Editor’s note: Grace Ueng is the founder of Savvy Growth, a leading leadership coaching and management consulting firm, and a well-being and performance science expert. Grace writes a regular column on happiness and leadership for WRAL TechWire.
What a treat it was to interview Joe Collopy last week for the Harvard Club of the Research Triangle’s CEO Coffee Series. I met Joe 25 years ago, when he was joining Red Hat after finishing his school of business at UNC Kenan Flagler, and I led marketing at his OpenSite. I was there.
Joe Collopy’s story
In my interview with Joe, I watched him steadily grow Bronto from its humble beginnings over 13 years, experiencing some twists and turns along the way, and then a famous $200 million exit to NetSuite. In one twisty moment, he asked me for an interview, but he told me he bailed out because he decided he was determined to keep moving forward with Bronte. He said he felt bad about it and apologized. Kudos to Joe for staying the course!
Joe is well-known in the Triangle for Bronte’s success story of self-funding, putting in $5,000 and going without a paycheck for three years, but this was because his patient wife, Karalyn, kept the lights on and paid for the house from his paycheck. Thanks for paying the loan. His IPO payout during his short stint at Red Hat also helped cushion the startup months.
After retiring, Joe intentionally took a year off from any high-profile activities to calm down and think about his future path. He then started his new chapter with Colopy Ventures, the name of his family office. He sees it as a kind of “keiretsu,” or group of interdependent companies, with a focus on Triangle technology, entrepreneurship, and Durham’s community.
How his family and upbringing in Akron shaped him, why he chose Harvard, how he and his wife, Karalyn, embrace the four X’s and shape Bronte’s unique culture, and how Colopy Ventures Share highlights from your conversations, such as what you’re doing today.
lots of brothers
Joe was the third of four children and grew up in Akron, Ohio, where he attended public schools. His father was a municipal judge, and his mother, who grew up in Puerto Rico, graduated from law school, which was unusual for a Puerto Rican woman in the early 1960s. In addition to his three brothers, Joe had five much older half-siblings, so the influence of sibling relationships gives him eight. At the dinner table, I had to fight over pork chops with a bunch of my brothers.
As a boy, Joe interacted with his much older and more talented half-brother, Bob. Bob is the only one of many brothers in the technology industry, graduating from MIT and then Stanford, and has gone on to a storied career. As a result, Joe envisioned one day being like him, and maybe even driving a red sports car with an MIT sticker on it.
Later, his older brother Jim went to Harvard University, and Joe went there to see him as well, and began to get a glimpse of the possibilities of life beyond Akron, imagining attending college there as well.
Joe said he grew up “standing on other people’s shoulders.”
Raising the intensity beyond Akron: A force for good
A wise father, hearing about Joe’s dream, replied: “Your ambition must exceed your classmates.” Although Joe appreciated the value of his hometown of Akron, it was not a “fancy” place, but rather a blue-collar town. Very few of my classmates left after high school. Half of Joe’s siblings did not attend college.
But Joe felt there was a world waiting for him beyond Akron. There he stepped up his academic commitment and turned the “nastyness” of his middle school years into a force for good. He was very independent and developed his penchant for science and technology.
He applied to Harvard, MIT, and Duke University. He ultimately chose Harvard University. Since he already had an emphasis on his STEM, he thought he could further enrich his interests at a place like Harvard University.
karate kid moment
Joe, a prolific storyteller, recalled the impact “The Best Kid” had on him. To make sure I understood what Joe meant, I made it my date night movie this weekend.
He believes that everyone, especially entrepreneurs, has their “Karate Kid moments” throughout their lives. For example, in the movie Slumdog Millionaire, the man is able to answer all the questions thanks to all the knowledge he has learned along the way. Mr. Miyagi spent days remembering to breathe in and out, waxing cars (applying wax, removing wax) and painting fences (wrists up, wrists down). , instructed Daniel to perform seemingly menial tasks using very specific movements.
When Miyagi becomes extremely frustrated that Daniel serves as his “slave” and doesn’t teach him karate as promised, Miyagi realizes that the repetition of these chores instills the key movements of karate into his muscles, and he learns karate’s defensive blocks. Tell him how it helped you. memory.
bronte bootstrap
The same applies to Bronto’s success story. Day-to-day execution has allowed for steady growth from his $17,000 in 2002 to his $170,000 in 2003 and to his $50 million in 10 years. There was no magic moment, no genie that jumped out of the bottle and became an overnight success. Instead, the team worked very hard and iteratively.
“Most good things take time to make,” Joe said.
partner in work and life
Joe’s co-founder Chaz Felix contributed the remaining $5,000, bringing the total cash and sweat equity to $10,000. Chaz focused on his areas of strength. They complemented each other and worked well as partners to lead Bronto’s growth.
At Harvard University, Joe met his wife, Karalyn, who has been his life partner ever since. After graduating, they served as teachers in Seychelles and Ecuador. As the sole breadwinner, she worked while he earned his MBA at UNC and then demonstrated his ability to survive his first years at Bronte College.
They have four children, but as soon as the first one was born, she decided to stay at home with them. He gives her a lot of credit for taking on many of the responsibilities of her children while he focuses on her bronto’s bootstraps.
All their beautiful names start with X. Instead of me trying to tell the story behind each one, Joe told it most humorously in our chat. Share it so you can hear directly from him.
The alliterative name X1-X2-X3-X4 brings the kids closer together as a common unit, making it easier for parents to text about each one.
They FaceTime their families every Sunday and maintain a close relationship.
audience feedback
Windy Zou Cole, a technology entrepreneur who recently moved to the Triangle from Hong Kong, said Joe is living proof of three quotes:
- There is a proverb in China: Successful people attribute their success to luck, while unsuccessful people blame fate. That’s certainly very true of Joe. Despite his outstanding achievements and contributions, his unassuming demeanor and humility were very refreshing.
- Behind every successful man is a strong woman. I claim to be an equally successful woman. That also applies to Joe and Karalyn. Charlie Munger also said that one of the most important decisions a person can make to ensure a successful and happy life is choosing the right spouse or life partner. Joe did a good job.
- Be biased in your actions and follow your bliss. There is no grand plan in life. Both the way Joe moved into his RTP area and the way he chose one of his partner’s girlfriends in the business meant taking action instead of overthinking, since you can always adjust or change direction along the way. This is an example. When he sees an unmet need, he tries to fill it, like with GrepBeat and his VC fund. He embodies the can-do entrepreneurial spirit.
next week:
The principles that shaped Bronto’s culture and the current state of Colopy Ventures.
About Grace Yun
Grace is the CEO of Savvy Growth, a management and marketing consultancy that has been helping leaders and the companies they run to achieve their full potential by conducting strategic reviews, marketing audits, and coaching since 2003. is.
A marketing strategist, Grace has held leadership roles in marketing, business development, and product management for five high-growth technology ventures that successfully exited through acquisition or IPO. A TED speaker, her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Her Beast, and Inc.
For more information about Grace’s flagship workshop, HappinessWorks™, contact her company.
Subscribe to her “Happiness & Leadership@Work” for free. Receive one research-based lesson each week to learn how to become a happier, more productive leader: click here.
