Al Danto, senior lecturer in entrepreneurship, has been a trusted mentor and beloved member of the Rice Business community for more than two decades. A serial entrepreneur, he launched his first company at the age of 23, growing it through multiple acquisitions before selling to a private equity-backed group. After earning his MBA at Rice Business, he returned to teach New Enterprise, Enterprise Acquisition and their corresponding E-labs – guiding students as they build and acquire businesses of their own. He is also a driving force behind the Veterans Business Battle. 

Beyond his professional success, Al has had a personal journey few could imagine. In May 2022, Al experienced two life-threatening medical crises and was placed on advanced life support. Sixty-five days later, he walked out of the hospital determined to return to the classroom, and by October, he was back. 

In this episode of Owl Have You Know, Al shares his extraordinary career journey, his story of recovery and why he urges everyone to “grab life” and make a difference. 

Episode Guide:

00:22 Meet Al Danto: The Entrepreneurial Legend

01:01 Al Danto’s Early Ventures and Successes

07:56 Scaling the Business and Strategic Exits

12:32 The Rice MBA Experience

16:55 Launching Universal Worker

20:31 Rice Alliance and the Rice Business Plan Competition

25:52 Teaching and Mentoring at Rice

29:22 Identifying the Secret Sauce of Successful Entrepreneurs

33:42 Personal Health Challenges and Overcoming Adversity

43:38 The Role of Mentorship and Support in Success

49:00 The Veterans Business Battle: Supporting Veteran Entrepreneurs

51:24 Vision for the Future of Rice University

Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

On the tough realities of entrepreneurship and success

[26:44] Maya Pomroy: For people to sign up to really take these risks, what do you think that it is that you bring? That people are so excited about.

[26:53] Al Danto: First thing I try to do is talk you out of it. It’s not easy. I mean, it’s tough. You have — it’s really hard. I mean, you see a lot about the glamour, and you see all this stuff. You know, 80% of business startups — fail. I think at Rice, what we do is we have a fertile ground, right? To plant these seeds in. You have support. You have nurturing, and you have everything, but it’s a tough road. To me, a lot of it is you make the decisions. I personally think, for most cases, if you start a business, the success or failure comes to you. You know, 86% of plane crashes are pilot or human error. Which we talk about in class. And I think entrepreneurship is pretty similar.

On making ideas real and sustaining Rice’s entrepreneurial legacy

[28:50] The reality is you have to get out there and you have to do it, and you have to make these things real. And I think, you know, we’ve done that. It’s kind of in our DNA. And so now, five years, six years in a row now, the No. 1 Graduate Entrepreneurship Program — it’s not because of me, it’s because of what was started long ago, and it’s because of support. And now our alumni come back in, and they say what they’ve done — the good and the bad — that we bring back in.

Believing in something bigger and rowing together at Rice

[50:30] I think it’s important to have something that you believe in. I think if you can’t believe in, and anytime you see a military veteran, they put their life to go give us freedom. And a couple years ago, one of the veterans told me the best way that you can show our support is not to thank us, but to go out there and take advantage of the freedoms that we have. I think entrepreneurship is one of them as well. So it’s really been great, and every year these guys have not wanted to let the next person down, and they’ve stepped up and stepped into it. And I think that’s just not letting the next person down. And I think everyone that goes through Rice is going to experience that. It’s tough, but you’re in the rowboat mentality. We’re in this together, and we have to get through it, and y’all will. And that’s part of it.

Show Links: 

• Transcript
  
  

Guest Profiles:

• Al Danto | Rice Business