Stay a Change Agent
I have always had an affinity for the word catalyst. My bachelor’s degree in Chemistry reinforced my fascination even more so. I found myself using that expression when describing people in my life more than I ever did when writing or discussing chemical reactions. We all have been a catalyst for someone’s success. Yes, you’re more likely reading this because you too have been a catalyst for someone. And if you’re thinking who me? Yes YOU.
I have always had an affinity for the word catalyst. My bachelor’s degree in Chemistry reinforced my fascination even more so. I found myself using that expression when describing people in my life more than I ever did when writing or discussing chemical reactions. We all have been a catalyst for someone’s success. Yes, you’re more likely reading this because you too have been a catalyst for someone. And if you’re thinking who me? Yes YOU.
Don’t think of catalysis as a grand transformative action. Most of the time, as it is in science, they are micro-moments that significantly change the trajectory of something — of someone’s life. You were a catalyst for the employee who asked you to write her a recommendation letter when she decided in her mid-30’s to apply to medical school. You were a catalyst when you sent an intro email connecting the young woman with goals to become a DEI expert with the VP of DEI in your own organization boldly requesting a mentorship opportunity. You were at a catalyst when you wrote the Google review for the business launched by two sisters. You were a catalyst when you mentored the teen whose entrepreneurial spirit burns like wild fires – and unbeknownst to you, your own entrepreneurial journey has been stoking her curiosity and passion to follow suit. [By the way, young people are always watching us. Don’t ever forget that.]
“Surround yourself with people who lift you higher.”
If you’re really lucky – and live by Oprah’s prophetic quote “surround yourself with people who lift you higher” or as I like to say ‘level you up’ – you probably can easily list 10 people (or institutions, which is still comprised of people) top of your head who’ve been agents of change for good in your life – both professionally and personally.
My catalytic cup runneth over.
One “agent” in particular catapulted me into the stratosphere of Guy & Beau TEE, an athleisure apparel brand redefining the work/life wardrobe guided by the core values integrity, creativity, and fun. In 2020, while a global pandemic veered its ugly head at almost all of humanity, I received a grant sponsored by Bank of America funding education. While the world seemingly fell in discontent, I virtually connected with a global cohort of women entrepreneurs collectively learning from esteemed Cornell University professors about the Key Stages of Entrepreneurship, Laying the Legal Building Blocks, Product Development, Digital Marketing and more. While the world “shut down”, I cracked open. The quieter it got, the louder my calling became. The less distractions made available, the more clear the path crystalized. I was right where I needed to be. Back in school. Learning from home.
I was reflecting on this journey on a flight from Philadelphia to Jacksonville. While waiting at Gate B7, I was scrolling though my phone and saw a post I shared back in 2014 — you know how Facebook sends you “memories” of years past. It was impeccable timing. The image, black background with white letters, read:
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see thing differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. — Steve Jobs
I love that entire quote — every word of it. However, the line that struck me as the pilot maneuvered all 100+ passengers into that extraordinary moment of lift was the sentence “they push the human race forward.” I often think about all of the women whose trajectories converged by the generosity of Bank of America + Cornell University. A grant brought us together at one of the most historical moments and perhaps crucial forks in our respective careers. Women from Africa, Europe, Asia, all part of the United States whom I had the privilege to learn from, connect and vibe with, became catalysts in my own entrepreneurial journey. I was e-surrounded by the “crazy ones” and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. A comrade of entrepreneurial geniuses pushing the human race forward made possible by two incredible forces who believe in us.
As a graduate of the Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell Program, I receive a monthly (or so) email from a woman whom I’ve never formally met but feel very connected to. Her name is Kirsten Barker. I affectionately call her a “queen catalyst.” The email lands in my inbox with the same subject line: funding opportunities and business resources. Without fail, every time I read that email, I am reminded of all of the catalysts in the world lifting women higher — by making opportunities possible for women entrepreneurs.
As we build, grow, and scale Guy & Beau TEE, we pay tribute to the agents of change who have impacted our lives. At a recent company retreat, we declared our purpose:
TO INVEST IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT OF WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD.
Take time to mentor a young man or woman. Take time to thank those who have paved the way for you. As you build your businesses, share your learnings with others so they may feel less alone, on the right track, and 100% committed to staying a round peg in a world of squares holes.
Stay a change agent. Thank a change agent.
The Art of the Start
The Art of the Start is ruminative, introspective, calculating. Not to be confused with the subsequent steps. The “steps” that follow feel more like a thrust forward and upward where the ground disappears — at which point you're flying by the seat of your pants. Reid Hoffman summed it brilliantly, “starting a company is like jumping off a cliff and assembling a plane on the way down.”
When I signed up for IMKY — for our non-triathlete readers, that stands for IRONMAN Kentucky, a race consisting of a 2.4mi swim followed by a 112mi bike finishing with a 26.2mi run — people would often say “crossing that finish line” put people in a different category of athleticism. I don’t disagree. In fact, only 0.01% of the world’s population have earned the title of IRONMAN. But I would argue that it actually puts you in a different category of discipline and determination. Furthermore, it isn’t the FINISH LINE that transforms even the last finisher but rather the START LINE. There is an art to getting to it. Months and months, hours upon hours, of dedicated training. On race morning, it is [preparation + determination] that sets you off when the gun goes off.
Start lines are where the magic happens. It’s where you come alive. You can feel the perspiration in your palms. You can hear your heart beating through . You can smell fear trying to catch up. You can taste the seamless transitions — T1: swim to bike, T2: bike to run. You see, very little will get in the way of crossing a finish line once I start. The real work is getting to the start. The start of anything — a triathlon, writing a New York Times best-seller, launching a company - whatever it is that will bring you peace of mind when you’re laying on your deathbed — is worth pursuing.
Kellie Smirnoff, second from right, at the starting line of the Inaugural EPICMAN Race in Hawaii.
The EPICMAN Race is a 421.8mi race consisting of a 7.2mi swim, 336mi bike ride, 78.6mi run.
Start lines are THE win. My IRONMAN quest was inspired by a woman named Kellie Smirnoff. She was the winner of the 2011 Inaugural EPICMAN Race - the distance of three IRONMAN races back to back. Yes, you read that right — THREE. Our quest to launch a purpose-driven company was hands down inspired by Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS and author of Start Something That Matters. He inspired us to get ridiculously clear on our purpose, our company vision and mission, and our core values. That is what we call The Art of the Start.
If you’re an entrepreneur and your goal is to launch a company, start already. The best advice we can give you is really Blake’s advice: “the most important step of all is the first step. Start something.” The second best advice is from us: get clear on your guiding principles.
“The most important step of all is the first step. Start something. ”
The Art of the Start is ruminative, introspective, calculating. Not to be confused with the subsequent steps. The “steps” that follow feel more like a thrust forward and upward where the ground disappears — at which point you're flying by the seat of your pants. Reid Hoffman summed it brilliantly, “starting a company is like jumping off a cliff and assembling a plane on the way down.”
Buckle up. Turbulence ahead.
When you know what your purpose for doing business is, like how will you impact the world, then trusting the process is second nature. You trust that your preparation will carry you and your determination will guide you even when the descent is fast and furious. The Art of the Start is having a strong foundation — a clear vision, actionable mission, well-defined core values, and most importantly, a company’s purpose for existing. For they will collectively provide lift, altitude and runway, on any given day.
I ran many miles meditating on Guy & Beau TEE’s guiding principles. Day after day. I’d lace up in the wee hours of the morning and off I went asking myself the same question, ‘What is our purpose? What are the behaviors that our team needs to embody to drive the vision of this company? How will we leave the world better?’ Then like a sunrise cracking through the morning darkness, I got clear.
Our values: Integrity. Creativity. Fun.
Our purpose: to invest in the entrepreneurial spirit of women around the world.
If you’re considering jumping off the proverbial “cliff”, read my dear friend (we aren’t friends - yet) Blake’s book Start Something That Matters. Take time to intentionally identify the key foundational components of your business so that you and your team can create big impact. “Learning how someone else is already doing the thing you want to do, or a version of it, can eliminate the fear - every path is easier to follow when you see someone else’s footprints already on it.”
Thank you for the roadmap, Blake.
Fellow entrepreneurs: Our commitment is to be transparent. Guy & Beau TEE is still very much in the ‘assembling the plane’ phase. The good thing is we love to fly and so we have not choice but to build, create, innovate, and hopefully be for you who Blake has been for us. Trust the process and start already.
ps. Fun fact - Blake not only wrote a New York Times Best Seller and launched several successful companies, but he was also a fierce competitor on The Amazing Race. Trifecta.
Start Something That Matters is one of Guy & Beau TEE’s core library books.
Who is Guy & Beau?
The world can’t resist passionate people. Passionate people make shit happen.
Guy and Beau love chess. It teaches them strategy and forward-thinking.
Hello.
We’re grateful that you’re here reading our first blog — or as we call it our TEE-log.
Our TEE-log will be a compilation of learnings we share with you - learnings from our ideation stage to launch, our embarrassing moments and screw-ups (and there are notable ones), our wins and milestone celebrations. We will share our growing pains as we evolve and scale our brand. We want to be transparent — share the highs and the lows. We hope to inspire you to take the leap and know that you have us to count on for some inspo.
Here is the deal — Entrepreneurship is not for the weak. It’s one-part heart, one-part passion, one-part strategy and three-parts resilience. You’re going to need that extra dose of resilience from time to time. How do you build an empire? One spreadsheet, one meeting, one account, one learning, ten no’s, one yes, one win, one knock-down, one get-back-up-on-your-feet, one milestone at a time. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. We learned early on in this journey that failure is a dot connector. It’s integral when your vision entails creating impact that leaves the world better. Guy & Beau have a big audacious vision. We are excited to have you on this journey.
“The world can’t resist passionate people. Passionate people make shit happen.”
So who is Guy & Beau?
They are two entrepreneurs who are champions for athleisure-wear. They want to go from the boardroom to the basketball court from the office to the obstacle course, or from their LLC to the lounge. They appreciate fit, function and fashion. They know that when we feel confident, we move confidently about in the world. They LOVE a good t-shirt with a suit jacket and a great pair of boots.
Guy is a bit of an introvert — highly successful and both artistic as well as analytical. Sees the big picture with a ginormous appreciation for the trees from the forest. Committed to healthy habits both mentally and physically. Beau is more extroverted in nature — a voracious reader, visionary and creative, with a passion for a good sweaty run. Both are values-driven: integrity, creativity, and fun are at the forefront of their lives and work; hence the core values of Guy & Beau TEE. They don’t take themselves too seriously. A pour of a nice smooth bourbon at the end of the day is imminent — on the rocks for Guy and always neat for Beau.
One commonality they share is their commitment for leveling women up in the world. They are champions for entrepreneurship. When they launched Guy & Beau TEE, they declared that although the mission is to design your favorite go-to TEE and functional athleisure-wear, their purpose for doing so was the T-E-E in enTrEprEneurship. Guy & Beau TEE’s purpose is to invest in the entrepreneurial spirit of women around the world.
As one of our founders, Beau, unapologetically often says “the world can’t resist passionate people. Passionate people make shit happen.” So take the leap already and trust the process.