Greg Star, Co-founder of Carvertise and member of the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry Small Business Advisory Committee talks with CCCBI’s Membership Director Roger Richardson, about growing up in Brooklyn, fining his way to the University of Delaware, meeting Mac Nagaswami and helping him launch Carvertise and how persistence and determination got them a domain name and a $50,000 investment.

Where were you born?

I was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brookyln but I was raised In WestChester County, New York in a little town called Mamaroneck. It was a small town, I really got to know everyone and formed a great group of friends, it was really a tight knit community.

I remember having great teachers and a close group of friends from elementary school all the way to high school. My best memories are of the great teachers I had that really inspired my curiosity from a young age. They didn’t just teach material- they wanted me to ask questions and seek new information- that really stuck with me.

What memories do you have from your childhood?

I had a great family, loving, supportive, always inspiring me to do my best and accomplish what I set out to do.

I played basketball my whole life, that was my big sport all the way through high school. I was a point guard, a play maker and really the distributor of the ball. I was team captain and that really taught me about teamwork and responsibility.

In a lot of ways basketball taught me about business. Being the point guard you have to know what everyone on the team is doing, you have to manage egos and balance everyone’s personalities. There were a lot of big egos on the team, sometimes you have to make sure you share the ball and everyone gets a touch.

It also taught me to be a vocal leader and to know my role on the team. Everyone has a role, sometimes guys want to do it all by themselves and start chucking up 3’s instead of passing, you have to know your role and play it to make the team better as a whole.

What was your first job?

I was a camp counselor in a sleep away camp in Cold Spring, New York. In a lot of ways, this was my first experience working in a business and it shocks me how relevant the skills I learned there are today.

Dealing with kids and parents is like working with shareholders. It’s about negotiating and time management. I learned you need to be high energy, enthusiastic and positive to get things done. You also learn negotiation skills, like when you only have two hours off each day and you want the best time-slot for your break, you need to convince another counselor to switch times with you, so you’re bartering.

What kind of music were you into growing up?

My all time favorite musician is Bruce Springsteen…The Boss!  I have seen him so many times, my friends- mom used to buy us all tickets; Bruce fans have their own culture, everybody can name their favorite song, concert, moment, it’s unique. “Darkness on the edge of Town” is my all-time favorite Bruce song but one year we made T-shirts that said “Johnstown Construction” on them- a reference to “The River”. We got high-5’s from almost everyone at the show!

Where did you go to college?

I went to the University of Delaware. I didn’t realize at the time I was applying but I didn’t use the most advanced thinking when picking a college, my best friend was going there, so I thought I would go too.

I remember when I visited two things stood out to me; 1. the campus was beautiful and 2. The girls were beautiful. I was 17 mind you- and did not yet possess great decision making skills. I loved it in the end though, I made great friends and it put me on a path to end up where I am today.

What I appreciated most were my economics classes. Being in school when the recession hit- which impacted myself and my family, I became fascinated by economics, I wanted to learn how jobs are created. It all spurred my business curiosity.

I actually met my current business partner in a class there, he pitched an idea for an early version of Carvertise and I offered to help expand it as his partner.

What was your big break?

Meeting Alan Levin, Head of Economic Development for Delaware. I emailed his office asking if I could meet with him and he agreed to speak with me in person. I was so nervous but he was kind, patient and he “got it” from the start.

Levin had a business background so he knew where we were coming from. He actually put us in touch with our first client, Shop Rite. That gave us legitimacy in the Wilmington business community and led to working with the United Way. That led to a rapid expansion and getting five new clients shortly thereafter. We could not have gotten there without Alan’s help.

What is your biggest challenge going forward?

Educating the market. This is a new but very effective tool for businesses. We want to make the term “Carvertising” part of the vocabulary for business owners. This could be as big as radio, billboards, anything- and we want agencies and advertisers to change the way they think about marketing.

We have to start locally and grow nationally but we know our top priority is educating the marketplace so we can change behavior in the the industry. Everyone drives already, we want to get as many businesses as possible advertising on those cars.

What is the most inspiring thing you have ever heard?

A lot of quotes from infamous risk-takers come to mind but two of my favorites stand out. The first is from Teddy Roosevelt, it speaks to my analytical side and stresses the importance of doing what you are capable of and not fearing failure. Anyone can think of something great but it’s really the people risking failure- the do’ers- that are great.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

The second is from Calvin Coolidge:

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

I’d say what I like about both quotes is that you cannot be afraid to fail and let that stop you from achieving. History shows that people who leave a legacy actually failed often but kept working to get what they wanted. Look at Lincoln, Eddison, Ford, they all had failures but they simply continued accomplishing.

How did Carvertise go from an idea to a reality?

We were trying to contact the domain holder for Carvertise for 8 months before we finally heard back. When he finally responded he was asking for $10,000 just for the name. So my business partner “Mac” drove to his home in Kerry North Carolina, on Good Friday, with his mother, to speak with the man in person. They spoke for hours about the business, where Mac saw it going, how he got the idea and the business this man had built before retiring and starting a business trading domain names. When Mac left eight hours later, he had a check for $50,000 in exchange for a 5% stake in the company…oh and the name Carvertise!