I’ve had many, but the top two are probably the dreaded “cold caller” and the door-to-door salesman. They both, beyond a doubt, taught me that with each “No!” you’re that much closer to a “Yes!” and success.
Vincent Molinari is the co-founder and CEO of GATE Global Impact, a leading electronic marketplace platform that’s helping the world’s leading organizations standardize and accelerate impact investing.
Vincent is an active speaker on issues related to capital markets and early-stage companies, and he regularly speaks at events around the world. He’s been invited to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services and the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises. Vincent has also testified before the Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies regarding secondary market liquidity. He regularly consults with members of Congress and regulatory agencies on these issues.
Vincent is a managing partner at Constellation Fin Tech and a founding board member and former co-chair of the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates, a self-regulating association that works with governmental and quasi-governmental entities to establish crowdfunding industry standards and best practices. Vincent is also a co-founder of the Crowdfunding Professional Association, a leading trade organization for the crowdfunding industry, and sits on the board of CF50, a global think tank of 50 of the leading minds from academia, policy, and industry.
Where did the idea for GATE Global Impact come from?
My partner, Joe Latona, and I sought to create a standardized manner in which to move traditional investment capital to sustainable for-profit companies and projects that were delivering societal, environmental, or cause-related good.
What does your typical day look like, and how do you make it productive?
My days are jam-packed! They last from 5 a.m. to whenever, and they’re filled with meetings, strategy sessions, advocacy, and education.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I bring them to life with passion. Passion creates boundless energy! The desire to create and effect change moves you well beyond any preconceived limits.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The intersection of social media and financial services and its ability to disrupt, innovate, and create new methods of distribution and access to capital.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I’ve been told, under the guise of a compliment, that I’m a “psychotic optimist.”
What was the worst job you ever had, and what did you learn from it?
I’ve had many, but the top two are probably the dreaded “cold caller” and the door-to-door salesman. They both, beyond a doubt, taught me that with each “No!” you’re that much closer to a “Yes!” and success.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
I would maybe focus on a specific sector or geography first, then go with a minimum viable product launch and scale from there.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I constantly self-assess, and I don’t fear failure. I maintain the ability to be fluid, pivot, and iterate.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
The strategy of educating, creating awareness, and building bridges between social good, Wall Street, and the “new rate of return” really helped me. I was able to communicate and use technology as a common language for global participants to understand that profit isn’t a dirty word because it creates sustainability. I understood that the new ROI goes beyond just the financial return; it now includes the measurement of how much good you’re delivering.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
One large failure I had was being wrong and losing investors’ money. You have to pick yourself up and deal with the disappointment that comes with letting someone down who believed in you. You have to learn and grow from the failure.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I believe the ability to advertise securities in the U.S. creates a twofer strategy. It builds awareness of the product or service of the company, and it builds the availability of the company’s securities for sale.
This will create a massive opportunity for new advertising strategies that will engage great minds on how to convert consumers into stakeholders and stakeholders into consumers, resulting in huge brand loyalty.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
I use the usual suspects: Linkedin, Twitter, and other social media tools, including new, innovative tools like ShoutOmatic.
These websites create global dissemination of information to produce education and awareness — what we at GATE Global Impact call “actionable knowledge” around impact investing.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
I definitely recommend “The Coming Jobs War” by Jim Clifton, chairman of Gallup.
This book details the wake-up call of the overwhelming need for — and the global competition for — job creation and the impact this has on the U.S. and the globe. This book helps all understand that access to job opportunities and full-time employment creates stability within countries.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Pope Francis, Steve Case, Elon Musk, Congressman Patrick McHenry, and James Pallotta.
Connect:
Vincent Molinari on LinkedIn:
Vincent Molinari on Twitter: @VinceMolinari
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.