David Sandusky startup story

[David Sandusky]

The desire to create was in me at a young age. I created a unique cartoon character at age eight with books and product ideas I plan to do something with when the timing is right. There were other businesses that generated enough revenue to buy my own ice cream and baseball cards. It was the idea of starting something real that motivated me.

In college I got involved with some startup ventures and knew I loved being with the entrepreneur. It almost did not matter what we were doing, the energy and creativity drove me. I saw failure early and it fired me up! At that time, I met my first real mentor. Chuck saw my drive, but felt it would be a good idea to get my "training" as a retained executive recruiter. He wanted me to "hang out with grey hairs" and learn how to build great teams. What a concept - I did it. Executive recruiting was a fun ride in my 20's where I was fortunate to learn from some of the best, work with some of the world's most recognized brands and learn about multiple industries and disciplines! Thanks Chuck! No surprise to me, it was the young companies and startups that intrigued me the most. The .com boom and bust was a huge learning experience for me.

So in Jan. '05 I combined my passion for people and marketing to form Your Brand, LLC with products: the Strategic Career Plan and the online tool called Personal Board of Advisors.

I like public speaking and turned talking about recruiting and how to pitch executive recruiters like me to personal branding and career strategy topics I can market to help others succeed. The speaking live and on radio (traditional and web) brought some attention including a comment from my now co-host, Rob McNealy, "we should start a radio show"! HMMM...

I like shiny things and usually turned down ideas and opportunities that would pull from what we are building at Your Brand and my wife, Julie's company -JS Designincluding an upcoming new and related product launch. But this one, a radio show? Fits my competencies and passion and would benefit my clients - DONE! Let's do it. So we did. Rob and I created a media company that starts with the radio show. Startup Story Radio on 630KHOW in Denver and online at startupstoryradio.com. I have a few other businesses that are in idle for the right time and people to run them. Keeps me focused and energized to build ideas that help people who want to make a significant impact.

Perhaps the most important work will come from helping build the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Camp Fire USA - Central Rockies. The passion and energy from the CEO, Mark McIntosh is inspiring. You just know we will make a difference!

I get excited about people that get excited and look forward to hearing your stories here and on the Startup Story Radio!