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David Crane, '05 Carlson Executive MBA and CEO of IntelAccount, is a serial entrepreneur who isn't afraid to fail. "When you're constantly trying new things, the lessons learned from failure ultimately create winning results," says Crane. He has founded five companies and believes the keys to success lie in new ways to improve company performance, expand product offerings, and provide better service to clients.
"People hear the adage that failure is not an option and take it literally," Crane says. "Whoever first said that had never been in business. Failure is a necessary part of success. It's required." One of Crane's companies failed and had to shut its doors. After reflecting on that company's failure, Crane realized that he and his team had believed so strongly in their business model they stopped paying attention to the external environment. "Things were changing so fast in our industry that we missed all the signs that our business model was no longer a winner," recalls Crane. "To prevent that from happening again, our team regularly matches our business plan to what's happening around us to make sure we are on track."
Crane's current company, Minneapolis-based IntelAccount, is a web-based, accounts-payable management firm serving small- and medium-sized businesses. "There are many accounts-payable management companies serving the large corporate market, but small- and medium-sized companies are missing out on the benefits of this service. IntelAccount is filling that void," says Crane.
He began researching the market two years ago as a student in the Carlson Executive MBA program. He says his experience in the program has helped IntelAccount accomplish aggressive goals. "IntelAccount wouldn't be where it is today without the connections and the education I gained as a Carlson student," says Crane, who continues to raise money for his company and plans to expand it nationally through partnerships with other firms.
Crane says he gets his entrepreneurial spirit from his grandmother, who founded a ready-to-wear business in Minneapolis in the 1940's. "She always told me I could do anything I wanted and I should have my own company," he says. But Crane points out that starting a company from scratch is not for everybody, and he encourages people to be entrepreneurial within existing companies. "You can be an entrepreneur within the organization where you work," he says. "The entrepreneurial spirit lives within anybody who's finding new and creative ways to increase value in their organization."
Crane has returned to the Carlson School several times to talk with current and future entrepreneurs and to dispel myths about the glamour of entrepreneurship. Crane advises that anyone who is looking to start a business—whether just starting a career, or making a career change—do the proper research first by finding the right idea to implement and testing it on a team of advisors who can help grow the business.
Crane also advises that successful entrepreneurship begins with understanding what truly motivates you. He finds inspiration in Kevin Cashman's book, Leadership From the Inside Out. "Cashman's book helped me realize that if you can really understand yourself, you'll be able to achieve amazing things in life," says Crane. "One of the best ways to gain that personal understanding is to look at the areas in your life where you've experienced success and the areas where you've experienced failure and understand why you achieved those results. Are there patterns to learn from?"
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