1 hour and 5-minute listen
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
On this episode of the Positive Enterprise Value podcast, I am thrilled to have as my guests, my friends and clients, Dave and Cindy Francis, who have a hero's journey to tell you about.
Dave and Cindy have had many chapters in their journey as entrepreneurs. They started out with Cindy growing up in the family business, Fowler High Precision, which was run by her dad, Fred Fowler, who himself was a second-generation owner. Cindy tells us a little bit of the story about what that was like growing up with her dad as a wild man entrepreneur, getting together and then marrying Dave Francis and their journey thus far.
They go on to share when Dave initially joined the business, but ultimately decided to leave and how he and Cindy moved to the middle part of the country. Having some entrepreneurial experiences, they decided to go out on their own, and then moved back to the East coast and started a different company. And then, finally, when Cindy's father, Fred, was diagnosed with a terminal illness, we hear about Dave coming back into the business in the breach, theoretically temporarily, to solve some problems with the business, and now just having come through a very successful recapitalization, they share with us about their dreams and hopes for the next chapter.
Dave and Cindy have a story that is particularly rich with lessons, comedy, humor, things to focus on, things not to do, and I have no doubt that any Entrepreneur Owner-Manager, or aspiring entrepreneur will get a hell of a lot out of it. I sure hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy bringing it to you.
Listen below or on Soundcloud here
What I am Reading / Listening to
Love & Mercy (2014)
Directed by Bill Pohlad
Screenplay by Oren Moverman and Michael Lerner
On the recommendation of a friend who knows I am a music junkie, I recently watched Love & Mercy, a movie nominally about the gifted and talented Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. I streamed it from HBOMAX.
I’ve always felt Brian Wilson was one of the purest and highest reaching original creators in music. The all in on the complex arrangements, the harmonies, the pushing of the envelope on style, the lyrics that made you think (who else would have the balls to sing: “Wouldn’t It be Nice if We Were Older,” sung by 20 somethings). No less a peer than Paul McCartney recently said, that “God Only Knows” on the Pet Sounds album is “the greatest song ever written. It reduces me to tears every time I hear it.”
The movie is set in the early 60’s and in the 80’s and digs behind the mental illness in Wilson’s life, and the strain that caused on him, his family, and the band. And it highlights the way that he was taken advantage of in the darkest and worst possible way by his psychiatrist Eugene Landy. Landy was de-licensed by the state of California and was obviously a monster—and he was creepily played by Paul Giamatti. John Cusack played Brian Wilson impressively—I didn’t always like the character he played, but he made me feel it.
How extraordinary it is we live in a time where we are able to hear the music and the creation of the music to understand the genius behind it. It gives me chills to listen to Pet Sounds today, and this movie added to the wonder.
Entrepreneur Owner-Manager Quote
"We are incredibly excited about the future of Wilson as we continue to expand our ability to reach more students, teachers and administrators in pursuit of our vision of achieving ‘Literacy for All.’ With Alpine, we are thrilled to have found a long-term partner that is not only completely aligned with our mission and conviction in structured literacy and the science of implementation, but that also has extensive experience partnering with education and founder-led companies like ours.”
-Barbara Wilson, Co-Founder of Wilson Language Training
