Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Terry Dry, Founder and CEO of Future Proof Advisors, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Future Proof Advisors helps mid-market and emerging companies unlock hidden value and overcome barriers that prevent meaningful growth. Our proven, trusted, Strategic Advisors are experienced business leaders who work to rapidly transform and accelerate companies toward faster, better outcomes. We function as an outsourced board, providing wisdom, expertise, guidance, direction, connections, and more to ensure that our members achieve measurable short and long-term results. Our members are primarily in the Agency Services and Ecomm businesses. Typically with $1M-$10M in annual EBITDA.

Tell us about yourself

I am a future-facing marketer, entrepreneur, Strategic Advisor, CEO, and coach who has founded, grown and reinvented companies for over 25 years. As the founder and CEO of Future Proof Advisors, I advise mid-market businesses and their executive teams on how to overcome barriers and achieve better outcomes.

I started FPA with a vision to create an ecosystem in which I could leverage the wisdom of the top subject matter experts I have worked with over the years to help solve the biggest problems facing businesses today (and tomorrow!). I pride myself on practicing what I preach. Not only do I advise existing companies, but I create my own. Most recently, I co-founded and became CEO of RSVD, a SaaS business that provides digital capacity management solutions for retail, food, and hospitality industries.

After two years, we successfully merged with Whyline, a leading provider of virtual queuing tech. Then, just one year later, Whyline was acquired by security identity company, CLEAR (NYSE:YOU), resulting in a profitable exit for RSVD and our partners. Additionally, I co-founded Fanscape, one of the first-ever social media marketing agencies, which grew from a $10K investment to an eight-figure acquisition by Omnicom (NYSE:OMC).

What motivates me each day is my mission to use future-facing technologies to help improve experiences for people. So, I like helping people and building things, and Future Proof Advisors is something I built that helps people.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Having two successful exits to public companies of totally different businesses. One was an agency services company, and the other was a Saas platform. But beyond the success of the businesses is the celebration of the people and the culture that drove those businesses forward.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The hardest part can be the stress of pulling everything together, along with the loneliness that comes from being at the top.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Be resourceful. The right answer/solution is out there somewhere, so your job is to find that answer.
  2. Don't ever try to solve a problem that has already been solved. There are plenty of unsolved problems out there in business, so focus on those opportunities.
  3. Cherish your team and do everything you can to support them. This includes the most important cultural elements of being respectful, honest, trustworthy, and "normal."

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I like to live by the mantra of "always provide value" in every person I touch and/or every interaction I have. I ask myself, how can I be helpful? And then I try to help.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://futureproofadvisors.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Terry_Dry
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrydry/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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