Tim Crown
Insight Enterprises
Tempe, AZ USA
"Be tenacious because you will have to accept failure over and over again—accept that things will never go as you think they are. The good news is once you overcome a significant challenge, all challenges after that seem easy. "
Career Roadmap
Tim's work combines: Business, Entrepreneurship, and Accomplishing Goals
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
I realized I didn't really care about the security and stability. Being a "corporate guy" was not who I really was.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
University of Kansas
Bachelor's Degree
Computer Science
University of Kansas
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Worked in corporate America right out of college, but eventually began to realize he had a passion for starting companies—says it took him until he was 30 to realize he was an entrepreneur.
2.
Moved to Phoenix and started a company with his brother called Insight Enterprises.
3.
They decided to take out a $500 ad in the newspaper advertising a 20MB hard drive for $30 less than the competition—had a goal of selling 50 hard drives, but ended up selling over 200.
4.
Over the next 10 years, the company continued to grow, reaching over $1 billion in sales.
5.
For the first 4-5 years, he worked every day and never took a day off; his focus on ensuring the company's success is what excited him and pushed him forward.
6.
He admits that they were not experts at anything, but instead embraced the value of making mistakes.
7.
He says one of the core attributes of an entrepreneur is tenacity; you have to be able to accept failure, learn from it, and be willing to invent your own path to success.
8.
Describes life as a collage—encourages people to go out and get as many random experiences as possible so that you have all the pieces to create the life you want.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Family:
Don't quit your job! Why would you give up security and stability?
How I responded:
I realized I didn't really care about the security and stability. Being a "corporate guy" was not who I really was.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I've had multiple business failures, but you have to learn from those experiences and continue to innovate. You have to be tenacious.