Go After the Unsolvable Problem

Founder: James Rockwood

Start-up: CapIntel

So what is CapIntel all about?

CapIntel helps you make better investment decisions by providing you access to a whole array of funds to invest in. If you’re new to investing, it can be a bit overwhelming with the choice you have, but James and his team will point you in the right direction.

How did James get into entrepreneurship?

For James, he always knew he wanted to do something big. He has always aspired to run a large company, and he was excited to face competition, market changes, and really go after the unsolvable problem. This drive to solve otherwise “unsolvable problems” has guided him throughout his career.

In university, he didn’t have a business idea he was confident about, so he thought it would be best to build his credentials and get a CPA designation. This then led him to Toronto, where he worked in investment banking for two years. As James looks back on his time working in an advisory firm, he noted that you tend to feel outside of the jobs and the industry. You are outside the bubble, which is great because you get to see a lot of different Industries, see what makes sense, and what you like/don’t like.

While at work, he didn’t know he wanted to start a business. However, while helping his Dad grow a business, founding a business became more attractive. Once an idea came to him, the rest was history.

When do you decide to leave the corporate life?

For James, he had an instant catalyst when he came to the realization that he needed to leave the corporate life. Something very important in his personal life came up and his work told him he couldn’t get the time off. He worked it out by pulling an all-nighter, but realised it was time to commit himself to de-risking his start-up idea, and to get started.

As he was gearing up for his start-up, all while working full-time hours at the firm, he ended-up hitting a crossroads, for he received an amazing offer to work in private equity. He called all of his mentors, and eventually made a decision by taking the perspective of his future 65 year old self looking back at his career; he really honed in on what his future self would regret not doing. The answer to that question was starting his own company. If you must make a decision like this, James suggests to take a step back and to remember that you are taking a risk. Don’t leave your job because you hate it, start a company because you love it. Understand that most people taking this advice, like most businesses, will fail, but that’s ok because hard workers will always find a way.

The First Pivot

With working on his start-up full-time and launching the website in July, he had this idea that his company would help you save money and then help you invest. However, he quickly realised that the business would rely entirely on a developer because the app would be the main product. So, James decided to make his first pivot to focus just on investing.

After this pivot he started reading about the financial advising sector and robo advising. He thought this was interesting, but noticed there was an information gap. Right now, if you have your money invested in a fund, you can answer the question “Are you satisfied with your returns?”.  However, when someone asks you “Compared to what?” you can only benchmark against major indices, like the S&P500 or the TSX. There is no visibility on how your investments are doing compared to the other funds that would also meet your investment goals. Therefore, it’s hard to tell when you should be satisfied with your investments, or whether it’s time to move them to another fund.  James wants to solve this problem for you.

So when do you quit (your corporate life)?

De-risk your start-up as much as you can. James noted “Understand that if you quit your corporate job, you can’t fail quickly. You need to fail in at least 2 years. If you don’t think you will make it to 2 years, then you have to figure out a way. If you dread going into work every day, don’t leave because you want to leave, leave because you want to work on your start-up.” James continued by noting everyone hates their job some days, but that is no excuse to run. Work on weekends on your project and see where it leads.

Corporate vs. Start-up life—which is better?

Maybe to your surprise, James noted the day looks the same, but the content is different. For example, on the day I met up with James, he met with an entrepreneur, went to his office, worked on technical product stuff, had an hour conversation with someone he was trying to hire, then had a call with a potential client, and then worked on podcast content. James described his day as “Christmas” because he gets the opportunity to wear so many different hats.

Challenges.

Some challenges James has noticed in the start-up world is knowing what to do, and going through an exercise of prioritizing and executing. The day after he left his job, he had no idea where to begin, so he sent 150 emails. Anybody he had ever talked to, he sent an email to, and he landed a ton of meetings. At one point, he realised he was meeting so many people that he didn’t have enough time to work on the product, so he dialed that back a bit. He also noted that a major challenge as a leader is that he really needs to be cognisant of maintaining a strong and fun work culture, despite all the pressures and uncertainties of entrepreneurship.

Mentors

James has received some great advice from his mentors. During his time in investment banking, his mentors told him that his job was to move things forward, and James describes that advice as his northern star. He suggests that everyone should have a northern star and should understand what they are trying to accomplish when one is walking into something.

Get to know James!

When it comes to travel, James likes to go where his family is. But the coolest place he’s traveled to was Croatia. His travel buddy bailed last minute, and he ended up in Zagreb by himself, but he had such an amazing time. From that experience, he realises he can now walk into any situation and he’ll be fine.

A book he loves: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.

Something nerdy…James used to play world war craft, and loved the competitive nature of it and took advantage of some mini arbitrage opportunities. He is also obsessed with the news!

Thinking back, James wished he knew that the start-up life wasn’t going to be so different, for he may have made some changes earlier on. The big misconception is that you are going to go through a huge shock, and like James, he built it up in his head; and, it really isn’t. James noted that if you’ve committed to a make a change, whether you are confined in your current role, or unconfined in your start-up, there is really no difference.

James has some great advice: Take the time to understand your role in that future organization you plan to build, and try to envision something for yourself. People get excited about an idea, product, or potential, but you must know what is important to you when you walk in because otherwise you are going to stand to fail. Always take a step back and don’t run into it.

If you would like more information, please check-out CapIntel’s website or their upcoming podcast! Please feel free to reach-out to me through social media if you have any questions, or if you would like to chat!