https://youtu.be/N7jaq3KIeIE
Alec Broadfoot is the founder and CEO of VisionSpark, an executive search, hiring training, consulting, and assessment company in Ohio, serving EOS-run companies. We discuss how firms can attract A-players using proven strategies and tools.
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Attract A-Players With Alec Broadfoot
Our guest is Alec Broadfoot, who is the founder and CEO of Vision Park, which is an executive search, hiring, training and hiring assessment company in Ohio. And what's special about Alex's firm is that they focus primarily on serving companies that run on the entrepreneurial operating system or EOS. Alex graduated and got his MBA from Bowling Green State University of Ohio. So welcome to the show, Alex.
It's great to be here, Steve. Thanks for having me.
So, you've been running this company, VisionSpark, for almost 10 years now. How did you become an entrepreneur? How did you get here? What's your journey?
Yeah, it's a great question. I was in college, and my major was international business and economics, and I thought I wanted to be an international business person. And I had an opportunity to get an MBA right after college. They offered me an assistantship, which meant my tuition was paid for. I had to work a couple hours a week for the school. And so I decided to continue writing my MBA. During my MBA, they really were teaching us at the time how to be good corporate executives, a good corporate leader.
And there was an optional Saturday program where they brought in three entrepreneurs and interviewed them. And I decided to go and I was just so inspired by these entrepreneurs. And you know, getting to listen to their stories and how they can make a difference. And my dad had worked for Corporate America and I thought, well, maybe that was my journey, but not after this and so I thought you know what someday.
I'm gonna have my own business and so I was 24 years old at the time maybe and I had an offer to work for bank one Here in Columbus had interned with them a couple years and so my plan was I'll work for bank one I'll you know 15 20 years. I'll save a whole bunch of money, and I'll start a business I that's what I thought the plan was. And two years into working for Bank One, I had an opportunity along with some friends to buy a business. I took the leap, the bank said, hey, if it doesn't work out, you can come back. And I thought, well, we didn't have kids at the time and the risk was low and I decided, and that was the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey and that was 25 years ago.
Wow. So, before VisionSpark, you ran some other companies?
Before VisionSpark, yes. So I had there's a company was in the publishing industry. So that's the one that I bought. It was all self-published reference books. And we got a little bit into we had a CD-ROM program that we sold and a web. Now it's now it's web based. And then I had a business in the mid 2000s where we processed mail for all the big companies in Columbus like Chase Mortgage and the big hospitals and loved that business. And that's where the seeds were planted for VisionSpark.
I met some great individuals then and they planted some seeds about making sure you have the right people in the right seats and hiring the right people and good quality assessment tools. And so that was during that time, which was a super valuable time, and I sold my interest to my business partner at the time and decided to do consulting. And I really had this passion of helping entrepreneurs with being more profitable and just having a stronger business.
And what I was encountering, every consultant opportunity I had was that there were people issues. And like all these entrepreneurs, like Little Lemons, walking off a cliff, making these bad people decisions. And so in 2011 or so, there was a friend at the time and we were talking about this and we said, hey, let's start a business where we can help entrepreneurs make great people decisions,