Silicon Valley visitors bureaus and tourism boards in the market for a spokesperson probably won’t come calling Brian Spaly any time soon, and that seems fine by Spaly. The Trunk Club CEO is perfectly happy in Chicago, building his business.
That much became abundantly clear when Spaly stepped on stage Oct. 10 at Thinc Iowa 2012.
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“I think sometimes it’s good to look beyond the Silicon Valley,” said Spaly whose company runs a subscription clothing service for men. “Because you’re going to see a lot of poorly dressed people … you’re going to see a ton of of tech, you’re going to see a ton of geek and you’re going to see a lot of dude. And those are all things that I don’t find that inspiring, personally.”
Spaly split his talk at Thinc Iowa between telling his own story and debunking what he believes are common misconceptions about entrepreneurship. In doing so, he frequently came back to two themes: First, Silicon Valley isn’t the only place to start a company; second, entrepreneurs have to build businesses to the beat of their own drummer.
“Things that inspire you personally are often, I think, the best way to get excited about building things, whether it’s building a team or building a company or pursuing an idea,” Spaly said.
For Spaly’s Thinc Iowa talk in its entirety, watch the video above. For more from Spaly at the conference, see our post: “Brian Spaly: Debunking common myths about startups”.
About Brian Spaly
Spaly is the CEO of Trunk Club. With Trunk Club, he has built a technology-powered, personalized high-end service designed for busy guys who want and need to look good, but don’t have the time to think about it. Since joining Trunk Club in December 2009, Brian has expanded it from three employees to more than 90, raising more than $13 million in venture capital. Before stumbling upon fashion entrepreneurship, Brian worked as a private equity investor for Wind Point Partners and Parthenon Capital, as the VP of M&A at AccuMed Home Health in Austin, and as a consultant in the Boston and San Francisco offices of Bain & Company.
About Thinc Iowa
Thinc Iowa is now Big Des Moines, part of The Big Series, a trio of events produced by Silicon Prairie News. The Big Series in 2013 will include the inaugural Big Kansas City in March, Big Omaha in May and Big Des Moines in October. Stay tuned for announcements regarding all three.
Credits: Video by Event1 Video.
Thinc Iowa 2012 Video Series presented by Iowa Economic Development
Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) is dedicated to supporting innovation by connecting entrepreneurs with resources and development opportunities in Iowa. It salutes the founders of today and tomorrow; encouraging ideas that will invigorate a new economy. Please visit iowaeconomicdevelopment.com for more information on how IEDA can help your business ideas come to life.
