W&F October 2017

www.wealthandfinance-news.com 18 Wealth & Finance International - October 2017 “In order to ensure that our clients receive the best support and advice from us, Star Mountain continues to build a roster of advisors and operating partners which we rely on extensively for support. This is one of the ways we bring large market expertise, relationships and resources to smaller companies.” Following on from its customer service, Brett talks to us about the internal culture of the firm, explaining how the company treats his staff, ensuring they are able to offer the best service and enjoy their working experience. The culture is a big factor in the firm’s success, as is the ability and talent of many of the individuals that the company hires, and Brett goes on to discuss how important it is for companies and staff to operate as a team, think and collaborate together. “Our culture is one of the most important drivers of our success. Sure, we can hire extraordinarily smart people and do all the number-crunching required to make informed decisions about investments, but the real secret sauce of any successful organization is how its people operate, think and collaborate together. I like to call it cultural capital. Point to a successful company, and more often than not, you will find an abundance of strong cultural capital sustaining it. “Great cultural capital inside companies is like a fingerprint; no two are the same, and what works for one may not work for another. In my experience, they do share certain characteristics. They have aligned individual goals with that of the company – an alignment of interests – that in our case, is accomplished by including 100% of our employees in the carried interest of our funds. Other things are more esoteric – a desired sense of purpose, passionate focus on technology to improve our operations, and support of outside-the-box thinking about what we do. Also, we focus on the things that make Star Mountain a comfortable and engaging place to work, like fresh and healthy food, standing desks, lots of windows and sunlight, etc. “Organizations that focus on creating the most cultural capital possible are usually the ones that end up with the most sustainable, scalable and rewarding businesses over time.” Brett signs off by predicting what the future holds for Star Mountain, mentioning the upcoming projects for the firm. “Moving forward, we are very excited by what the future holds for our business. We have a large market to execute against but that is what we were built for which can be summarized by four core elements. First of all, we invest defensively in established, smaller companies with low leverage. Secondly, we get paid for work where we concentrate on more labor-intensive loans to private businesses that have complex capital needs, such as financing an acquisition. Thirdly, we help these companies grow, employ more people and create value in their communities and the economy as a whole. “Lastly, with respect to team, our most important asset, we focus on high quality people who want purposeful and engaged lives, and we find these people maximize long-term value as aligned partners in what we do.