Episode 112 Kempten Schwab - "Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home"

Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home

This episode is a first as I sit down with a friend and former employer who in the second half of the episode wanted to ask me the questions. You can find my full discussion with Kempten Schwab, Managing Director for STS Capital Partners here.

Here are the questions I asked:

0:45 1. You appear to have had three large chapters in your professional career; the European Union, at Praeses here in Shreveport and now helping owners with equity transactions.

I can only speak directly about the second one when I worked for you at Praeses. One of the things that impressed me the most at Praeses was the talent you had assembled and the people you had working with you.

Can you talk about some of your hiring philosophy? How much is instinct and what types of people do you typically like to have on your teams?

7:31 2. You’ve talked about your parents always being consistent with the message of learning how to think critically. If you would, define and talk about this and how it’s served you throughout your career.

11:03 3. You are now the Managing Director for STS Capital Partners, a global mergers and acquisitions firm, specializing in sell-side consulting and advisory services for entrepreneurial business owners.

We will camp out on STS for a while. Let’s start here.

How many companies go through an exit and what’s the difference between a proactive and reactive exit?

16:14 4. How should a business owner decide when it is the right time to exit?

22:28 5. I’ve heard you talk about good housekeeping and how essential it is for businesses to maintain so that they are ready when it’s time for them to exit. Talk to me about what is meant by good housekeeping.

28:55 6. My final formal question is simply this - give me 5 words of wisdom or recommendations for business owners or entrepreneurs.

And then Kempten asked me the following questions:

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29:54 7. You suffered a tremendous injury. Talk to me about that and how it influenced your path forward.

33:46 8. You spent time in France as a Fulbright scholar after college, how did that time further impact your ability to watch and observe?

36:42 9. From France you moved to Los Angeles, tell me about your time there and more specifically about the effect Jerry Nachman had on your life.

40:48 10. You sold furniture during your time in Los Angeles. What did you learn from that experience?

44:10 11. Where does your drive for authenticity come from?

47:25 12. What are your top 5 restaurant spots in the United States?