In this Mentor Spotlight, get to know our Endeavor Mentor Parker Stanberry, Endeavor Mentor; Founder Oasis Collections;  Advisor & Investor

 

Why did you decide to join the Endeavor Network?

I’ve had a long and varied journey with Endeavor. I first joined the network in 2014, when I was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur with my company, Oasis Collections. I (and the company) was based in Argentina at the time, so I joined through that office and then transitioned to the Miami office when I moved the HQ here in 2016. After exiting Oasis last year, I wanted to stay involved and recently became a Mentor. 

 

Could you tell us about your background and why you became a mentor?

 

After growing up in the US and starting my career in New York, I moved to Buenos Aires in my late 20s. I didn’t know a word of Spanish nor a single soul in that city. And just to add to the degree of difficulty, I decided to start a company there. Being an entrepreneur is already challenging. Doing so as a foreigner and trying to navigate cultural differences and stereotypes is doubly hard. My journey was incredibly humbling at times, but I learned so many valuable business and life lessons along the way. Now, I’m really driven to help other entrepreneurs fast-track the learning process and avoid some of the mistakes that I made.

 

I see the challenge of being a good mentor as: can I distill the learnings of my 25-year business journey into the few key insights that are most relevant to this entrepreneur’s business and leadership style? If so, perhaps I can save some time and pain and increase the chances of a positive outcome.    

 

What was your most challenging moment as an entrepreneur? Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs going through something similar?

 

Wow there were many, so it’s hard to pick one. At one point, we had a large strategic investor who we believed was going to buy the business. It was going to be a great outcome, and everyone was excited. Then, the deal soured, and this investor walked away. We had about 2 months of runway at the time, and it seemed clear that we were going to have to turn out the lights and shut it all down. It was incredibly disheartening and, frankly, just a miserable period of my life. But I wasn’t ready to give up, and every day, I ran through options A through Z to salvage the thing … finally, after a long, multi-step process, I managed to sell part of the business, restructure the rest, bring in a new investor and keep the company going. 

 

So the advice that I always give – which is nothing particularly novel, by the way – is that determination and perseverance are the single most important qualities of an entrepreneur. 

 

Is there any general advice you would like to share with entrepreneurs?

 

I’ll say two things, which piggyback off my last answer. The first is that given that entrepreneurship is incredibly challenging, give it some real thought before you dive in. Is it the right timing? Do I have the right partners or support system? Do I have 100% conviction about the idea I want to pursue? If the answer is “yes,” once you dive in, dive in all the way.

 

The second is, don’t feel like you must raise as much capital as you can as fast as you can. There was a period when the venture and the start-up world was exploding – both in terms of the amount of capital available and in the popular consciousness – and that led many entrepreneurs into a trap of measuring success by how much capital was raised. Some startups at some stages need a lot of capital. But not all startups at all stages do. Be thoughtful before diluting yourself and (more importantly) changing the dynamic of your business.  

 

What are you reading, or what is a must-read for entrepreneurs? Why?

Again, I’ll give two answers: First, a classic, The Hard Thing About Hard Things. Still the best book about entrepreneurship I’ve ever read. It focuses on the most difficult elements of being a start-up CEO and does so in an accurate, relatable, and visceral way.

Then a not-so-obvious one, a novel that I just read called Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. It’s about two young video game designers and their relationship as they build a highly successful gaming company. It’s a love letter to the power of creativity and collaboration, and I think it will particularly resonate with entrepreneurs.   

 

These responses have been edited for grammar.