By: Wesley Sprecher | Swamp Cat Brewing Co.
Neighbors,
What a time to be alive in SWFL. As the old saying goes, “If nothing changes, nothing changes,” and let me tell you from firsthand experience—change is coming. Change is coming to our region because change agents are already here. That being said, there are a myriad of challenges, generally speaking, that impact our daily lives in ways we may not appreciate.
Consider economically, we are positioned for massive growth, yet politically, we are wrapped around “culture wars.” As a young strategist in manufacturing and technology, few of my business partners or consulting clients feel as if we are aligned regionally due to the “good old boys network” and “siloed regional initiatives that are non-inclusive of existing resources in our market,” which forces us decision-makers to look out-of-market to find the “best service providers.” I ran into this problem as a sales executive.
Consider in SWFL, we have one of the greatest wealth networks in the entire country; we have institutional knowledge of how the American System works for and against us as business owners, investors, and compassionate neighbors. However, we in the angel investor community struggle with deal flow, not because we cannot find worthwhile investments or do not know how to deploy capital effectively. So, why do we struggle with incentivizing innovators, startup founders, and true titans in the industries of tomorrow, like Medical Technology, Climate Technology/Manufacturing or Distribution/e-commerce or web development?
One project that truly has my heart is Swamp Cat Brewing Company. I am the Co-Founder of that organization, which was born in the FGCU Veterans’ Entrepreneurship incubator, and I am not a Veteran. Veterans are a prime example of the “opportunity in SWFL.” I say that, not because they are fantastic entrepreneurs worth considering when investing in startups. I say this because from a human “raw materials perspective,” Veterans typically offer investors the premier behavior profile we look for when we put our “money where our mouth is.”
You may think, “Wes, this is all well and good, but what do you want me to do about it?” Well, what can you do about it? At the risk of sounding cheesy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” consider the precipice of a cultural Renaissance. We’ve all heard the talking point on the news about our nation being at an “inflection point.” We in SWFL are a microcosm of the echo chambers we choose to dwell within. Who are you listening to? What questions are you grappling with as a decision-maker? How can we ask each other better questions?
We have an enormous, massive, better-than-most-others opportunity set in the United States. What is your Opportunity Cost?
In IT, we have observed Technology Executives transition to positions of influence and authority across the Fortune landscape because of the inherent need to embrace technology within the context of business. But, and this is the “black hat” in me, how are you protecting yourself from the threats of the digital age? Most MSPs sell on the ability to “protect the network,” but they have little to no expertise in CyberSecurity. That is an Integrity Challenge.
In manufacturing, we have observed significant regional investment in multiple industries. Speaking from experience, making widgets is not a complex business. Then why are government incentives not geared toward our core “Talent Pipeline,” “Sustainable Growth,” and diversified economic output challenges? I’m not here to blame the government. A lot of problems solve themselves. I am here to call out my neighbors, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, who cares. If we cannot compartmentalize our ideological passions, we will not be able to collaborate at the caliber necessary to thrive in a Global Economy heading toward a system of Regionalization.
Lastly, in a positive spirit, I share with you—I am 28 years young. If Mandela was right about anything, why are we so afraid to let education “be the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”?
