Let’s Meet Grant Beatty, MBA!
Following in the footsteps of our parents may not be what we initially set out to accomplish in our leadership journey, but sometimes those lessons and examples end up as catalysts for our own leadership development. Grant is the son of a colleague/friend and he’s also a fellow millennial leader. While he began with a degree and career path in hard sciences, his interests and desires for his own life led him to earning an MBA and exploring entrepreneurship. He attributes some of his journey to his father—learning from watching his dad build and maintain his own company and legacy. While working for his father, Grant began to further delve into his own desires for entrepreneurship and personal success as it related to business ideas. While his father served/serves as a mentor and role model for entrepreneurship, he wasn’t passionate about the family business and was looking to branch out on his own. He blended his passion for biology and educational background of leadership and management and started his own company. He currently owns and operates ArboVe, a food company which specializes in producing edible insect products for human consumption. I know, I know. But hear me (and Grant) out on this. Insects as a source of protein makes sense, albeit a novel idea here in the states. Many cultures already enjoy insects as a source of protein and incorporate them into different dishes. Take a walk over to his website to learn more about his company and sustainable, ecological and novel approaches to reducing food scarcity.
The Interview
You know the drill. The interview consisted of three ‘stems’ to which each participant provided open-ended responses. As always, there were no right or wrong answers and participants were able to provide as much or as little information as desired. Here we go!
TALK TO ME ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY TO YOUR CURRENT LEADERSHIP POSITION(S).
“My dad’s been running Datatech since I was three. And for as long as I can remember, he’s been doing his own thing. The older I got the more I saw that, that was [also] my mindset growing up. That ‘this [entrepreneurship] is where I want to be one day’. So as far back as I can remember, I’ve always had this vision that somehow, someway, I’m gonna end up in charge of my own company.”
“My undergraduate degree is in biology…and having that mindset of wanting to own my own business, I never planned to be at the bench or doing bench research my entire life. I decided to do an MBA degree and that gave me a well-rounded business perspective on things [including leadership and management].”
“When you graduate college you have this mindset that [now], ‘I can do anything that I want’. And if you’re gonna make a move in your life—you’re cut loose, no obligations—that’s the time to make it.”
“…After I graduated I thought, I’ll work with dad until I find something steady and full time. With that, the short-term plan became more long-term—a solid year and a half. Datatech wasn’t where my passion was.”
Let’s put the truth on the table and acknowledge privilege. Privilege is nothing to be ashamed of nor is it something to deny. In some way, many of use have and exercise privilege in our lives and leadership journeys, although it may not always look the same. I would be remiss in my efforts to highlight millennial leadership without acknowledging how privilege and access aided Grant in his journey. Through birth, Grant was afforded opportunities that many of us have not had the luxury to experience. He was born into a family with resources, he entered college and chose a major that would be personally fulfilling, he interned with his father’s successful technology company to gain valuable work and networking experience, he attended graduate school (a lot of people can’t don’t or won’t because of a number of reasons), he had the freedom to prospect and travel while exploring potential job opportunities (throughout the southern United States)—all of which required the financial support and access of his familial connection(s). This does not make his journey any less meaningful or valuable as we discuss millennial leadership development. Acknowledging privilege highlights diversity in pathways and opportunities for leadership development, entrepreneurship and success. It’s not a secret that struggle breeds grit, tenacity and resilience, however—grit, tenacity and resilience can also come through hard work, time and a deep desire to succeed. I often see tweets and comments that reflect the ideals that: you can’t grown in comfort, if you’re not struggling you won't be successful, you need haters to motivate you, blah blah blah. That doesn’t make sense to me. It never has. Plants only grow in optimal/comfortable situations for their unique growing needs. Children effectively grow. adapt, blossom and are reared most successfully in loving and comfortable homes. Love grows where it is nurtured, cultivated and protected (I’m not a believer in trauma-bonding). How many of us want better for our children and siblings than what we had for ourselves? We want to provide them with the privilege and access that we did or did not have. It only makes sense to provide [and capitalize off of] opportunities that lead to success. However, you can be afforded all of the opportunities in the world and not be successful. While the privilege of his familial standing and support allowed him the freedom and access to explore a variety of opportunities, at the end of the day, it was Grant’s determination, perseverance and drive that resulted in his success and leadership development in his entrepreneurial endeavors.
“…I was reading an article about a baseball game up in Washington state and they were talking about a concession stand that sold chapulines…and I thought to myself, wow, Americans are eating insects. The second half of the article really brought it home and spoke about the practical aspect of selling [and eating] insects and how it would benefit the environment and our protein supply…they use less water and require much less land and space. When you start looking at agriculture, where we are now…where we expect to be feeding the population in 30 years, the insects can provide something substantial.”
“It [insect-protein] addressed being environmentally friendly and being a biology major, that was very important to me. I started looking more and more into possible business opportunities.”
Like many millennials, Grant entered college with a major and idea of what he wanted to become. But it was only through trial, error and time that he was able to narrow his focus, hone his craft and make something happen. Grant brings up the importance of mentorship and adjusting his vision and approach as he learned the ropes. A little later in the interview he highlights that one must, “embrace the concept of continuous learning”. His journey is a great example of just that. He started out with an idea and approach, and through trial and error, figured out what was/is successful and optimal for his individual business and journey. He’s developed a brand with not only a financial motivation, but also one of conscientious ethical and moral standing. As a millennial leader, it’s important for us to have and do meaningful work. Things that matter to us and our community as well as the larger environmental system. Grant spoke about his many approaches to insect-protein and starting this company. He acknowledged the start up costs, barriers to entry into this realm of business and time that it took to get closer to the mark of accomplishing his goals with ArboVe. Wild-catching grasshoppers to grow/raise offspring for product, investigating different species of mealworms, product testing, recipe development and flavoring, multiple evolutions and products, the list goes on. At every step, he made the conscious decision to keep going, test new things, acknowledge his mistakes, re-work his approaches and move forward. He did the pre-work. The research, product testing, trial and error necessary for creating, advertising and selling a product or good. There’s a lot of talk about entrepreneurship and opportunities to build businesses off of the capitalization of our skills and abilities. In doing so, make sure that you complete the pre-work necessary to be successful. This may look like a lot of things but more often than not it will include: researching the market, researching funding sources and start up costs, determining a personal and professional mission and goal, honing one’s brand and communicating that with customers and potential investors, money, TIME and collaboration (with mentors, providers, vendors, etc.).
WHEN YOU HEAR THE TERM ‘MILLENNIAL LEADERSHIP’ OR ‘MILLENNIAL LEADER’, WHAT DO YOU THINK? DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A MILLENNIAL LEADER?
“One of the first things I think about is this appreciation for the aspects of people that are beyond the workplace, when it comes to millennial leaders in business. From my perspective, when I think about the business leaders and managers from the past is this concept of, ‘I don’t care what you do outside of work, I don’t care what goes on, I want you to come to work and you’re productive’. I see with millennial leaders, one of the big changes is there’s an appreciation for how much influence your outside life has on you as an employee or you as someone in the business. And a little bit more focus on fostering a good outside life, or enabling people to have flexibility in their work schedules and things like that so that they can have that good balance in their outside life as well.”
“Views of businesses [have changed] these days, [in] that they are entities that have a responsibility to the world as a whole. That corporate social responsibility concept. Whether that’s social causes or environmental causes. Both of those are things that millennial leaders really have an appreciation for and put time forth and energy to make sure those things are taken care of or at least addressed at some level.”
“I would describe myself as a millennial leader. And to be honest, I think millennial leadership seems like a more fun leadership style…instead of being so rough on people, you get to be kind and respectful [leadership style], and enabling people to take care of their home life and things outside of work, really does pay off. There’s a logical benefit to this way that I like to lead in general.”
Grant echoes many of the sentiments of previous millennial leaders who have been featured on the blog as it relates to the differences in the millennial leaders and leaders of the past. Appreciation for people, allowing those with work with and those we lead to have and maintain a good work-life balance, flexibility, etc. are all important aspects for the millennial leader. I reflect on my own leadership style and how I am quick to tell someone, ‘as long as the work is done, I don’t care’. And I really don’t. It’s not important to me that someone spent their lunch break running errands or that the admin took the day off yesterday and came to work today with braids, its really not that deep. We [millennials] are the generation with empty PTO banks and full lives, and this reflects in our leadership styles as well. It only makes sense that when people are able to live a full life that is not at the expense of being successful financially and professionally, that they are fulfilled and all-around more cheerful colleagues.
The social responsibility piece as it relates to leadership style and the millennial leader is new. But is it? How many corporations, businesses, products, services, etc. do we boycott and/or ignore due to their overwhelmingly biased/socially irresponsible partnerships, practices and stances on political issues? We [millennials] are a generation of people who are not afraid to make it known our political, social and environmental beliefs. We also walk and live in these beliefs that have now become parts of our identity and want to work for, support and become involved with companies and organizations that align with our own personal beliefs etc. As entrepreneurs, what are your beliefs? Does your company and brand reflect those beliefs and how do you acknowledge social responsibility?
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LESSONS YOU’VE LEARNED THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH OTHER MILLENNIAL LEADERS OR ASPIRING MILLENNIAL LEADERS?
“Embrace the concept of continuous learning. Whether that’s podcasts or reading, getting a mentor. People are more successful when they have the outlook of continuous learning. Read and have the mindset of continuous learning. ”
“Get a mentor. That was something that was mentioned to me; dad mentioned that to me. Where I am now with ArboVe, dad’s mentorship has us in a position now where we wouldn’t be without that mentorship. There’s value in mentorship.”
“Introspection is essential to developing leadership and understanding how you develop yourself further. You have to understand where you’re lacking and where you’re good with things, to let you know what steps to take.”
“Intelligence comes in many different forms. You really have to understand what you’re good at and make sure that you’re leveraging the attributes about yourself that you’re good at, and make sure you’re leveraging those to the maximum. At the same time use that constant learning theology to constantly improve yourself in the areas where you’re not so good.”
“When it comes to businesses, businesses require capital…When you decide to start your own business, businesses require capital. you have to be wise in how you apply that capital and if you aren’t wise about how you apply that capital, your business will get stuck in the mud and will never take off. I’m still adjusting my mindset in understanding when its really necessary to spend that money and make sure that rather than waiting to spend money, go ahead and spend the money now. If spending a little bit of money can save you a lot of time, spend the money….When I first started ArboVe, that summer there were several things…I spent countless numbers of hours doing things when I could have spent a little money online or went to Lowe’s—you have to use your time wisely. Money can be a tool and an asset that will allow you to have more time to put towards something else that you need to be focused on.”
I must agree with Grant here on all parts. We must never think or believe that we have reached a point of no return with it comes to learning and running a company. There is always more to learn due to different forms and expressions of intelligence. Getting and having [multiple] mentors will take you to a place you may not have reached on your own. We have to be introspective in order to make honest assessments about our strengths and areas of improvement, and in doing so, aiding us in our leadership development. Building, maintaining and successfully operating a business requires capital, COIN, money! Whether that means financial support of a family member, draining savings accounts, taking out business loans (which need sound business planning and development), collaborating with partners, etc. Businesses require you to have access to money and to spend money in order to be successful. While many of us are taught to save, as it relates to entrepreneurship, saving money could potentially set you back. Money, like any other tool, must be used wisely. So yes, sometimes we have to spend the money, but only if it makes sense. If time is your most valuable resource and you could have more of it by spending money, spend the money.
I also want to highlight time as a tool. Grant had the time to evaluate his interests, research opportunities, practice and perfect his product, confer with a mentor and re-evaluate his direction, etc. The time it takes to develop a business cannot be fast-tracked or skipped. I know that we live in a world and society of immediacy, going viral and instant fame and success. The truth is, that only happens for a small percentage of people. The rest of us have to be ready, willing and committed to the time it takes to build a business and the time it takes to begin seeing and reaping the benefits of our hard work. I made a lot of mistakes before starting CHESS. I lost some money, but what I really lost was time. Time that I could have used to build CHESS and further my business plan(s). While I have made back (at least double) what I spent on failed ventures, I can never get that time back. If we value time as much as we value money—and spend our time conservatively, only when it makes sense—I believe that the entrepreneurial millennial leader will have unlocked the cheat code to financial freedom and success. This may look like something different for different people, but the key here is that you begin to take stock of all of your resources (don’t forget time and money) and make an intentional effort to research, build your brand, align your brand and product(s) with your philosophy as it relates to social responsibility and make informed business decisions.
If you happen to be in North Carolina, check out our state’s website here as it relates to starting your own business. Our community college system also has a great FREE small business program where you can get information, tips and guidance on starting your own business today! See additional information here.