, and develop a short business plan for a startup idea of their own. They’ll also create and present a pitch deck in the final two weeks of the semester. Q: Students who successfully complete Introduction to Entrepreneurship & Design Thinking can go on and take the Honors-level Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice course. Could you briefly describe its curriculum?

A: In the spring Honors Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice class, we’re going to carry over the entrepreneur interview component, because it’s perhaps the best way to learn about entrepreneurship – by hearing stories from people who have lived it and are living it.

We’re also going to have the unique opportunity to work with Harvard Business School case studies. We’ll use these realworld examples of entrepreneurs navigating crossroads in their companies to enable Webb School students to apply their creativity in challenging circumstances. The generous support of Greater Sum Ventures makes possible our partnership with Harvard Business School and access to their library of case studies.

And there is no better way to learn entrepreneurship than by doing it, so students will have the opportunity to lay the groundwork and launch new ventures.

Q: What makes Webb School of Knoxville uniquely positioned for implementing an entrepreneurship program?

A: I think entrepreneurship is in the DNA of Webb School. It was a brand new startup in 1955. Today, many of the entrepreneurs that come to campus for class interviews are family members of the students.

I’m also confident that one of the dominant traits of Webb School alumni is the entrepreneurial spirit. Many of the students who attended Webb School over the past 66 years have started their own companies. Continuing that tradition of entrepreneurship aligns with the founding principles of the school and the goals of today’s students. I think of that time as a period of accelerated education on business – sales, marketing, customer service, product development, operations, legal, insurance, accounting, capital, and talent. And we got to do a bunch of really cool community projects like partnering with Knox County Schools and the Knox Education Foundation to set a Guinness World Record in 2017 for the number of students learning how to code.

I also have the opportunity to serve as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, Muse Knoxville, Junior Achievement of East Tennessee, and local startup SmartRIA.

In addition, I started the 100Knoxville initiative with a focus on working with Black entrepreneurs to help grow their companies. And I chair the Knoxville Chamber’s eKnox Task Force and cofounded the Knoxville Technology Council with my friend John McNeely. My friend John Bruck, who runs the Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park, and I launched Startup Knox, which provides a directory of local resources for entrepreneurs and a podcast featuring more than 100 interviews. I also serve on the Innov865 Alliance Steering Committee and the Board of Directors of Cherokee Farm Development Corporation.

More recently, I’ve become a partner in One Knoxville Sporting Club, the new professional soccer team coming to Knoxville next spring. And I’m a cofounder and CEO of Uncat, a software startup that helps accountants and bookkeepers resolve uncategorized transactions with their clients. Uncat recently won the Audience Choice award at Startup Day, which was a lot of fun.

All of that is a long way of saying that I like to hang out with entrepreneurs and start projects and grow companies.

What I told the students on the first day of class is that startups run on enthusiasm. My goal is to not only share my enthusiasm for entrepreneurship, but to also cultivate in students a sense of enthusiasm for the power of ideas and a confidence that they can have a lot of fun and seek fulfillment by solving problems, building products and daring boldly.

Q: What is the current climate in Knoxville for startups?

A: The startup climate in Knoxville is healthy and growing. Just this past year, several more accelerators were announced in Knoxville – the Spark Innovation Center, TechStars Industries of the Future and a Cleantech Accelerator at Spark Innovation Center. These join the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Lab, a world-class accelerator that welcomed its fifth cohort this year, and the programs at Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, including The Works for startups and Inflection Point for growth stage companies.

. . . one of the dominant traits of Webb School alumni is the entrepreneurial spirit. Many of the “ students who attended Webb School over the past 66 years have started their own companies. Continuing that tradition of entrepreneurship aligns with the founding principles of the school and the goals of today’s students.

Q: Please describe some of the biggest lessons from your career that you bring to your role as Entrepreneurial Studies Coordinator and Entrepreneur in Residence at Webb School?

A: I learned the most about entrepreneurship when I started a software company called Cirrus Insight with my good friend Ryan Huff. We launched an application to connect Salesforce with Gmail in 2011 and grew the company for the next seven years, reaching No. 41 on the Inc. 500 list in 2016 before selling the company in 2018.