Over the last semester I cannot tell you how many times I have heard different entrepreneurs and businessmen talk about the importance of having good mentors. I feel lucky to have picked up a mentor and friend early on.
I met Brian Probst, the CEO of CruxCase, a few years ago while interning for him as an Industrial Designer. Brian realized as the first iPad was coming out that many users were still going to want the ability to type on a qwerty keyboard, so Brian started Crux. CruxCase provided a bluetooth keyboard case for those users that were trying to replace their laptop with a tablet and still be able to type at a high rate on a tactile keyboard. One of the biggest innovations of his product was a 360 degree hinge that allowed the user to fold the case into a range of orientations from tablet to movie to standard laptop mode.
Brian used the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to fund the production of his product. To this day Brian has multiple projects included in the most funded products category of KickStarter. Brian successfully launched a series of bluetooth keyboard cases for a variety of iPad models. After a few years as CEO of CruxCase, CruxCase was acquired by BodyGuardz, a mobile technology protection company. Brian is currently the Head of Products at BodyGuardz.
“Big opportunities don’t just fall into your lap, you have to carefully plan…”
Brian has been a great mentor over the years. While interning with him, we often discussed long term goals. Brian is a visionary, able to foresee opportunities and plan for future. He pushed me to articulate my goals and vision for the next 5 years, then we carefully analyzed what experiences, connections, and skills I needed to pursue in order to accomplish my goals in that period. Brian feels strongly that most people are flying by the seat of their pants, with no consideration of the tools they will need for success down the road. Successful people have ambitious goals and are constantly pursuing the experiences they need to place them on the path and trajectory necessary to accomplish their goals. Big opportunities don’t just fall into your lap, you have to carefully plan so that you can be prepared and succeed when the time comes.
Having Brian as a mentor has raised my vision and pushed me to carefully plan for the future. I feel I can say confidently that having good mentors is a key to success.