The Startup Story

Brian Carrico, founder of The Guild

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About this episode

The Guild is looking to bring the 200,000-year-old hotel industry into the new age. In this episode, we highlight one of its co-founders, Brian Carrico. The Guild has over 600 units in 6 major markets and continues to grow. The Guild brings to hotels all the things you love about being home. The goal is to bring all the best of what we desire from a hotel stay and what we love about home into one vacation experience. It's an amazing model. Brian and his team are doing an incredible job scaling in a really smart way.

Today you will hear from Brian just how important it is to seize the learning opportunities that come in moments of challenge, or even failure. You will hear how powerful it is to surround yourself with people that are there to pick you up when you need it most. You will also learn how empowering it can be to fully understand your strength as a founder.

Are you one that can function at a high level as a solopreneur or do you perform better alongside a co-founder? Those nuances make all the difference as you move forward with your business. Of course, another nuance that matters is the very early lessons we learn during our childhood years. This is Brian Carrico’s startup story.

In this episode, you’ll hear
  • How he loved the experience and challenge that came from moving throughout his childhood as his father moved up in his career
  • A powerful life lesson from his mother that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself
  • How he went to college and graduated with an environmental engineering degree
  • His career path after getting his environmental engineering degree, including his starting out as a consultant, moving to Denver, and traveling a lot in between environmental consulting work
  • How in 2009 he and his wife sold their house in Denver, went to Honduras to work for a water nonprofit and traveled around Central America (and how his mom was terrified and horrified by the decision!)
  • Brian talks about the idea of the founder’s dilemma
  • His move to the Middle East to work as an engineer at a new international location and how it was during that move he experienced his first spark of entrepreneurship
  • the idea of moving from employee to entrepreneur adds so many more processes to figure out your mindset
  • How an invitation to come back to the U.S. to work in Brian’s wife’s family business (a cabin resort) and how it was a turning point for his journey as an entrepreneur
  • The most surprising thing about his transition from engineering in Oman to West Texas in the cabin business
  • His first-time experience pitching to investors, and then deciding to go back to college to get an MBA in business
  • Transitioning from the cabin business to The Guild, what that looked like, and how he went about transitioning from one entrepreneurial season to the next
  • Some of the lessons, challenges, and wins Brian has experienced through the growth of The Guild and the progression as an entrepreneur
    • Resources from this episode

    Creedon: Legal partners you want as you build your business and brand. Listeners get a 30-minute brand consultation + $200 discount on a trademark application. Visit http://creedonpllc.com/startupstory

    Brex: The credit card specifically for startups. Visit http://www.brex.com.

    Listeners, use code StartupStory and get fees waived for life!

    Brian and the team at The Guild are offering The Startup Story listeners 10% off your stay at any of The Guild properties. To book your next stay, be sure to visit: theguild.co/startupstory

    The Guild: https://theguild.co/

    Brian Carrico on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-carrico-15317637/
    The Startup Story on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thestartupstory/
    The Startup Story is now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jamesmckinney
    The Startup Story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupstory/

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    EPISODE CREDITS

    If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

    He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

    Contact him today at https://emeraldcitypro.com/startupstory

    Special Guest: Brian Carrico.

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    The Startup StoryBy James McKinney