As the Founder and CEO of PK4 Media, there are times when I let failure frustrate me for longer periods than it should.  Over the years I have learned to keep sources of inspiration nearby to avoid going down a rabbit hole.

Early on at PK4, one of my favorite employees moved on for a great career opportunity. I was extremely proud of her.  On her last day, she gave me a framed picture of an excerpt from a famous Theodore Roosevelt speech he delivered in 1910 referred to as The Man In The Arena.

I started my company, PK4 Media, in 2009. Back then, we joked that the digital advertising landscape was like the Wild West. Yet I look around and wonder if things are any different these days.

Between rampant fraud and fake bots, to say nothing of the unreliable campaign performance measurement statistics that so many so-called experts are touting, my industry needs change. That change starts with me.

This month marks the ninth anniversary of the launch of PK4 Media. As the first omni-channel media company in the advertising space, we had success early on because were one beat ahead of the competition.

Of course, we have faced our fair share of challenges along the way. For one thing, the digital landscape is largely unrecognizable to when we began. But one thing I have learned is that facing challenges is not a sign of failure.  Every single entrepreneur, from Steve Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg, faced challenges that can make or break you. Those who take the challenges head on are the ones who succeed.

As the Founder and CEO of PK4 Media since 2009, I have had many employees over the years.  Some have been good, others great, and there have been a handful of bad apples to be sure.  In certain cases, I have made great friendships and on rare occasions those who have worked for me have become family.

However, as the leader of an enterprise, I have learned to be careful with what I tell my employees no matter how close we are.

It is a simple reality that my entire life is staked in the success of this company.  Equally as important is that the financial well-being of my employees and their families whose entire livelihood depends on the success of my creation, my company.

As an entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of PK4 Media, the former Cosby Show actor Geoffrey Owens story hit me like a ton of bricks.  If only Bill Cosby was half the man that Geoffrey Owens is.

In some respects, being an entrepreneur is not dissimilar from being an actor.  In both cases, you are chasing a dream with no safety net and not much to fall back on if you fail.

My father was an entrepreneur and like him I always wanted to start my own company. When trying to build a business from scratch, one of the most important lessons he taught me is that you must spend every day trying to earn $1, not trying to save $1.

While I heard him growing up, I never quite understood what he meant until I started my own company.

After years of working for others in the burgeoning digital advertising space, I made the leap right after the great recession and launched PK4 Media. 

After some contemplation, I made the decision to bootstrap so I would have complete control of my vision and destiny.  As a result of that decision, I began to better understand what my father was trying to tell me.

I have always spent extensive time traveling for business over the past 15 years.  Even prior to starting PK4 Media, I ran national sales teams with five U.S. offices and our parent company was based in the United Kingdom.

Since launching PK4 Media in 2009, I have spent at least one week per month on the road.  In the process, I have learned every travel trick in the book to help make the trip comfortable and successful.

For many entrepreneurs, business travel can be stressful, expensive, and cause problems to the company’s bottom line if missteps are made.

Back in 2009, I was about to quit my job to launch PK4 Media and like most entrepreneurs I sought advice.  I grew up in Silicon Valley and was fortuitous enough to chat with several high-profile pioneers in the technology industry who told me about the 80/20 rule.

The Pareto Principle suggests that 20% of my efforts would produce 80% of my results and I must remain focused on high ROI activities and avoid distractions.

This was very sound advice that helped PK4 Media become the advertising industry’s first omni-channel media company.  As we approach our 10-year anniversary – including three acquisitions – aspiring entrepreneurs now seek my advice, which, aside from making me feel old, I am humbled to give.

As an entrepreneur who founded the advertising industry’s first Omni-Channel media company, I often get asked how I got my business off the ground.

While there are many factors that lead to success, one reason is not related to advertising at all.  Like everyone else these days, I am a foodie seeking the ideal culinary experience from Michelin star rated restaurants and chefs.

In the summer of 2002, a sequence of fortuitous events allowed me to be the only non-chef to ever work in Chef Ferran Adria kitchen at El Bulli.

Most people do not realize that a world-class Chef is also an entrepreneur, owner and CEO.  Working at the chef’s table in El Bulli allowed me to learn from one of the best CEOs in the world.

In a world with an ever-growing number of touchpoints, does spending $5 million for 30 seconds still make sense?

Back in 2011, a handful of brands began to pre-promote their Super Bowl television spots on digital and social media. It was an unprecedented concept to “build buzz” in the lead up to the game. The groundbreaking tactic received national coverage in the New York Times. Companies such as Best Buy, Coca-Cola, and Mercedes-Benz realized that if they were paying $2.8 million for 30-seconds of TV time – or approximately $100,000 per second – that they needed to maximize return on investment by leveraging platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

In 2017, Advertising Age reported that digital advertising spends surpassed TV for the first time. The explosion of digital – including its rapidly changing opportunities and challenges – will give challenger brands more than a puncher's chance to become champions in 2018.

Companies such as Coca-Cola, L'Oréal and Nike are the current heavyweight champions of their respective industries. Does that mean all other brands should concede and head home?

The answer is an emphatic no. Challenger brands that leverage cutting-edge advertising trends and technologies will be able to overcome deficits in infrastructure, budget and manpower on unprecedented levels in 2018.

I launched PK4 Media eight years ago as the advertising industries first Omni-Channel media company.  Having worked in the industry for many years, I saw pain points and opportunities to solve them.

After several years, we became a multimillion dollar business. Our proprietary XPS technology was serving, monitoring and collecting data on ads across all platforms.  This was when everyone was focused on migrating from websites to mobile content.  We knew that the ability to provide a seamless customer journey across all platforms was the future.

I was not seeking an exit but had regularly received offers through the years of up to $30+ million to buy PK4 Media.  After some deliberation, I turned down those offers.