Jay Steinfeld - Lead from the Core

Contents

Praise for Lead from the Core

Jay Steinfelds book is a must-read for business students, nascent entrepreneurs, or anyone who wants to expand their entrepreneurial mindset. The narrative of the book flows easily as the reader experiences both the pitfalls and triumphs of entrepreneurship punctuated with lessons learned and actionable takeaways.

Katie Pritchett, Ph.D., Former Director of the Entrepreneurship Minor UT-Austin Faculty Member, Management Department

Ascending from the home garage to The Home Depot takes courage. It also requires a spirit of generosity and a willingness to ask for help. Jay experienced a life fraught with tragedy, sacrifice, disruption, rewards, and success. His book offers a detailed chronicle thats jam-packed with life lessons learned. Read it, reflect on it, and take these lessons to heart.

Leo Bottary, Founder/Managing Partner, Peernovation, LLC

This books guidance on maximizing stakeholder relationships is required reading for any startup founder thinking about raising growth capital. Jays specific advice on soliciting and leveraging advice from board members should be used by entrepreneurs both young and old!

Blair Garrou, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Mercury Fund (startup venture capital)

Jays educational lessons, insights, and philosophies have become an integral part of my entrepreneurship curriculum. They resonate so much with my graduate business students that he frequently gets standing ovations when he finishes speaking to them.

Al Danto, Entrepreneurship Faculty Jones Graduate School of Business Rice University, #1 Graduate Entrepreneurship Program (Princeton Review / Entrepreneurmagazine)

This book is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information about entrepreneurship. Neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services by publishing this book. If any such assistance is required, the services of a qualified financial professional should be sought. The author and publisher will not be responsible for any liability, loss, or risk incurred as a result of the use and application of any information contained in this book.

Lead from the Core copyright 2021 by Jay Steinfeld

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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First E-Book Edition: November, 2021

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021941583

ISBN 9781953295729

eISBN 9781637740064

Editing by Katie Dickman

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To those who strive for impossible dreams. And to Barbara and
Naomi, without whom I would never have achieved mine.

CONTENTS

Death destroys the man, but the idea of death saves him.

E. M. Forster

T he phrase core values, especially when used around an office, often doesnt elicit much excitement or interest. Indeed, core values are thought of as nothing words, as soft, squishy ideals created by the HR department to be put on a plaque, hung on a wall with no practical application, and never thought of again.

And thats how I thought about core values, too. Then my wife died.

On August 12, 2002, my wife, Naomi, died of breast cancer at the age of forty-seven. Wed been married for twenty-six years, and throughout that time had been partners in life as well as in business. Now, left to do it all alone with three children and a business still in its infancy, I faced a complete reevaluation of my life. Suddenly, I wasnt sure how to define happiness, or even whether I could ever be happy again. I thought often about what success meant to me, what it was that made me tick. Id made it that far in life without ever really consideringat least not deeplywhat truly mattered. Essentially, it was only when I found myself on a precipice that I asked myself: What are my core values?

Through intense introspection, what I discovered changed the trajectory of my life, and the trajectories of all the people in my life. In fact, it was only after understanding what these values werethe values that drive my behaviorthat we were able to begin building a company of significance, a company that became the number one online retailer of blinds in the world.

My motivation was never to start a massive companyits difficult to get very far if this is your only goalbut instead, to achieve as much as I could before I died. Looking back, I realized that death has always been my key motivatorits been an unwelcome but consistent presence in my life for decades, ever since my mother, Elaine Steinfeld, passed away at forty-six from ovarian cancer. I was twenty, a junior in college, and she was my constant.

With her strong work ethic and drive, Mom took small jobs to keep our family above water. They were mostly secretarial, but she also sold jewelry she rescued from antique stores and her own decoupage art. What I unwittingly learned by watching her over the years no doubt played a large role in how comfortable Ive always been with the pursuit and risks of business. I remember Mom coaching me how to raise money door-to-door for my little league team. She would coax me to a neighbors door, then run around the corner, hiding, to force me to do it myself. Though it was the nonchalant, matter-of-fact manner in which she pursued risk that really struck me, and programmed me to accept risk as an everyday facet of life.

My dad, on the other hand, was a struggling salesman. Fred Steinfeld had great passion and optimism, professional artistic and musical talent (skills I later found in myself, though to a much lesser degree), but none of the same grit I respected so much in my mother. Mom told me quite specifically to never become a salesman. Of course, I ended up selling blinds.

Thats a key difference between those who have built something significant and those who only dream: grit. A significant chasm opens up, separating those who wish for acclaim and success and those whose mantra is: I will persevere to achieve my goal. Tirelessly.

Another critical component of my success was the faith of those who knew me best. I have a vivid memory of driving away from the graveyard after laying my mother to rest. As we wound down the narrow cemetery road, I turned around in the back seat, looked back toward her grave, and said, I know you believe in me. Dont worry, I wont let you down.