Episode 004 - Grant Van Cleve
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On today’s episode, we are joined by the CEO of Buy It Installed, Inc., Grant Van Cleve. Buy It Installed is a service where the product purchase and the “production installation service” is streamlined into one transaction. Grant’s revolutionary service allows the consumer to be automatically paired with a local, Brand-Certified Craftsman, and then the contractor schedules the appointment at the consumer’s convenience. The company prides itself on implementing A.I while also facilitating technology to create seamless workflow across the Installed-Sales EcoSystem™ through One-Click Simplicity. Grant has been named one of Orange County’s top 50 influencers and is the Chairman of the prestigious Tech Coast Angels. Grant has a passion for real estate development, locally and in Eastern Europe, and is interested in clean-tech and education projects globally.
In this episode…
you’ll hear Grant tell his amazing story of faith and business, what he does as an Angel Investor, and why focusing on the human connection will always help you succeed in business.
HIGHLIGHTS:
How the Campus Ministry at Wharton changed his life
Meeting his future wife during missionary orientation
Utilizing his real estate background during his mission trips in Europe
Can your entrepreneurial skills be useful in God’s work?
Connecting the dots with networking
What is Early Stage Investing in start-ups?
You need a thick skin to succeed in Angel Investing
Why a leader needs to be “coachable” and demonstrate humility
The GRIT Lifestyle
“We advance through our reverses.”
What is an Angel Group?
Being less technical and more relationship-focused
Words of Wisdom from Grant Van Cleve
What investors look for in leaders.
Grant is an angel investor for Tech Coast Angels, and he has personally invested in more than 50 ventures, so he knows what good leadership looks like. For anyone seeking investors for their startups, listening to Grant’s advice on leadership is a great place to start. It’s one thing to have a certain level of intelligence and expertise, but there are other more critical features investors look for when investing in people.
Grant shares that coachability is one of the most significant traits he looks for in people when deciding to invest in a company. Coachability is crucial because he explains investors look for leaders who are humble enough to take advice from others. Along with coachability, leaders should have some grit to be able to sustain the ups and downs of business.
Being less technical and more relational.
As business leaders, we can often become mechanicalized in how we deal with situations and how we deal with people. We forget that the work we do impacts others beyond ourselves. Not only do our businesses affect people, but we have employees who are working for us, and those employees most often have families. When Grant is investing in a business, he often asks his leaders how things are going at home. He knows that if anyone is struggling at home, then the business will suffer.
Being relational also goes beyond your businesses and investments. For Grant, he was able to establish an extensive network of people when he returned from Eastern Europe because he knew how to develop relationships with people.
Talking to your spouse about financial decisions.
The most important partner you will ever have is your spouse, and they need to be aware of the financial decisions you make for your business. Whether or not your spouse is involved in your business, they still should be aware of the financial decisions because it does affect them.
Grant shares that he makes sure his wife is on board with his financial decisions. He also explains that she has become high-risk tolerant and understands if something doesn’t go right with an investment. Grant and his wife have learned to live off a conservative amount of money, so his wife is prepared if something went wrong financially.
Grant Van Cleve
Website: http://www.buyitinstalledinc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuyItInstalled/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantvc/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/buy-it-installed/about/
The WOW Factor
Website: https://www.bradformsma.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradformsma/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brad.formsma
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bradformsma
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-formsma-a9a06424/
