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City People
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74
A Star In Our Midst
KILBURN SHERMAN By Diane Feen
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Photo by melissa korman
Oscar Wilde once said, “With age comes wisdom.” And in most cases this might be true – unless you’ve met Kilburn Sherman.
The 27-year-old accountant, businessman, community leader and family man is knowledgeable beyond his years and has a glimmering sense of propriety when it comes to his earthly mission. This innate humility and passion for all he does didn’t come from Anthony Robbins or Richard Branson. It came from a lifetime of being surrounded by good role models and mentors who instilled in him a sense of right and wrong (and a stellar work ethic). As early as eight or nine-years-old he was working alongside his dad washing and waxing a large private yacht docked in Palm Beach. Though he learned a lot about this sea faring vessel he also gained a love of the water and all that flows within its ethereal grasp. He also met his first mentor. “My dad Andy worked for a very successful businessman who spent time talking to me about the importance of working hard and getting a good education. When I asked him about investing he would say, ‘I’ve had a lot of winners and losers. But a loser isn’t a failure if you learned something from it. Often times losing is the best teacher.” Young Sherman took this advice to heart. When he was 13-years-old he wanted to work at a boat and Jet Ski rental store. When the manager said he was too young, Sherman didn’t bury his head in the sand or sulk. Instead he hung outside the shop politely helping boaters and doing little things for them. After three weeks the owner hired young Sherman. By the time he was 16-years-old he had became a manager for the same Boat and Jet Ski shop on weekends. But it wasn’t just menial labor to this executive-in-training. “I was always looking for efficiency and ways to run the business better.” At Palm Beach State College he received a 4.0 GPA and was in the honor society. When Sherman attended University of Florida he started a successful web design and consulting business that paid his tuition, room and board.
July 2015 | www.AtlanticAveMagazine.com
But for someone with curiosity and a penchant for learning Sherman was not satisfied to hang out in Cyberspace. Instead he had visions of running and maximizing businesses. So he got a BS and MS in accounting and realized very quickly that accounting was a fundamental skill to running any business. “I did accounting work at Crowe Horwath but decided to switch from tax to audit. I like using numbers to add value and growth to an organization - because at my core - I’m an idea and strategy person,” said the Hobe Sound native. Sherman doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet for very long. He discovered at an early age that one must utilize their resources to fulfill goals and manifest your dreams. So he found mentors, business partners and inspirational books to satisfy his lust for knowledge and perfection. In 2011 while he was working at the accounting firm he co-founded a gourmet mushroom farm called Sublicious Farms. Say what? This accounting maven with the storehouse of knowledge and passion for business co-owns a mushroom farm? “I built a website for Scott Lyons in 2009 and two years later he told me he had developed compost for growing gourmet mushrooms. He also asked me to help with the business side of the company. So we got an investor, a warehouse and started a business together.” As someone who likes to make things happen Sherman got caught up in the vortex of business on a larger scale. Some would say it was luck, others karma – but after meeting Jeremy Office he landed a job as the Managing Director at SJO Worldwide. “I analyze deals in order to make investment decisions on cutting edge companies. What builds a successful company is building a community around it.” That bit of wisdom is what has augmented Sherman’s numbers side with his sensitive selfless side. He is the Chair of the Young Professional Association of Delray, Treasurer of the Gold Coast Venture Capital